Local theatre maker Angus Temrak returns home to premiere Son of Hercules, an original mask theatre work that blends ancient Greek myth with a deeply personal and recognisable human experience.
Presented as part of the From Gosford With Love artist opportunity, the performance marks the Central Coast debut of a work shaped by years of travel, training and creative searching across the world.
The story begins simply. A son sits beside his father’s bed. The man who once told bedtime stories now listens as his child reads to him instead. Time has shifted. Roles have reversed. And as the son searches for the right words to say goodbye, myth and memory begin to intertwine.
Through storytelling and mask performance, the audience is drawn into the legend of Hyllus — the devoted son of Hercules — who dreams of living up to his father’s heroic legacy. Meanwhile Deianira, Hercules’ overlooked wife, makes a desperate attempt to rekindle love using a mythical charm, unknowingly setting tragedy in motion.
As past actions unravel and the once-invincible hero returns home broken, Hyllus faces an unbearable decision: whether love sometimes means letting go.
Balancing humour with heartbreak, Son of Hercules explores how epic stories mirror ordinary lives, revealing that even heroes are sons, parents, and flawed human beings navigating impossible choices.
For Temrak, the work is not only a theatrical milestone but a personal return. Born in Gosford Hospital and raised on the Central Coast (by way of Thailand), Angus discovered theatre as a teenager through local youth performance workshops. What began as a chaotic improv class at Mad Cow Theatre ignited a lifelong pursuit of storytelling.
“At 14, I had no idea what I wanted to do,” Temrak recalls. “That first class felt strange and unpredictable — but something clicked. I realised storytelling was how I understood the world.”
Driven to develop his craft beyond traditional pathways, Temrak travelled extensively, living and studying across Japan, France, Italy and Germany and visiting more than 25 countries. His search eventually led him to a small village in Tuscany and the renowned Atelier Mask Movement Theatre, where he trained under master teacher Matteo Destro.
There, he learned to communicate emotion through movement and the expressive power of handcrafted masks — an ancient theatrical form that strips performance back to its essence: body, breath and story.
“The mask forces honesty,” Temrak says. “You can’t rely on facial expression or words alone. Everything must come from intention and connection.”
After presenting an earlier solo mask work in Sydney in 2024, Temrak felt an increasing pull back to the Coast — to the beaches, bush walks and community that shaped him.
“As much as I learned overseas, I started missing home,” he says. “I wanted to bring what I’d discovered back here and share it with local audiences.”
Son of Hercules is the result — a work that bridges cultures, classical mythology and contemporary life while asking audiences to reflect on family, forgiveness and what it means to say goodbye.
The performance forms part of From Gosford With Love, a Central Coast initiative supporting local artists to develop and present original work with professional production support, helping regional creatives take their stories beyond the Coast.
At its heart, however, the production remains intimate and universal: a son telling a story to his father, searching for meaning in both myth and memory.
Audience Advice:This is a 12+ event. Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult. Contains themes relating to voluntary assisted dying (VAD).
