Culture wars and a swing to the right: A new take on Gone With the Wind is coming

A satirical new take on Gone With the Wind takes to the stage at the Malthouse Theatre next year, as part of a slate of world premieres revealed in the theatre’s newly unveiled 2027 program. Margaret Mitchell’s classic 1936 American Civil War novel, perhaps best known for its 1939 film adaptation starring Vivien Leigh as heroine Scarlett O’Hara, is transplanted to contemporary Australia, with the culture wars and the split in the political right taking centre stage.

The map of Australia is literally turned on its side, with Western Australia standing in for the South, and the East Coast cities becoming the Union. “The Civil War is the perfect vehicle to talk about an Australia that feels like it’s tearing at the seams,” says James Jackson, one of the creators of the show. “We’re interested in what happens when one political class gets replaced by another.