21 HEARTS Returns by Popular Demand! Fremantle Press and THEATRE 180 Team Up for a New Teen Book on Australian War Hero Vivian Bullwinkel.
Published in association with THEATRE 180, Courage Be My Friend by Jenny Davis OAM is the story of Sister Vivian Bullwinkel, who was the only survivor of the Bangka Island Massacre during World War II. Returning for it’s second theatrical run, the theatre production that inspired the book is called 21 HEARTS: Vivian Bullwinkel and the Nurses of the Vyner Brooke.
THEATRE 180 Artistic Director Stuart Halusz says being able to bring to life the incredible tenacity and strength of Vivian Bullwinkel, and the nurses during that horrific event in 1942, is truly an honour and one that has been supported right across the country, including from family of the nurses through to the Australian War Memorial. Vivian’s selfless efforts to support her fellow prisoners of war in a Japanese camp garnered her many medals and saw her go on to become the first woman to have an Australian War Memorial statue dedicated to her in 2022. The Vivian Bullwinkel Wing at Hollywood Private Hospital in Perth was renamed in her honour.
THEATRE 180 evolved from Agelink Theatre, a 25-year success story creating theatre from oral histories, founded by Jenny Davis OAM. The company focuses on great stories, well told, that bring together generations and communities.
The return of 21 HEARTS: Vivian Bullwinkel and the Nurses of the Vyner Brooke will take place on 30 October to 10 November at the Como Theatre, with a special launch event where Crow Books will be selling copies of Courage Be My Friend by Jenny Davis.
