During her 2022 trip to Florence, Italy, Grace Chapple immersed herself in the audiobook of E.M. Forster’s “A Room with a View.” This journey marked her first solo travel experience at the age of 27, and as she wandered through the renowned Uffizi Gallery, home to Botticelli’s masterpiece “The Birth of Venus,” she grappled with her own identity and direction in life.
Reflecting on her experience, Chapple remarked, “I was questioning if I truly understood who I was.” The moment served as a profound confrontation with herself, akin to the protagonist in the novel, Lucy Honeychurch, who also navigates her own uncertainties while exploring Italy with her cousin, Charlotte Bartlett. There, she encounters the enigmatic George Emerson and is pursued by the affluent but patronizing Cecil Vyse, setting the stage for a complex love triangle. However, Forster’s narrative transcends mere romance, portraying Lucy’s journey of self-discovery while also critiquing the social norms of early 20th-century England.
This depth of the story resonated with Chapple, inspiring her to adapt it for the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, with performances scheduled to commence this month before moving to the Melbourne Theatre Company. “The novel had a significant impact on me,” she noted. “It appeared in my life when I needed it most.”
Her experience in Florence not only fueled her creative ambitions but also prompted significant personal changes. Upon returning to Sydney, where she had relocated from Perth to pursue playwriting at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Chapple ended a long-term relationship. “When you feel stuck in life, sometimes it takes a major event to jolt you awake,” she explained.
In the same year, Chapple’s inaugural play, “Never Closer,” which is set against the backdrop of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, debuted as part of Belvoir’s independent 25A program before eventually being staged on the main stage. This play centers around five friends who reunite for Christmas Eve in 1987, after a decade apart, revealing underlying tensions—especially when Niamh introduces her English fiancé, Harry.
Chapple wrote “Never Closer” during her time at NIDA, and she recalls an emotional moment during her application process when she was asked what she would write about if she had only a year to live. “I unexpectedly burst into tears and said, ‘My mum,’” she recalled. Her mother, who grew up in Northern Ireland before moving to London to study medicine, fundamentally influenced the narrative of the play.
Chapple shared, “This experience of leaving home for the first time brought forth a flood of emotions about friendships, home, and the uncertainty of returning.” Following her success with “Never Closer,” the team at Belvoir expressed interest in her future projects, eager to support her artistic journey. They inquired if she had any adaptations in mind that could be developed quickly.
Having been moved by the theatricality of “A Room with a View,” Chapple recognized its potential for adaptation. “[Forster] crafts scenes that revolve around relationships and dialogue,” she noted. With the support of “Never Closer” director Hannah Goodwin, Chapple presented her adaptation to Belvoir’s artistic director, Eamon Flack. She emphasized that while the novel may initially seem like a typical period romance, it addresses more profound political themes and societal challenges than those typically explored in similar works.
Chapple believes “A Room with a View” resonates with contemporary audiences since Lucy embodies the struggle of young people to assert their individuality in a conformist society. “It’s a narrative about the risks to dominant cultures when individuals begin to forge their own paths,” she explained. “It’s a universal journey of discovering how to live authentically and the potential costs involved.”
Looking ahead, Chapple is also contemplating the implications of this theme in her upcoming project, “The Landlord,” slated for Belvoir’s 2027 season. This new play will reunite her with director Goodwin and “Never Closer” star Ariadne Sgouros, focusing on intergenerational inequality within two dilapidated Surry Hill terraces, both owned by a 65-year-old man named John.
Chapple began crafting “The Landlord” during a research trip to Cambridge University, where she studied Forster’s manuscripts while working on her adaptation of “A Room with a View.” She commented, “The play emerges from the dehumanizing experiences faced by renters.” She noted the pervasive nature of the housing crisis in conversations with peers in Sydney, where housing-related issues are a frequent topic of discussion.
Equipped with a background in economics, Chapple aims to address these challenges with depth and insight, recognizing the narratives surrounding capitalism that often obscure the realities of housing inequality. “Every discussion I’ve engaged in since moving to Sydney eventually circles back to the housing crisis,” she stated, highlighting the urgent need for dialogue around this pressing social issue.
