When Helen’s old friend, Nicola, comes to town for treatment, it only makes sense she should stay in the spare room. Nicola has put her faith in a shady alternative cancer clinic, and Helen is determined to be her brilliant friend and carer no matter what. But as the sleepless nights rack up, a short stay in the spare room becomes a loving, maddening battle for life.

Helen Garner’s novel has been praised for its empathy, emotional honesty, hawk-eyed detail and perfect prose. Now, with Judy Davis as Helen and Elizabeth Alexander as Nicola, it’s a tour-de-force of modern Australian theatre.

I’ll call it: Helen Garner’s our greatest living writer. I’ve been dreaming for years of putting her work on stage. The Spare Room looks like a story about dying but it’s really about what we live for: each other. It’s also by turns naughtily funny, sympathetic, cruel, invigorating. And, let’s cut to the chase, here’s a chance to see Judy and Liz in complex, nuanced roles they were born to play. It’ll only be on for a few weeks in June and July – you’ll regret it if you miss it. – Eamon