Wake

WAKE

Theatre – Staged Reading

It’s been said that behind every great man stands a great woman. In Wake, acclaimed playwright Ron Elisha interrogates two words in that aphorism: ‘behind’ and ‘great’.

Through the voices of four women — Mileva Marić, Martha Freud, Alma Mahler and Katia Mann — familiar histories are retold from an entirely different perspective, laying bare the emotional wreckage left in the pursuit of genius, ambition and public greatness.

Performed by four actors in-role, the work moves between wit, grief and psychological insight to reveal not only what these women endured, but the unexpected forms of awakening and liberation that followed.

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Creatives & Cast

Ron Elisha - Playwright
Melbourne-based playwright whose work has been produced internationally and translated into several languages. He is the recipient of four Australian Writers’ Guild Awards from 13 nominations. Recent works include Anne Being Frank (Sydney Opera House) and Answers (Latvia, 2025).
Suzanne Heywood - Director
Director, acting coach and dialogue and dialect specialist working across theatre, film and television. Her credits span productions with Melbourne Theatre Company, Malthouse, VCA and major Australian screen and stage productions. Wake marks her fifth collaboration with playwright Ron Elisha following Rootless Cosmopolitans (Monstrous Theatre Productions), I Don’t Really Care (Melbourne Cabaret Festival), Unsolicited Male and Donating Felix (Q44 Theatre Company).
Jasmin Certoma - Mileva Maric
Actor, writer and producer working across theatre, film and screen. Theatre credits include We’re All Terrible (Well, Actually), Chimerica (New Theatre), Brave People (S+S Festival / KXT) and Love All (The Concourse). Screen credits include Home and Away and the award-winning comedy series Inadequate.

Photo credit: Alex Vaughan
Sarah Jane Starr - Alma Mahler
Actor working across theatre, screen and voice performance. Theatre credits include Mercury Poisoning to Gods and Little Fishes (KXT), The Approach (Flight Path Theatre), Dead Skin (KXT), Picnic at Hanging Rock (New Theatre) and Fawlty Towers Live. Screen credits include Home and Away and Skinford.
Lucy Miller - Katia Mann
Actor and producer working across theatre and contemporary performance. Theatre credits include Bonnie and Clyde (Hayes Theatre), The Female of the Species (Old Fitz), Ophelia Thinks Harder (KXT), Honey Drown (Darlinghurst Theatre), and premieres of new Australian works including Dirtyland (New Theatre) and My Private Parts (Seymour Centre).
Kath Gordon - Martha Freud
Actor working across theatre, film and television in Australia and internationally. Theatre credits include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Melbourne Theatre Company), The Seagull (KXT), Alabama Rain (Belvoir 25A) and The Queens City of the South (Qtopia). Screen credits include Mother and Son, Neighbours, Home and Away and All Saints.