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Leah Purcell

Friends of QPAC Special Event In Conversation with Leah Purcell

18 May 2026, 6pm
Glasshouse Theatre

  • Friends of QPAC Special Event

    This event is offered to Friends of QPAC members. To become a Friend of QPAC and to start receiving exclusive benefits and opportunities, visit our Friends of QPAC page here.

Reserve Your Ticket
Free
1 hour
no interval, subject to change without notice

Join us for an intimate evening with Leah Purcell as she reflects on the remarkable evolution of The Drover’s Wife – The Opera – from her first childhood encounter with Henry Lawson’s story to its transformation across stage, screen and opera. This conversation will explore her creative inspirations, the shifting narrative across forms, and the collaborative process of writing a libretto with composer George Palmer, as well as the integration of cultural dance, song and instrumentation within an operatic world.

Facilitated by internationally acclaimed playwright and long-­term collaborator Wesley Enoch, this discussion will also explore what it means to Leah to pass the role of Molly Johnson to her niece, rising opera star Nina Korbe, and what it means to see the story carried forward by the next generation.

  • Haven’t booked tickets to The Drover’s Wife – The Opera yet? Book here!

Important Information

Featuring

Leah Purcell AM

Director

Leah Purcell AM is an internationally acclaimed actor, writer, director and producer for stage and screen, and a proud Goa-Gunggari-Wakka Wakka Murri woman from Queensland.

Leah is best known for her landmark work The Drover’s Wife, which she adapted from her award-winning stage play into a novel and feature film. She wrote, directed and starred in the film, earning major honours including the AACTA Award for Best Lead Actress and the Australian Directors’ Guild Award for Best Direction. The original play premiered at Belvoir in 2016 and swept major awards across the Sydney Theatre Awards and Helpmann Awards.

A highly sought-after screen actor, Leah has appeared in acclaimed films such as The Last Cab to Darwin, Lantana and The Proposition, and television series including Wentworth and Redfern Now. Her recent screen work includes starring roles in The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, High Country and the feature film Shayda, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Wesley Enoch AM

Facilitator

Wesley Enoch AM is an internationally acclaimed playwright and artistic director, hailing from Stradbroke Island (Minjeribah) and is a proud Noonuccal Nuugi man.

Wesley has written and directed iconic Indigenous theatre productions, including his acclaimed work, The 7 Stages of Grieving, which he directed and co-wrote with Deborah Mailman 1995. Wesley wrote and directed The Sunshine Club for Queensland Theatre Company which won the 2000 Matilda Award, and in 2004 he directed the original stage production of The Sapphires which won the 2005 Helpmann Award for Best Play.

Previously, Wesley was the Artistic Director at Sydney Festival from 2017 to 2020 and in 2021, he returned to Brisbane as the inaugural Indigenous Chair in the Creative Industries at QUT.

Behind the Scenes of The Drover’s Wife

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