Engine (Paperback)

Every week somewhere in Australia news headlines proclaim yet another tragedy of young lives lost in a car wreck. Communities are shocked, politicians duck for cover and families are torn apart... the same story again and again.

Set a month after the crash, Engine is the story of 'Grumpop' who lost a grandson and Natasha who lost a brother. Engine is a highly charged theatrical event about family, friends and cars and of fixing what's broken and celebrating life.

Janis Balodis was born in Australia of Latvian parents who settled in North Queensland after the Second World War. He trained and taught at E15 Acting School in London. His first play, Backyard, was workshopped at the Australian National Playwrights' Conference and produced by Nimrod Theatre in 1980. Other plays include Happily Never After, Summerland, Heart for the Future and Double Take. Music theatre works include The Mercenary, Mr Barbeque, Electric Lenin and Red Cap. Currency Press has published Wet and Dry and, in 2006, Perfect Skin, his adaptation of Nick Earls' novel, as well The Ghosts Trilogy, premiered by the Melbourne Theatre Company, which comprises Too Young for Ghosts, No Going Back and My Father's Father and which draws on his Latvian heritage. Balodis has also written for television and radio. He was an Associate Director of Melbourne Theatre Company (1988-93) and Dramaturg-in-Residence and Artistic Associate at Queensland Theatre Company (1995-96). He currently lives on the North Coast of NSW.