My Father’s Story

Eighty-four-year-old Neville sits in his lounge room, sharing the funny, painful and sometimes fragmented memories of his extraordinary life. As stories of wartime childhood, family, marriage, fatherhood, success and loss unfold, it becomes clear that Neville is struggling to accept the death of Dorothy, his beloved wife of fifty-eight years. Speaking directly to the audience as though they are visitors in his home, Neville searches for companionship and meaning through his memories. My Father’s Story is an intimate and moving one-man play about ageing, grief, resilience and the stories that preserve a life.

My Father’s Story explores family, ageing, memory, loneliness, grief and resilience. It considers how personal history is preserved through stories, even when memories become fragmented, uncertain or contradictory. Through Neville’s reflections, the play examines fatherhood, generational change, hearing and cognitive decline, and the emotional need to remain connected and understood. It also celebrates the humour, endurance and ordinary experiences that give one person’s life lasting meaning.

A one-act dramatic monologue performed by a single actor. Neville, an eighty-four-year-old man, sits alone in a lounge chair and addresses the audience as though they are visiting him. His memories move deliberately between different periods rather than following a strict chronology, reflecting the uncertain and associative nature of recollection. A lounge chair, television, lamp, telephone, photograph and glass of scotch create an intimate domestic setting. The audience becomes Neville’s silent companion as he recalls childhood, family, sport, war, loss and ageing. The script was developed from four interview sessions conducted with Marty MonStar’s father during November and December 2021.

My Father’s Story is based upon the memories and family history of Neville, Marty MonStar’s father. Born in Cairns in 1938, Neville recalls growing up in Queensland during the Second World War and the post-war years. His memories include air-raid trenches, military activity around Cairns, relatives serving during wartime, illness connected with New Guinea and cyclone damage after the war. These personal recollections place an ordinary Australian family within significant periods of national and regional change. The play presents history through lived experience rather than as a formal historical record. The fragmented and sometimes uncertain memories are an intentional part of its portrayal of ageing. Written by Marty MonStar, the play was performed by Ian Rooney at La Mama Courthouse in February 2023.

Written by Marty MonStar, My Father’s Story is an intimate autobiographical work inspired by the life and memories of the playwright’s father, Neville Vincent Foley. The play has been associated with La Mama Theatre and is designed for close audience engagement. Neville breaks the fourth wall from the opening moments, treating the audience as unexpected visitors in his lounge room. The work requires a mature character actor capable of balancing comedy, vulnerability, confusion and grief. Its single performer, compact set and minimal technical requirements make it suitable for professional, independent, community, regional, touring and fringe-theatre productions.

An intimate lounge-room setting with an armchair, side table and practical lamp. Simple lighting and sound support Neville’s shifting memories.

Recommended for mature teenage and adult audiences.

Contains references to alcohol consumption, death, bereavement, wartime trauma, illness and family loss. The play also addresses ageing, loneliness, social isolation, fractured memory and possible cognitive and hearing decline. Some recollections may be emotionally confronting for audiences affected by grief, dementia or the declining health of a parent.