About the book

A tale of suburban secrets broken open to the light. A mob of wild cockatoos has descended on the neighbourhood. For some they bring life and renewal - for others, death and destruction.Mick & Olive Davoren have not spoken to each other in seven years. They dance tentatively towards reconciliation. Eight year old Tim tests his courage by spending a night in the park, alone. Figgis hates the birds and their arrival sends him into tragic confrontation with Mick. These stories rise in a spiraling sarabande of exclusion and belonging.From the short story by Nobel laureate Patrick White, adapted for the stage by Andrew Hale, The Cockatoos is a quintessentially Australian tale from a master of the metaphysical.