Seed Hunters
Writer: Carol Dance
Director: Melissa Paris
Pitt Street Uniting Church Performance Space
October 17 – October 26, 2025
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Carol Dance to explore the inspiration behind her latest play, Seed Hunters. “The story is about how two sisters decide to use different techniques to find a partner,” Dance says.
The first sister, the youthfully idealistic Bridget, decides to become a Seed Hunter, an international movement of women who are fed up with toxic men. Dance explains, “The theory is that you have genes from all over the place, then you’ll be a broad-thinking, internationalist, global thinking type person.” By contrast, Bridget’s sister Sarah, “doesn’t do any research at all and basically is attracted to men as a consequence of their chemistry.”
“It sounds so serious, but it’s a comedy,” Dance adds, “It’s sarcasm. It tackles the big questions with humour. The duality between one sister being guided by chemistry and the other insisting on doing all the research, that’s a fun thing.”
Though framed as a comedy, the show never quite sparks the laughter it is aiming for. While the premise is conceptually intriguing, the performance lacks dramatic tension and moves with little urgency. At times, the script felt overwritten with too much exposition.
Nevertheless, Madison Chippendale’s portrayal of Sarah is a highlight. Chippendale brought depth to a character that could have easily slipped into cliché. Equally strong was Theo Rule as Jack, a concerned brother whose protective instincts added emotional weight to the story. Joan Rodd, brings warmth to her role as the grandmother and matriarch – and former radical – who, while supportive of her granddaughters, also brings a generational perspective.
The play has a dual timeline and jumps from 1977 Peking to modern day. The cue cards announcing each location, while initially helpful, grew repetitive over time. Dance chose to begin the story in Peking because “that’s when China opened up post-Mao Tse Tung… and invited lots of international students to come to Peking”. The students gather in underground tunnels where they “really create a little society… and it’s not going to have the problems of the big bad world outside.”
Seed Hunters is premiering at Pitt Street Uniting Church Performance Space. Dance expressed her delight at staging the performance in this beautiful, historic space. The “tunnel that goes from one part of the church to another” lends itself perfectly to the underground student hideaway of the opening scene. However, the production’s use of the round felt underdeveloped, with much of the action favouring the rear of the stage or facing inwards, leaving some sections of the audience less engaged.
When asked what she hopes audiences take away from the show, Dance reflects, “Generally speaking, people think “We’re in charge. We know what we’re doing. But this play asks, do we really? Or is the evolutionary determinant much stronger than we give credit for?” She also hopes audiences embrace the humour. “I hope they come away thinking it’s funny,” Dance smiles, “I seriously hope they walk out laughing.”
While the sincerity of Carol Dance’s intentions is clear, the performance ultimately fell short of its desired impact. Seed Hunters would benefit from further development to fully realise its potential.
