A woman detaches herself from her life, seeking peace in a world almost outside of time.

On the plains near the town where she was raised, she finds herself living amongst a group of cloistered nuns. The ritual of their daily lives, prayer and chores acts on her like a benediction. But even in a sanctuary, the world can’t be kept at bay forever.

Charlotte Wood’s Booker Prize-shortlisted novel makes its way to the stage in a production that reunites director Sarah Goodes with playwright Joanna Murray Smith after their acclaimed collaborations on Julia, The Talented Mr Ripley and Switzerland. Malthouse Theatre, in assocation with Jacaranda Productions, brings together two legendary actors, Lisa McCune and Catherine McClements, in this meditation on the transcendent nature of daily life.

In this groundbreaking production, the Merlyn stage will transform into a liminal world, with immersive sound and luminous imagery, blurring the world between theatre  and art installation.

As our narrator experiences a series of tests that force her to realise that nowhere is free of challenge, she must face her past and consider the future before her. Stone Yard Devotional asks that most fundamental of questions: what makes a good life?

Original concept for dramatic adaptation conceived by Justine Clarke & Sarah Goodes

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.