The War in Afghanistan on stage at Queensland Theatre

Queensland Theatre’s final production of the year is set to be a ‘revelation for audiences’, writes Phil Brown.

First Casualty boot camp

He won’t be disclosing military secrets but army officer Christopher Johnston is nervous about how his play about Afghanistan will be received by his superiors.

First Casualty, a gripping drama about Aussie soldiers at war in Afghanistan, is Queensland Theatre’s final production for the year.

It’s on at the Bille Brown Theatre from November 12 and Johnston, 45, a Lieutenant Colonel, will be there with his comrades to see how it goes.

Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Johnston in the war zone.

Lieutenant Colonel Johnston is currently the army attache designate for Japan, is learning Japanese and will deploy to Japan next year before taking up the role in 2024.

“That will probably depend on the outcome of this interview,” Lieutenant Colonel Johnston says when we meet at Queensland Theatre on day one of rehearsals.

“I’ll either be going to Tokyo as the army attache or I’ll be a staff officer grade 2 in charge of blanket folding in Dubbo.”

Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Johnston CSC alongside Queensland Theatre Artistic Director Lee Lewis. Picture: Zak Simmonds

First Casualty, directed by QT’s artistic director Lee Lewis, is an imagined account of soldiers on a remote patrol base in southern Afghanistan, informed by the authentic experience of Johnston and his colleagues.

The play casts light on a story rarely seen on the Australian stage.

“In 2011 I deployed to Afghanistan as an intelligence officer,” Johnston says.

“At that time our regular soldiers were stepping out daily on long, dangerous foot patrols into the ancient valleys of Uruzgan province then returning to austere combat outposts we shared with the Afghan Army. First Casualty is set on one of these outposts, which I have called Mirage.

Mitchell Bourke plays Captain Trent Kelly in First Casualty

“My play is set in 2011 and by focusing on a small group of soldiers I can portray the competing dynamics which I think ultimately defined our campaign.

“Afghanistan has become so contentious, and our conduct there so controversial, so political, I thought it was important to put a human face on the conflict, to tell the story of our soldiers in their own language, to honour them and their families to understand the impact of our longest war.”

Lee Lewis seeing this story told “live onstage” and “not in film” will be “a revelation for audiences”.

“First Casualty is not an anti-war story, or a pro-war story,” she says.

“It’s a story about our sons, husbands and fathers, people we love.

“It is a window in on the Australian soldier’s experience of a conflict we are only beginning to understand as a nation.”

Rising star Mitchell Bourke plays the lead role of Captain Trent Kelly, a soldier from Townsville and the cast includes Afghan actors Reza Momenzada and Arwin Arwin.

The actors spent several days on a boot camp training in the bush with Lieutenant Colonel Johnston to get a feel for their roles.

queenslandtheatre.com.au