Black Swan State Theatre Company of Western Australia acknowledges the Whadjuk people of the Nyoongar Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live.

First Nations People have been telling stories on this country for many thousands of years, and we acknowledge their incredible contribution to the cultural and environmental landscape we reside in.

Content Warnings

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Content Warnings

Welcome to our additional content warnings page. Here is where we would like to give you further details about the show to help you decide if the production is right for you and help you navigate any content warnings to give you a full picture of what to expect when you attend.

Read on at your discretion as this information may contain spoilers!

There are a number of organisations here to help if any content affects you. Connection and Wellbeing Australia (CAWA) have listed them here.

2024 Season

The Pool
By Steve Rodgers
Directed by Kate Champion

Recommended Age 12+

This production contains mature themes and coarse language.

Please note the following content warnings may contain spoilers.

Body shaming, fat shaming (mild)
Character speaks of dealing with self confidence issues to do with their body in a swimsuit when they are younger.

Child abuse, child neglect (mild)
A plot line involving a swim instructor being proud of a young swim student and kissing her on the cheek out of excitement, lands him in and his colleague in a difficult position. A character speaks of being kicked out of home by their parents when they were 17, and being slapped by their father after almost drowning in Green's Pool when they were very young.

Death, murder, drowning, death threats, poisoning (mild)
A character jokes about throwing themselves in the water and drowning themselves. At another time a character in the play tells a story of almost drowning as an infant at Green's Pool in Denmark.

Drugs, depiction of someone on drugs (mild)
A character who is a recovering drug addict mentions some of the drugs they've been addicted to in the past; Codeine, Demerol.

Eating disorder, anorexia, bulimia, disordered eating (mild)
A character speaks about difficulty in the past with liking their body, and subsequent eating disorder which followed from that. "I stopped eating, I starved myself, or I threw up after eating, I found myself a proper eating disorder."

Mental illness (mild)
Character living with diagnosed depression represented.

Medical procedures, hospitalisation (mild)
Mentions of Cancer treatments and hospitalisation, also mentions of treatment needed to address a prolapsed vagina.

Terminal illness, cancer (mild)
Multiple references to cancer.

Trauma, PTSD, victim blaming (mild)
Character suffering possible trauma from incident of almost drowning as a child.

Violence, physical assault (mild)
Mention of a child biting an adult on the arm and drawing blood

Audience interaction (mild)
Possible audience interaction for those who have selected to take part at point of purchase.

Barracking for the Umpire
By Andrea Gibbs
Directed by Clare Watson

Recommended Age 15+

This production contains mature themes, coarse language and haze effects.

Please note the following content warnings may contain spoilers.

Coarse language (mild)
Words spoken include 'dickhead' 'asslicker' 'fuck' 'shit' 'bullshit' 'dick'.

Cult (possible)
Jokes made about a speechwriting organisation being a cult.

Hallucinations, delusions (mild)
A character suffering from CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) has visions of his coach from younger football playing days.

Haze, smoke effect (mild)
At the discretion of artistic team, haze is used in some storm moments.

Homophobia (possible)
A plotline involving homosexual football players reveals an unconscious bias against homosexual players in the community of AFL.

Sex, descriptions of sex (mild)
Mention of someone getting 'fingered behind the shed' in school.

Sexism, misogyny (possible)
Plot line of new Women's AFL starting up reveals a bias from some in the Football community around the abilities of women playing the sport.

Trauma, PTSD, victim blaming (mild)
Play's central storyline revolves around a character living with CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) - suffered from playing high level impact sport for many years.

WEEK 1: Contains descriptions or depictions of Abuse, Animal Abuse, Arson, Blood, Child Abuse, Coarse Language, Intergenerational Trauma, Poverty, Violence.

WEEK 2: Contains descriptions or depictions of Abuse, Animal Abuse, Bullying, Guns, Homophobia, Intergenerational Trauma, Self-Harm, Sex, Toxic relationship, Violence, War.

RBG: Of Many, One
By Suzie Miller
Directed by Priscilla Jackman

Recommended Age 12+

This production contains sexism and coarse language.

