Missing Link tells the story of Holly and Eddie – a teenage sister and brother on a road trip across Australia in search of their identities. They have both just discovered they are products of sperm donor conception. Angry and confused, they set off to meet the donor who helped give life to Holly seventeen years earlier. Based on true stories of young people conceived through donor sperm, this is a raw, funny, fast-paced exploration of identity, honesty, and family.
​
Highly physical, dynamic, funny, and moving, Missing Link takes the form of the classic road movie (on stage). The show provides a potent vehicle for the exploration of themes of identity, biological origin, family, and legal rights. It is text-based, actor-driven, raw, and intimate theatre.
​
The show was inspired by the true story of donor conceived adult Geraldine Hewitt, who conducted research into donor conception and identity as part of her Year 12 studies that became the largest study of its kind in the world. She found that donor-conceived children and adults overwhelmingly have identity issues relating to their unknown biological origins.
​
In Arena’s previous works, video projection has been used only in the in-theatre shows. Missing Link is the first Arena show to incorporate a video projection system compact enough to be suitable for schools touring. The screen was used to represent the rear windscreen of the car which the characters were travelling in and was most effectively used in a sequence where the protagonists are chased by a truck and forced to jump over a creek.
​
Missing Link premiered in 2006 with a tour of Victorian regional and metropolitan schools. Since then, it has toured: 2007, Victoria: In-Schools’ Tour, Regional Arts Victoria (7 – 11 May), South Australia: In-Schools’ Tour, Come Out Festival (14 – 18 May) and in 2009, Victoria: In-Schools’ Tour, Regional Arts Victoria (28 May – 8 June).
Credits
Co-writers Lally Katz and Chris Kohn
Director Chris Kohn, Christian Leavesley (2009 remount)
Designer Emily Barrie
Video Designer Chris Kohn
Video Design Mentor Rhian Hinkley
Performers Jonathan Burns, Jamieson Caldwell, Emmaline Carroll, Luke Ryan (2006)
Stage Manager Lisa Stockdale (2006, 2007), Rosie Collins (2009)
​
​