Sue Smith’s Hydra: how love, pain and sacrifice produced an Australian classic

Running through Hydra, the new play by Australian playwright Sue Smith, is the myth of Icarus, the boy who flew so high that his wings melted and he crashed to his death in the sea near the Greek island of Samos.

• Alastair Blanshard
• The Conversation

It is an easy myth to misunderstand.

Moralists think it is a story that reinforces the importance of listening to your parents and sticking to the safe middle path – not flying “too close to the sun”.

In contrast, artists have always recognised that the appeal of the myth lies in its promise of the freedom to soar with the birds.

The conclusion may be disastrous, but the joy is in…

• Sue Smith’s Hydra: how…