A comedy-meets-conspiracy that challenges ideas of identity, motherhood, and what it truly means to save the world, Scene Theatre Sydney presents world premiere of Seed Hunters by Australian playwright Carol Dance at the Pitt Street Uniting Church Performance Space this October.
Directed by Melissa Paris and featuring a stellar cast of eleven, this part-satire, part social experiment explores the international movement of the seed hunter – a group of women determined to save the world from toxic males by tracking down genetically diverse men to father their children. It’s whacky, but they’re determined, and it’s supported by the science!
Bob, a young Australian, studies in Peking in 1976 and carouses with other international students. A beautiful Argentine seed hunter and her jealous admirer spell disaster for Bob. He escapes and returns to Sydney only to discover a secret that casts a spell over his life.
Now in 2025, the international movement of seed hunters has grown. They are determined to have healthy, peaceful children. Bob’s niece is a seed hunter and plots her conquest, even as her sister can’t resist the ‘chemistry’ of an exotic lover. Dorothy, the family matriarch, finally steps in to control her unruly and naïve granddaughters. Bob, meanwhile, decides to return to old haunts in Beijing to face his demons of 50 years ago.
“Why do these toxic males keep returning in human history? Is it nature or nurture? Are they born or bred? Why are some men wonderfully peaceful and others outrageously aggressive? Could a dedicated global women’s movement pit the balance toward the creation of the peaceful ones? Seed Hunters explores these questions,” says Playwright Carol Dance.
“When I first encountered Seed Hunters, I was struck by its bold, unapologetic reverence for a genera on that dared to question everything and by how fiercely relevant its themes remain,” says Director Melissa Paris.
“No matter the political, social or environmental circumstances, the ‘freedom to create’ is a driving force of nature that comes from within. Carol Dance gives us a vivid window into the fiery determination idealists, past and present.”
Seed Hunters asks where are these secret groups of women now… and will they succeed?
Carol Dance is the Artistic Director of Scene Theatre Sydney. After retiring as CEO of the Australian Commercial Disputes Centre, she founded Scene Theatre Sydney, where she has championed engaging and global storytelling since 2008.
Carol is also a regular theatre reviewer for Sydney Arts Guide (since 2019) and a contributor to Pearls and Irritations Public Policy Journal. Carol’s previous plays include Golden Soil, Gallery Guard, Future Seekers, Indian Embrace, It’s OK to Ask, and 14 others in short play festivals.
Playwright: Carol Dance | Director: Melissa Paris | Featuring: Madison Chippendale, Julia Grace, Micah Doughty, Tiang Lim, Don Ferguson, Joan Rodd, Theo Rule, Benjamin Cremen, Fabiola Pellegrino, Bryson Grenfell, Oliver Harcourt
Seed Hunters
Pitt Street Uniting Church Performance Space, 264 Pitt Street, Sydney
Season: 17 – 26 October 2025
Bookings: www.ticketebo.com.au
For more information, visit: www.scenetheatresydney.net.au for details.
Image: The Seed Hunters and the Hunted (supplied)