"We need to believe in those who came before, the people from whom we spring. To know they had moments of nobility. Because nobody wants to feel they're the seed of monsters. "
Tim Winton, JUICE
Three generations of lives built on lies.
What do we owe the people we love when loving them could cost us everyting?
LEGACY is an intimate family drama that begins in the wake of a devastating letter and unfolds in a household where everything is already only tenuously held together.
When an unexpected letter arrives at the home of retired army officer Nathan Goodwin, it exposes a decades-old secret that threatens to unravel three generations of one family. As long-buried truths emerge, parents, children and former partners are forced to confront an unsettling question: is family defined by blood, by love, or by the stories we choose to believe?
Set over a series of escalating confrontations, Legacy explores the invisible inheritance passed from one generation to the next—not just genes, but silence, shame, parenting styles, trauma and expectations.
At its centre is fifteen-year-old Brent, an isolated and troubled teenager caught in the emotional fallout of the adults around him: his mother Helen, determined to control what truths are told; his father Tom, struggling to find his place; his grandfather Nathan, whose certainty about family is shattered; and his uncle Nicholas, whose unexpected letter sets everything in motion. Hovering over them is Sabine, the dead matriarch whose secrets reach far beyond the grave.
As the family’s carefully constructed version of the past collapses, each revelation forces another into the open.
And Brent finds himself carrying the weight of secrets that were never his to bear.
Legacy examines the complexity of modern parenting, mental health, masculinity, loyalty, and the moral dilemma of whether every truth should be told. It asks uncomfortable questions about nature versus nurture, the responsibilities of parents to their children, and whether love can survive when the foundations on which it was built are revealed to be false.
Themes I am hoping to explore include
the generational ripple effects of long held secrets
the fragility of identity
The cost of silence and betrayal
The struggle for connection in the face of inherited shame
What makes us a parent
Legacy asks whether the greatest inheritance we leave our children is our DNA—or the truths, lies and wounds we pass down without ever meaning to.
Development
As of August 2026, I’ve been developing Legacy for around two years. During that time, individual scenes have been tested through multiple public readings in both Sydney and London, allowing the play to evolve in front of an audience.
Over the past six months, Legacy has also had three full development readings, each one providing invaluable insight into the characters, structure and emotional journey of the play. With every reading, the script has been challenged, reshaped and refined—and it continues to evolve as it moves closer to production.