A THEATRE 180 Production in Collaboration with WA Museum
Courage…tenacity…daring and a shipload of adventure!
The incredible true story of the most audacious prison break in Australia’s history.
The rescue of six Fenian prisoners from the fortress of Fremantle Prison was one of the most daring and audacious prison breaks in Australia’s history. Two years in the planning, involving espionage, secret letters, undercover operatives who travelled from Boston to Western Australia to enact the plan, a love affair, a rescue ship masquerading as a whaleboat, a desparate boat chase and the threat of war against the might of America, this story has all the hallmarks of a major Hollywood movie and all the heart of an Irish ballad.
Featuring Myles Pollard, Tadhg Lawrence and Taran Knight, CATALPA: Flight to Freedom is a dramatic and gripping tale of hope and adventure.
Catalpa: Flight to Freedom by Stuart Halusz & Myles Pollard launched at WA Maritime Museum, Fremantle, in October 2025.
Performances continue at venues across Western Australia in 2026.
TICKETS:
Designing CATALPA: Flight to Freedom
Walking around Fremantle within the limestone crags, wind-beaten shores and wide-berthed warehouses, there’s a palpable sense of movement, migration, hard graft and spirit, that makes itself known in the creative veins of its artisans and makers.
There’s a sense that the stories of convicts, diasporas and displaced peoples are within its folds and still resounding – political prisoners of the Hougoumont among them, their words and toils carried within the wind and etched within the porous stone.
The physicality of internment, vast ocean voyages, isolation and endurance in hot and unfamiliar lands brought a sun-seared and dark scored texture to the visual design. Meanwhile, the intricacy and audacity of a top secret international escape plot was conveyed with telegrams and dark rooms lit by flickering lamps and firelight. Celtic knots and whispers of female kin carried through nostalgic visions and fields of green.
“A masterful performance by three actors in the telling of the well-researched story of the Catalpa…very innovative and unique kaleidoscope of effective screen scenery that really brought to life this historic event.”
Mary Caroll
AUDIENCE FEEDBACK: CATALPA FLIGHT TO FREEDOM