Please note the following content warnings may contain spoilers.

Abuse, emotional, verbal, physical, domestic abuse (mild)
Direct quotes as spoken by Donald Trump about leeching over women and 'grabbing them by the pussy' - not seen, but spoken.

Loss of loved one, death of a parent and/or spouse (mild)
Deaths of family members remembered and relived by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, including her mother, her sister, and her husband.

Medical procedures, hospitalisation (mild)
Ruth recounts her husband’s battle against testicular cancer, her battle against breast cancer, and her loss and subsequent death at the hands of pancreatic cancer.

Sexism, misogyny (strong)
The life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is one of battling long inherited personal and structural misogyny. Reference to imbalance for women through RBG's life made, including Donald Trump's sexist and misogynistic language, women not being included in mourning procedures at Jewish funerals, women being told not to raise their voice, limited positions in higher education for women and the difficulty of women being hired into law firms.

Suicide, mention of suicide (mild)
In speaking about a case, Ruth tells the audience of a child who took their own life. No method is described.

Prima Facie
By Suzie Miller
Directed Kate Champion

Recommended Age 15+

This production contains coarse language and strong themes of sexual assault. 

Please note the following content warnings may contain spoilers.

Abuse, emotional, verbal, physical, domestic abuse (mild)
Character described as lurching at another character and almost spitting at her. Allusion to a man throwing a plate of food at the wall and his mother having to clean it up. Description of bruised and beaten women.

Coarse language (mild)
Words spoken include 'fuck' and 'shit.’

Rape, sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual violence, statutory rape (strong)
The central character of the piece, and narrator of the piece, is a defence lawyer who deals with Sexual Assault cases and represents the defendants. High and consistent instances of sexual assault are discussed and presented as part of the lead character's profession, such as;

  • Not wanting to know if an accused man committed a crime to maintain objectivity in defence.
  • The ambiguous areas of consent in legal terms, such as 'you have to prove that HE DID NOT KNOW there was NO CONSENT. That it was reasonable for him to think it was okay.'
  • Extensive scenes of sexual assault victims being cross examined about their sexual assault experiences.

Also spoken are experiences by the lead character in first person account of rape and sexual assault; 'I push him away' 'I feel him lift me up. Carefully carry me to the bed' 'I fall partly asleep. Damien's face is then kissing mine.' 'I move my face, his hands are all over me.' 'Feel his hands and his legs pushing against me, I am suddenly very awake. He's on top of me but his hand is on my face.' 'He takes my hands and I can't move' 'He's inside me, it's rough and painful. And it hurts something horrible.' 'I feel myself leave my body.' 'His hand is over my mouth.' 'I'm struggling to get out from under him.' 'It goes on and on.' 'Searing pain inside of me, I want to vomit again’.

Self harm, self harm presented on stage (strong)
Descriptions of self harm expressed 'I dig my thighs with my nails, make myself feel the pain.' 'Dig my nails into my palms.'

Sex, descriptions of sex (strong)
Descriptions of flirtatious actions; 'Damien's hand lingers on my back as he talks to me', 'Damien's hand around my waist', 'Damien is kissing my neck, it's nice', 'I find myself kissing Damo', 'We fuck on the sofa in his office', 'Later, in bed. Kissing and touching.'

Trauma, PTSD, victim blaming (strong)
In the world of the characters, that of criminal defence law, there is a culture of questioning sexual assault victims' validity. The lead character and narrator both engages in and experiences this; 'The restaurant bill indicates there was a lot of sake drunk by you both, witnesses say you were giggling yes?' and 'You took off most of your clothes, is that right?' After being subjected to sexual assault, our narrator shows sign of distress and trauma, including; having to see the perpetrator of the rape being at her workplace, having to go through many uncomfortable processes of legally trialling her attacker, including describing her attack to police in reporting the rape, reliving the event over and over in the courtroom process, an extensive scene of cross examination by a QC lawyer of her testimony - questioning at length small details about her statement, and having to go to hospital and use a rape kit and be examined extensively. During this period of the work the play also touches on instances of guilt at not doing enough to stop the attack.

