Cover image: Claire Fermo and Maitland Schnaars in Heart is a Wasteland. Credit Jessica Wyld

Heart is a Wasteland

Subiaco Arts Centre, 21 October 2025

What good is redemption in a world where the hardships outnumber the smallest wins? In their final production for 2025, Yirra Yaakin get to the heart of the matter.

A duologue featuring Wilman Noongar actor Claire Fermo opposite proud Nyaki Nyaki man Maitland Schnaars (also Yirra Yaakin’s Artistic Director and co-director of this piece), it starts with a song.

Lover, one of six tunes penned by songwriter Lydia Fairhall for the production, introduces us to Ferno’s Raye. Plying her trade in South Australian country towns as a country-folk singer and relying on sales of her EP at $10 a pop, she’s working her way back to Alice Springs in the hope of reconnecting with 10-year old son Elvis, who lives there with her mother as his legal guardian.

En route she finds a fan in Dan, a fellow wanderer and lost soul with a backstory of his own. Dan is in a long-distance relationship with Michelle, an unseen character who seems to be of little consequence once our leads have shared a couple of drinks. After shacking up together, Dan joins Raye on the road.

Their next stop, “Coober Pedy, city of romance,” sees things blossom and faulter in equal measure. Designer Eilish Campbell’s simple set shines, as both a depiction of the outback’s open expanses and the inside of the grungy hotels Raye plays in, with just a small stage enabling our suspension of disbelief. Sat on the edge of the stage, our leads can be pictured in the hotel parking lot as readily as the side of a bed.

Not every post is a winner. Although her acting steals the show with an emotive portrayal of Raye, Fermo is prone to the odd flat note when singing. And believable as they are individually, the chemistry between she and Schnaars isn’t quite where it needs to be for us to wholly invest in their love story.

But John Harvey’s heartfelt script shines as Raye and Dan navigate their demons, a haphazard relationship with alcohol, and a tumultuous love affair that brings out the best and worst in both, mirroring one another’s respective redemption arcs. This is where the production is at its best.

Unafraid to explore complex portrayals of Aboriginal people working in mining and having children raised by others, these themes hit hard. As much as we may expect a comedy or musical coming in, at its core Heart is a Wasteland is a drama illustrating how seemingly fleeting connections can lead to deeper resolutions, best illustrated in Raye’s final song for the night, the eponymous Heart is a Wasteland.

Special mention must be made of Aunty Liz Hayden’s Welcome to Country. Readying us for the road trip through the outback to follow, she’s thoroughly enchanting warming up the opening night audience, reminding us of how special the Noongar land we are seated on is, and imploring that we show it the respect it deserves.

Heart is a Wasteland runs until  18-23, 2025.