Topo

Presented by the Brain and Mind Institute

Thursday 17 May to Saturday 9 June
Times: Tues 6.30pm, Wed-Sat 8pm, Sat Matinee 1pm
Tickets: Full $30, Conc $25, Group 10+ $25, 30+ $20
Special Offer: Sydney Uni Sport Members - Adult tickets at Concession Prices for all performances of TOPO
Bookings: 02 9351 7940

Enrique “Topo” Rodriguez played Rugby Union for Australia in the 1984 Grand Slam tour of the United Kingdom. He retired from playing rugby in 1987 and became extremely ill with depressive episodes lasting continuously for eight years before he was diagnosed with bipolar mood disorder.

The play describes theatrically the 1984 tour, his coach Alan Jones and Mark Ella, an Aboriginal player who was happy to retire early at the end of the tour. On the other hand, Topo continued-on with his career for several years. While he was playing rugby depression was dormant, and then it surfaces immediately after he stopped playing leading to extreme unhappiness.

The play traces the triumph, and tribulations, of the coach, the two players, contrasting the differences in each others lives. The play is a keen insight into the effects of melancholia and depression on an otherwise high achieving and healthy person’s life.