Violence, physical assault (mild)
Descriptions of a fight in a bar - with result of 'blood encrusted forehead.’

The Children
By Lucy Kirkwood
Directed by Mel Cantwell

Recommended Age 15+

This production contains coarse language and strong themes of death.

Please note the following content warnings may contain spoilers.

Abuse, emotional, verbal, physical, domestic abuse (mild)
One character physically pushes another character onto the floor. At another point a character slaps another character on the face.

Ageism (possible)
A character calls two other characters 'fat old hags'.

Alcoholism, alcohol (possible)
Characters in play drink a bottle of homemade wine very quickly and become slightly more egregious.

Animal abuse, animal violence, animal sacrifice, death of an animal (mild)
Mentions of cats wandering into a nuclear fallout zone, mentions of choosing between a dog or child being hit by a car, and mentions of cows in nuclear radiation affected fields having all died.

Anxiety, agoraphobia, panic attacks (possible)
General anxiety surrounds the world of the play, as the location is near the fallout zone of a faulty nuclear power plant.

Blood, gore, graphic images, blood effects (mild)
A character in play has a blood nose. At another point in play, a different character laughs to the point of coughing up blood.

Body shaming, fat shaming (possible)
A character mentions that women get 'fat' when they get older.

Car accident, vehicle accident (possible)
Proposed question of whether someone would choose between a dog, or a child being hit by a car.

Child abuse, child neglect (possible)
A hypothetical question posed about whether 'you would be upset if a car hit a dog, or a child?' Conversations take place about what it means to be a good parent, and whether characters like their children. Adults mention fantasising about hurting children - 'I really prayed that something terrible would happen and she'd lose it'. And on another occasion a belief is spoken that to help children a parent needs to leave, 'you have a real duty to that child to fuck off at some point.’

Cigarettes, smoking (mild)
Smoking cigarettes occurs on stage.

Coarse language (mild)
'Words used include 'shit' and 'fuck'.

Death, murder, drowning, death threats, poisoning (strong)
Characters discuss the effects of radiation poisoning and being at an age where death is happening to their peers and friends. Death is spoken about at length from many different viewpoints through the course of the play, to the point a character wants to accept death gracefully and repair a radioactive nuclear power plant.

Horror, supernatural imagery, magic (possible)
References to ghost bells from a town that has been eaten by the ocean made in the play, and general terror of the state of the world.

Medical procedures, hospitalisation (mild)
A character in play has had a double mastectomy and alluded to radiation therapy to treat cancer. Cancer is a recurring element in the play.

Sex, descriptions of sex (mild)
Characters reveal they have been having an off and on affair for many years. Some sexual activity alluded to, but not explicitly mentioned.

Sizeism, anti-fat bigotry (possible)
A character mentions that women get 'fat' when they get older. At another time a character calls two other characters 'fat old hags'.

Suicide, mention of suicide (mild)
Brief mention of suicide, as one character tells another character they had heard she had 'killed herself'.

Terminal illness, cancer (strong)
A character in play suffers from Cancer, and others are at risk of developing cancerous cells having lived so close to the aftereffects of a nuclear fallout zone.

Violence, physical assault (mild)
One character physically pushes another character onto the floor. At another point a character slaps another character on the face.

The Seed
By Kate Mulvany
Directed by Matt Edgerton

Recommended Age 15+

This production contains coarse language and strong themes of trauma, violence, and war.

Please note the following content warnings may contain spoilers.

Animal abuse, animal violence, animal sacrifice, death of an animal (mild)
Death of crayfish and other sea creatures mentioned in passages about cray fishing off the coast of Geraldton. Descriptions of burying a dead dog at sea, by tossing it over the boat off the Geraldton coast, when the dog won't seek - a character begins to bash its corpse over the head and tear holes in its flesh to help it sink.

Anxiety, agoraphobia, panic attacks (mild)
Character suffers from anxiety and depression - takes medication to manage and assist with it.

