Melbourne Theatre Company’s Dying: A Memoir is a disciplined, thoughtfully constructed stage adaptation of Cory Taylor’s widely acclaimed final work. Where some productions about mortality lean toward emotional excess, this one favours restraint, precision, and intellectual clarity.
An accomplished Australian novelist and screenwriter, Taylor wrote her memoir in the final months of life after receiving a diagnosis of melanoma-related cancer. The book was praised for its directness, lucidity, and refusal to indulge in melodrama, with Taylor becoming a measured and articulate advocate for voluntary assisted dying during this period.
Benjamin Law’s adaptation honours those qualities, maintaining the memoir’s clear-eyed tone and its interest in agency, memory, and the structure of a life when viewed from its end. Law’s script avoids theatrical embellishment; instead, it preserves the author’s steady voice and commitment to plain speaking.
Director Jean Tong adopts a similarly unforced approach. The pacing is deliberate, allowing reflective space without dullness, and the staging is modest yet exact. Each element is applied with intention – nothing draws focus away from the text and its ideas.
Genevieve Morris anchors the production with a performance defined by control and understatement. She delivers Taylor’s observations with clean, unaffected clarity, allowing humour and insight to arise naturally rather than being manufactured. The effect is refreshingly grounded: intimate without sentiment, moving without emotional manipulation.
The creative team supports the material with equal restraint. James Lew’s set and costume design keeps the environment neutral and functional, enabling the text to remain central. Rachel Lee’s lighting is subtle and adaptive, marking shifts in tone without disrupting the atmosphere. Darius Kedros’ sound design provides unobtrusive texture, adding depth without crowding the performance.
Dying: A Memoir is a clear, disciplined examination of mortality and authorship – a work that respects its subject by refusing to sentimentalise or simplify her final reflections. It invites contemplation rather than emotional release, and in doing so, it honours the integrity of Taylor’s voice and intent.
Dying: A Memoir
Fairfax Studio – Arts Centre Melbourne, 100 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
Performance: Thursday 30 October 2025
Season continues to 29 November 2025
Information and Bookings: www.mtc.com.au
Images: Genevieve Morris stars in Dying: A Memoir – photos by Pia Johnson
Review: Rohan Shearn