West Gate at Melbourne Theatre Company tickets

Award-winning director Iain Sinclair (A View from the Bridge) returns to Melbourne Theatre Company to helm this haunting and compassionate new work by Dennis McIntosh – a powerful retelling of a defining moment in Australian history.

Screen veterans Steve Bastoni (Police Rescue, The Matrix Reloaded), Daniela Farinacci (Lantana), Logie Award winner Lachy Hulme (Romper Stomper, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga) and Darcy Kent (New Gold Mountain) lead a powerhouse cast in this searing retelling of a foundational Melbourne story.

On 15 October 1970, dozens of workers were mid-construction on Melbourne’s West Gate Bridge when it collapsed in what is still Australia’s deadliest industrial accident. Thirty-five men were killed as countless more workers and families were left forever changed.

Young Scrapper is a mouthy labourer born into the construction union. When he’s teamed up with veteran welder Vittorio, his attitude starts to improve. But as disquiet mounts about working conditions and questionable safety measures, their lives are put on the line. With increasing pressure to get the bridge finished, the engineers scramble to placate the workers and keep things moving, but none of them have ever built a steel bridge before – let alone one this size. When the structure comes crashing down, who will take the fall?