A new play by Steve Rodgers about the glimpsing of freedom and the weight of the things that shackle us is touring the country at the moment. Cast member and up-and-coming NIDA graduate Travis Cardona sat down with Garrett Bithell.

A father and son’s relationship is put to the test by the arrival of a mysterious stranger in Steve Rodgers’s Savage River, the latest play in Griffin Theatre Company’s main-stage season.

From a ramshackle hut in Tasmania’s north-west, Kingsley forges a living with his son, Tiger. One night Kingsley brings home the beguiling Jude, and she unwittingly changes their lives overnight. Starring fresh NIDA graduate Travis Cardona as young Tiger, the production is garnering rave reviews at Stables Theatre in Sydney at the moment, and will then travel to Melbourne and Hobart.

“When I first read the play, I just thought this kid’s amazing,” Cardona tells AXN. “He’s 17 years old, and he’s lived just with his Dad his whole life, and doesn’t know this world we live in. His values are just so innocent – life just seems so good to him.”

Being from Darwin himself before moving to Sydney to study at NIDA, Cardona immediately related to Tiger’s journey. “It feels like I’m meant to play this kid,” he muses. “He spends his whole life just living in this remote area and doesn’t know any better, and can’t imagine going anywhere else – until he meets Jude, who opens his eyes to the world.

“When I was a kid in school doing year 10 drama, I kind of wanted to go to NIDA but was always shy about it. Because in Darwin the thought of going to a prestigious school like the National Institute and being an actor is just so foreign.”

Nevertheless, Cardona is now happily riding the wave of his first main-stage break – and his wide-eyed excitement is palpable. He was sitting in the airport in Melbourne after his audition, waiting to board his flight back to Sydney, when his agent called with the good news. “It was just a totally surreal thing,” he remembers. “I was just in awe really – sitting on that plane with the biggest smile on my face. As a young actor, this opportunity is pretty amazing.”

Savage River is the second play by Steve Rodgers, a highly acclaimed actor who has recently been seen in Pillowman, and before that Riflemind. “When we were reading through, he was just bursting in the face wanting to perform,” Cardona laughs. “It was just great to see as an actor. And everything made so much sense – the way he writes is just perfect for an actor.” It is directed by Melbourne Theatre Company’s Associate Director Peter Evans, and also stars the wonderful Peta Sergeant as Jude, and Ian Bliss as Kingsley.

Cardona hopes audiences feel a sense of freedom at the play’s conclusion. “The sense of being free and being happy doesn’t always come down to material things. It doesn’t come down to flights all over the world or sitting in fancy cafes. It just comes down to the simple things that make you happy.

“It would be nice if people left the theatre having seen that this boy is now free. It’s a massive coming-of-age story. Not that there was anything wrong with the world he was in, but sometimes people need change.”

Steve Rodgers’s Savage River, SBW Stables Theatre (10 Nimrod Street, Kings Cross, Sydney) until July 18. For bookings call (02) 8002 4772. The production then travels to Melbourne Theatre Company (July 25 – August 8), and Tasmanian Theatre Company (August 14 – 22). For bookings visit www.mtc.com.au or www.tastheatre.com .