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Suburban Sydney - A study in marital fidelity and political fidelity. Fidelity is the story of Jane, a forty-two old investment banker and her husband Jonathan, who is a thirty-six year old war historian. When they were first married fifteen years before they had both agreed not to have children. Since then Jane has supported Jonathan through his Ph.D. and now is the major breadwinner of the family. She also semi-supports her younger sister Kathy, a journalist and her husband Musa who is a known poet (in Europe) and political exile from Chechnya. They have baby twin daughters.
On the eve of her forty-second birthday Jane announces that she is going to retire to have children. Jonathan is furious – for him the decision not to have children was both political and finite. However his attitude softens as he realises Jane is determined. In fact she suspects she might be pregnant already.
Meanwhile Jonathan – who’s writing his first book – is interviewed by a young fan of his on community radio. Stacey is a dynamic, self-made ambitious woman in her early twenties. Jonathan is flattered by Stacey’s admiration and knowledge of his work.
At the same time Musa is struggling to find both employment and a publisher for his poetry. Jonathan and Musa meet regularly at a bar, after bumping into Stacey, Musa teases Jonathan about his fidelity to his wife. When Jane discovers she's actually hit menopause and is not pregnant - relationships begin to fragment.
"Tobsha Learner's Fidelity was originally commissioned by Playbox Theatre in 1997, but arrives with a contemporary feel in its premiere by Tamarama Rock Surfers at the Old Fitzroy. Its dialogue is sophisticated and crisp, the characters drawn with complexity and insight and the themes strikingly relevant."
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