FORMER director of Urban Theatre Projects, Alicia Talbot, who with present director Rosie Dennis, responded to the Centenary of Canberra’s Robyn Archer’s question in 2010: “Do you want to come to Canberra and make a show?”

The resulting, hard-hitting play, “Catalogue of Dreams”, draws upon the experiences of the Canberra community, researching and recreating the lives of young people coming out of foster care and facing a terrifying array of bureaucrats, lawyers and police officers.

On the way, they’ve done serious research into what Talbot calls “the social zeitgeist, what’s going on in the ACT.”

She and Dennis may be out-of-towners, but they’re the only ones, with “the actors, the designer, and the lighting designer all from Canberra”.

Talbot describes the open audition process with help from community “stakeholders”, the Gugan Gulwan Aboriginal Youth Corporation, Canberra Youth Theatre and the Theatre Centre. “We had a huge callout,” she reports.

Benjamin Slabb, one of the chosen actors is a Banjalang man from the Lismore region, whose aunt is the famous actor-director Rhoda Roberts. He has lived in Canberra for about 11 years, worked in the public service and been involved in amateur theatre and in creative workshops with Gugan Gulwan.

“My persona is a general supporter, mentor and comforter. I also play the role of somebody working hard in an official capacity,” he says.

Slabb joins veteran artist Moya Simpson as the “older” generation and tells “CityNews” they are both enjoying the cross-generational nature of working with much younger actors, Casey Keed and Jeremy Broom.

Over 12 months of work, the entire team has come up with an “image-based physical script” enhanced by masks, voice-overs and visuals by prizewinning local designer Imogen Keen.

“It’s not actually scripted, but it’s really very tightly scripted,” Talbot says, in an apparent contradiction, “in the sense that every night, it will be the same.”

“Catalogue of Dreams”, Courtyard Studio, Canberra Theatre, Previews 8.15pm July 13 and 16, season 8.15pm Thursdays to Saturdays, July 18-27, bookings to 6275 2700 and canberratheatrecentre.com.au