THEATRE: Hemingway - Backbone Festival

Title: Hemingway

Presented By: Matty Butler, as part of Backbone Festival 2026

Genre: Biographical drama/one-person play

Synopsis: It is 1926 and Ernest Hemingway has just published his breakthrough novel, The Sun Also Rises. Despite his emerging literary success, he returns to an empty apartment in an abandoned sawmill. Drunk, broke, divorcing his first love and preparing to marry the “other woman,” Hemingway finds himself as lost as the generation he represents. As his campaign to become king of the fiction world reaches its peak, he must confront the promises he has made and the people he has betrayed. Matty Butler distils his ten-year fascination with Hemingway into a one-person adventure and cautionary tale about the identities people construct and the cost of becoming trapped within their own fiction.

Performance Dates:

• Saturday 3 October 2026

• Saturday 10 October 2026

• Saturday 17 October 2026

Performance Times:

• Saturday 3 October — 9:00 PM–10:00 PM

• Saturday 10 October — 8:30 PM–9:30 PM

• Saturday 17 October — 4:00 PM–5:00 PM

Performance Location and Address: Ron Hurley Theatre, Seven Hills Hub, 28 Tallowwood Street, Seven Hills QLD 4170

Ticket Costs:

• General — $25

• Concession — $20

• Additional booking fees apply.

• A day-pass discount may apply when tickets for multiple eligible Backbone Festival performances on the same day are added to one cart.

Ticket Link: Book Hemingway

Warnings:

• Suicide

• War

• Bullfighting

• Hunting and animal cruelty

• Sexual references

• Divorce

• Alcoholism

Recommended Age: Due to its exploration of suicide, war, animal cruelty, sexual references and alcoholism, the production is recommended for mature audiences. Patrons under 18 must be accompanied by a guardian because Backbone Festival operates within a licensed area.

Duration: Approximately 60 minutes

Cast:

• Matty Butler — Ernest Hemingway

Creative Team:

• Director and Dramaturg — Karina White

• Writer, Performer and Producer — Matty Butler

• Sound and Music Designer — Patrick Galen-Mules

• Marketing and Graphic Designer — Dem McCarthy
  

Production Website:

• Backbone Festival – Hemingway
  

Other Information:

• Seven Hills Hub has 66 parking spaces, including two designated accessible parking spaces for permit holders.

• Patrons with access requirements should contact Backbone Youth Arts before booking to confirm arrangements for the Ron Hurley Theatre.

• Bus routes 212, 215 and 220 stop at Agnew Street, Stop 42, approximately 350 metres from the venue.

• Morningside railway station is closed for renovations; Norman Park is the closest operating railway station.

• Entry to Seven Hills Hub is via Tallowwood Street through the car park or through Griffith Place Park.

• Backbone Youth Arts can be contacted at info@backbone.org.au or 07 3544 6139.