The latest in the list of varied and engaging productions by Castlemaine Theatre Company (CTC) is about to hit the stage, offering a rare glimpse into a singular place and time. Set at the Howard Springs Quarantine Facility during the Covid-19 pandemic, Camp Darwin brings together a diverse group of Australian characters who are trying to return home.
Camp Darwin, directed by Kate Stones and written by Dr Arjun Raina, will make its debut with CTC in May and tickets are on sale now. Featuring a dedicated cast that travels to rehearsals from across Bendigo, Melbourne and more, the play is a chance for audiences to revisit and reflect upon that unprecedented time.
“When we went through this world event, I knew that I was interested in finding a story in it that was telling the story of ordinary people and ordinary characters,” playwright Arjun Raina explained.
Arjun brings his extensive experience and expertise to Castlemaine for the first time, in addition to his first-hand view of immigration quarantine. An international professional who has lectured, written and performed across the world, Arjun relocated to Australia in 2010 where he continues to earn accolades and explore inter-cultural themes.
Camp Darwin is not the first of Arjun’s plays to explore personal experiences against the backdrop of a global incident; it is also not the first to present a point of view from the outside, or in this case, the edge.
Howard Springs was the perfect springboard for thinking about some of these recurring themes. Arjun said: “Here it became very interesting: we’re all Australian citizens and residents, but for the moment we are at the edge, at the border – neither India or Australia – so we can see the settler’s story as well as the outsider’s view.”
The play follows the experiences of six people returning from different places; each assigned to their own semi-permanent cabin or ‘donga’. They are counting down the 14 days of quarantine, ever hopeful that they don’t return a positive Covid test.
“A multicultural performance is a rare event,” Arjun said, “The moment you have Indian characters and a Chinese Australian and 3 Anglo-Saxons, and they are all given equal dignity and respect, all speaking with all their power, there’s a certain magic.”
One of the actors, Ivan Sun, said he was keen to audition as soon as he heard what the play was about.
“To capture, without political judgement, the impact of detention on people is important,” Ivan said. “And the impact of Covid is still powerful. For me, it’s very important to have discussions and reflections, perhaps as a way of integrating it more healthily in life experiences.”
It will be Ivan’s first time acting in a play, but he says his related experiences have helped him prepare. Ivan is also a broadly experienced arts practitioner; he is a filmmaker, multimedia artist, curator and founder of Bauhaus Metaverse, delivering works that integrate art, technology and education (such as the House of Loong for Bendigo’s Golden Dragon Museum last year).
A focus on Covid might seem all doom and gloom, but the play contains “intricate and super-real” moments, according to Arjun, who hints about a magical, beautiful moment for audiences to look out for.
For Ivan, Camp Darwin shows the grey areas of life and may evoke memories of face masks and swabs. “I think some of the images will be confronting because a lot of us have put it out of our minds,” he concedes. “But it does celebrate the humanity of people forced into these situations. There’s a lot of light amongst the dark. It’s the human experience of being in Camp Darwin.”
- Performance Dates: 15-31 May 2026 (Fri/Sat 7.30pm and Sun 2pm)
- Location: Etty Street Room 9, Downstairs at 35 Etty Street, Castlemaine.
- For More Information contact: castlemainetheatreco@gmail.com
- Tickets are on sale now, visit: www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1556179.
This article appeared in the Tarrangower Times, 24 April 2026.
