Con Artists tells the story of Max and Millie, a brother and sister who are caught stealing on the London streets in the early 1800s and transported to Van Dieman’s Land – now known as Tasmania. On arrival in Hobart, they are separated, with Max going to the west coast as pining labour, while Millie is put into domestic service in Hobart.

Max and Millie revel in being con artists, following in the footsteps of their father, who had mysteriously disappeared back in London, leaving them only a map. The siblings spend the play trying to outdo each other with their confidence tricks, all the time trying to be reunited. Along the way, the twins meet a range of characters (both singly and together), including a mindless guard, a friendly dog, a dim-witted girl and a vain household matron. On their travels, they appear to be responsible for, or encounter, signposts in Tasmania’s history: the first apple trees, the arrival of the Tasmanian Tiger, a pair of escaped convicts who have turned cannibal. In the end, through their clever con artistry, the twins are reunited and use the secret map to travel to an island where they discover their father, who had found his way to Van Dieman’s land to escape trouble into which he had got himself.

Performer/Puppeteers Anna Fletcher & Quinn Griggs
Director Robert Jarman
Writer Finegan Kruckemeyer
Co-Designers Greg Methé and Roz Wren
Composer Matthew Dewey