Patricia Cornelius’s Truth at Malthouse

Thu 13th February, 2025 – Sat 8th March, 2025
Merlyn Theatre, Malthouse, 113 Sturt St, Southbank
Price: $20–$80
The latest work from the celebrated Australian playwright centres on Julian Assange and the cost of speaking truth to power.

In 1980s Melbourne, a group of teenage hacker misfits break into forbidden, faraway worlds – the Pentagon, Stanford and Nasa – not for personal gain but out of plain curiosity. What begins as a harmless rebellion soon becomes a probing exploration of truth and power, and an example of the consequences of speaking out – and of staying silent. This is the story of Truth, the latest work from one of Australia’s most celebrated playwrights, Patricia Cornelius, premiering at Malthouse this February.

Truth illuminates the stories of three individuals who’ve become household names for their bravery and determination to expose the world’s secrets: Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden. The play centres on real-life events told through a fictional lens, with Assange portrayed by five different actors: Emily Havea (Wentworth), Tomáš Kantor (Twelfth Night), Eva Rees (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), Eva Seymour (One Room Renovations) and James O’Connell (Sunday). From Assange’s early years as a hacker in Melbourne to the evolution of Wikileaks and his nearly 14 years in confinement, each actor unravels a different facet of Assange’s persona.

Directed by Susie Dee (Savages, Animal, Caravan), Truth is as much a political work as it is an in-depth character study of a man, Assange, who changed the course of activism forever.

Truth opens on February 13 and runs until March 8. Book your tickets now.

Broadsheet is a proud media partner of Malthouse Theatre.

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