A tragic tale of family loss in this latest offering from the State Theatre Company of South Australia.

State Theatre Company of South Australia, August 20, 2013

It is a parents’ ultimate nightmare; watching their only child die. The horror is beyond imagination to most but Australian playwright Rita Kalnejais has taken this nightmare and created Babyteeth. It is a terrifyingly real, whilst also beautifully surreal, portrayal of a family struggling to live with impending death.

The opening scene takes us straight to the core of the piece. 14 year old Milla dies from cancer, leaving behind her mother, father and new boyfriend. The story then jumps back in time to the final few months of Milla’s life and we watch as everyone finds their own, very different ways of coping with her deteriorating health.

While the play is constructed around death, so much is about love and sexual awakenings. The lives of all the characters are unpredictably intertwined and it is the relationships and moments between them that makes the piece so moving and intriguing. Milla’s illness propels them all into situations they would never have dreamed of going before.

The unlikely mix of characters is bound together by their love...