Now the company hopes to tap deep into your emotions with Hurt – a play that dissects modern relationships and emotions triggered by a family crisis.

Created by award winning Australian playwright and novelist Catherine McKinnon, Hurt explores the issues of responsibility and guilt exposed when a child is hurt in an accident, and the life-altering potential a traumatic event can reveal.

“It is very fast paced and really set in the crucible of a family crisis and there’s a lot of mystery around what happens,” HotHouse artistic director Lyn Wallis says.

“You really feel like you’re going on a journey for an hour.”

​The WhiteBox Theatre production is directed by Kim Hardwick and Martin Kinnane builds the tense drama through fast dialogue and smart lighting design.

Audiences will be on the edge of their seat for just over an hour, transported to the starkly lit hospital waiting room where rapid-fire dialogue reveals the secrets, motivations and grief of the three characters.

The performances of Meredith Penman, Chris Stollery and Gabrielle Scawthorn draw audiences in, and allow us to wonder how do our best intentions get messed up, and how do we right them again?

Following on from HotHouse Theatre’s recent season shows, Ms Wallis says Hurt will reward theatre goers who are hungry for a contemporary Australian play that showcases some the best of Australian theatre talent and creative magic.

“I like to get the best I can find, and to give audiences here different experiences so they really see the depth and breadth of work that’s been made around the country,” she says.

“I do love this kind of play. There’s nothing boring about it, you are right in there trying to work out how all the relationships really fit together.”