Based in fact, the epic and intimate Motherland intertwines the sweeping stories of three very different women from different times, united in the heartache of exile from their homelands.

From the chaos of a Russian military coup, through the hell of Nazi-occupied France to a turbulent Brisbane in the throes of the Fitzgerald Inquiry, Brisbane playwright Katherine Lyall-Watson has penned a painstakingly researched historical drama about how world-changing events can ripple out and take a terrible toll on everyday lives.

Brisbane-born Nell travelled the world, marrying the Russian Prime Minister and helping him flee the Nazis in World War II. Feisty writer and academic Nina quit her native Russia for Paris, but has returned in her twilight years. And single mother Alyona is a Russian museum curator whisked away to Brisbane by an Australian businessman, in search of a brighter future that may just collapse before her eyes.