More than 50 people were killed and hundreds were injured in the London suicide bombings on July 7, 2005. But even on a terrible day, there were acts to give inspiration and hope.
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Thursday, a play by British writer Bryony Lavery, focuses on the latter aspect in an allegorical story based on the events of the day.
This production, directed by Chris Drummond (When the Rain Stops Falling), premiered in Adelaide and opens at the Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre, on Wednesday night.
Kate Mulvany plays Rose, a character inspired by Adelaide woman Gill Hicks, who lost her legs in the bombings but whose life was saved by strangers.
''It's a beautiful piece,'' Mulvany said - and not one that concerned itself with religion or politics. ''It's on a really human level. It's about that day in the lives of many people who happened to be on that train in that carriage and their loved ones.''
She said the theme of the play was ''we are all connected''.
The person next to you on the train who might be annoying you by chomping on an apple or exhaling bad breath might also be the person who, a split second later, might save your life.
Hicks, she said, was very impressed with the play and was still ''incredibly close'' to the people who rescued her. ''It's not a sad story - the audience will walk out feeling an inner hope and love of each other.''
Mulvany last performed in Canberra as Lady Macbeth in Bell Shakespeare's Macbeth and said she loved Canberra audiences. ''They're savvy and quite generous with their response, which I really love.''
She has also visited the city frequently from her home in Sydney for the Anzac Day dawn service. Her father served in Vietnam and she was an ''Agent Orange baby'': she was diagnosed at the age of three with Wilms' tumour, a cancer of the kidneys that resulted in the loss of a kidney, an adrenal gland, and also affected her rib cage and spine.
She underwent treatment for several years before getting the all-clear at 10 years old but there were continuing effects. ''I can't have kids because of it and there's a lot of pain,'' she said.
But, like Hicks, she said it also affected her for the better.
''It made me look on life in a more positive and appreciative light, a grateful light … I could be dead.''
■ Thursday is on at the Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre until Saturday at 8pm with a 2pm matinee on Saturday. Tickets $40-$73. Bookings: phone 6275 2700 or visit canberratheatrecentre.com.au
