The Last Boy on Earth by Brendan Hogan

RECOMMENDED FOR: Years 4-6

CAST SIZE: 5 characters

A PLAY TO: Read, read aloud, study, perform, use as stimulus for making and responding.

GENRE: Comedy, drama, aspects of fantasy, puppetry

THEMES: Friendship, community, sustainability

CURRICULUM LINKS: The Arts-Drama, Science, General Capabilities – Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking, Personal and Social Learning, Cross curriculum priority – Sustainability

SYNOPSIS: Sprout’s home is a dump. Planet Earth is a dump. There’s one giant waste transfer station, except nothing gets recycled anymore! The year is 2043 and the world has ended. Human life is all but extinct … except for Sprout, the last boy on Earth. THE LAST BOY ON EARTH is a funny and gutsy play about sustainability, humanity, and the future of our planet.

STAGING: Sprout’s home is a bit like a cave, constructed from the junk of others and covered in white dust. Every aspect of his home is something that has either been recycled, reused or repaired. There are several cupboards or drawers which are labelled, ‘Do not open’. Elsewhere there are painted signs of rules and manifestos. There are piles of rubbish, grouped by purpose or material. Although this is a small cast, the setting and staging offer good opportunities for other children to research and create the set and staging, move pieces of set, and work within the space, linking design to recycling and sustainability.

We acknowledge that we live and create on unceded lands. We pay our respects to the First Peoples of Australia, and to their elders past, present and future.

© Australian Plays Transform 2024