THIRTY years ago Luke Icarus Simon was bashed in a callous attack in inner Sydney.
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The Cyprus-born playwright and actor was a week away from opening his second play, Fish Wednesday, when he was targeted by two men just off Oxford Street walking home from a rehearsal.
"That kind of gay bashing coloured my view of the world at the time," he said.
"Three years later in 1993 I did a play about homophobic violence, at a time that it wasn't really spoken about."
The now Corowa-based creative said it would be irresponsible for him to shy away from difficult subject matter in his work.
Simon's upcoming fifth play, A House on an Island in the Aegean, explores domestic violence in Australia, something he calls "the most urgent social issue today".
The modern Greek tragedy, starring Simon himself who also directs and produces it, will premiere in Melbourne next month.
"There is always a power imbalance in relationships," Simon said.
"We need to look at how we raise our children; we don't want to model for them that violence is the way we deal with conflict.
"A lot of gaslighting goes on in relationships too. It's important to understand that domestic and family violence is not only physical."
IN OTHER NEWS:
Forty-one years since his professional acting debut, A House on an Island in the Aegean will be Simon's ode to his birthplace and Greek-Cypriot heritage.
He migrated to Sydney aged 11 with his family during 1974, when assimilation dominated the public landscape.
"There is a cultural component of accepting and recognising where I came from," he said.
"I want to pay homage to my homeland and honour that."
In all his plays, Simon creates characters of a specific ethnicity.
His new show features five creative artists of Greek or Cypriot heritage; Kostas Moutsoulas stars alongside Simon in the production lit by Efterpi Soropos.
A House on an Island in the Aegean was scheduled to premiere at Melbourne institution La Mama Theatre in December before it was postponed owing to the global pandemic.
"I've been carrying it around in my head for two years; we've been close but not delivered it," Simon said.
"We've been in pre-production for two years now but it's been 22 years in the making with 20-something drafts to make sure it's engaging and stimulating.
"It needs to educate and entertain; we're all in this together and it should provide comfort to people."
Having moved to Corowa four years ago, Simon said it happened almost by accident after he found an online house advertisement.
"I've always wanted to live in the country," Simon said.
"It was a beautiful 1904 home that appealed to my romantic poet self.
"It's been a very healing place and I've created a beautiful garden."
Among Simon's other plays are Urban Tales of Utter Devotion and Sir while he also wrote, starred in, co-produced and directed short film, My Stamp Collection, for ABC TV inspired by his own cancer journey.
A House on an Island in the Aegean runs September 7 to 12 at La Mama Theatre, Carlton.
- For bookings phone (03) 9347 6948 or visit lamama.com.au
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