Blood, gore, graphic images, blood effects (mild)
Description of a character who has their hand caught in barbed wire fence, and blood trickling down his arm, before being ripped off the barbed wire in a violent way by a police officer. Descriptions of a pub brawl, with a 'pint glass' coming out of a character’s face 'embedded in his mouth and chin. There was still some Guinness in it, mixing with the blood that was pissing out of his eyes and nose' and 'the Protestant Notts County supporter had an axe sticking out of his back'.

Bullying, blackmail, online abuse (possible)
A father bullies his son about his PTSD and tells stories of teasing and picking on his IRA colleagues when they were making explosives.

Cigarettes, smoking (mild)
Description of a character lighting cigarette and smoking in.

Coarse language (mild)
'Words used include 'Fuck', 'Shitarse', 'Cunt'.

Contains words & descriptions that may be culturally sensitive, racist language (mild)
An ex-pat British Australian and an Irish resident in Britain refer to Pakistani cab drivers as 'Pakis'. Old Irish IRA man refers to first nations Australians as Aboriginality.

Drugs, depiction of someone on drugs (mild)
Character's family are involved in the trafficking of illegal substances, including ecstasy, but mostly the non-illegal substance viagra.

Loss of loved one, death of a parent and/or spouse (mild)
A parent and spouse has passed ten years earlier and is remembered fondly.

Loud noise, loud music (possible)
Possible loud sounds simulating fireworks and bombs.

Medical procedures, hospitalisation (mild)
Mentions of character as a child requiring surgery to treat their cancer 'Photos of Rose with no hair and that big scar across her belly and so small in that hospital bed.'

Racism, systemic racism, racial profiling, police brutality, Islamophobia, genocide, white supremacy, antisemitism, hate crimes, lynching, Black trauma, white nationalism (mild)
A character is a former IRA soldier, and has a strong anti-British sentiment in the way they talk about Britain and British people, e.g. 'Fuckin English Pig'.

Rape, sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual violence, statutory rape (mild)
A joke is made about the catholic church and sexual abuse cases 'What's the difference between a Roman Catholic and an Irish Catholic? One fucks children in the name of God and one kills children in the name of God.'

Sex, descriptions of sex (mild)
A character discussing having sex in Nottingham Forest 'Laid your mother down in there. Amongst the leaves.'

Suicide, mention of suicide (mild)
Story is told of an IRA working exploding himself with a bomb in a street on the way to London.

Terminal illness, cancer (mild)
A character has suffered from Kidney Cancer when they were a child, and are living with effects of operations on their body, including the inability to bear children 'The tumour wiped out half my organs, my body can't support a baby.'

Trauma, PTSD, victim blaming (strong)
A character who served in the Vietnam war suffer from PTSD and instances of 'whiteouts'. These whiteouts are depicted onstage. The trauma also lives in the body of the character, due to their exposure to Agent Orange during their time in Vietnam 'All my mates dropping off from leukaemia. The rest of us are covered in rashes. Suffering migraines, blackouts. Whiteouts. Our wives have their insides ruined. Our children are born with harelips and their feet back to front, and their spines half grown and tumours in their bellies.' Play also includes threats of violence 'I'm gonna fucking kill you.'

Violence, physical assault (strong)
Descriptions of a pub brawl, with a 'pint glass' coming out of a character’s face 'embedded in his mouth and chin. There was still some Guinness in it, mixing with the blood that was pissing out of his eyes and nose' and 'the Protestant Notts County supporter had an axe sticking out of his back'. Descriptions of desire to cause harm to parents of children 'I'm thinking, you bitch I hope it fucking dies inside you.... I want to punch her belly and walk away when she falls to the ground.... I want to put my hand down his pants and rip his fucking cock off and squeeze it dry of any seed.'

War, bombing, refugee crisis (strong)
The play touches on and talks about the effects of the Vietnam war and the Irish/Northern Irish conflicts on characters and their families. Extensive conversations around events soldiers were witness to, and conditions they found themselves in during war times. Scenes include reading the numbers of injuries and deaths in newspaper reports from IRA bombing attacks in England, and references to the Omagh bombings. Description of Semtex used to create explosives. Also mentions the Guy Fawkes plot to blow up parliament on the fifth of November.