The Divorce

The Divorce

Starts Monday 7th of December at 9:30pm

Get ready for one surprising divorce party!

After a long and satisfying marriage, glamorous and wealthy couple Iris (Marina Prior) and Jed (John O'May), throw an extravagant party to celebrate their divorce. Starting Monday 7th December at 9.30pm, the four-part series, The Divorce is a witty, sophisticated and comedic 'soap opera", starring a stellar line-up of Australian performers including; Lisa McCune, Marina Prior, Hugh Sheridan, Kate Miller-Heidke, Melissa Madden Gray and John O'May.

Written specifically for the screen, by multi-award winning playwright Joanna Murray-Smith and internationally acclaimed composer Elena Kats-Chernin, The Divorce is an opera for today, taking a playful look at the universal themes of love, passion, regret, greed, morality, fear, identity, loyalty and longing.

Luminary art critic Jed (John O'May) and his wife Iris (Marina Prior) have always lived their life together on their own terms - falling out of love and deciding to divorce will be no different. They are throwing a big bash at their vast country estate - a civilised, joyful announcement to their friends and the world that despite their long and satisfying marriage, they are starting afresh.

The party to celebrate their 'conscious uncoupling", is perfectly curated by Jed and Iris's soon to be unemployed P.A., the pretty and well-meaning Caroline (Kate Miller-Heidke). What Jed and Iris don't know, is that Caroline has spiralled into impossible debt and tonight is the night the loan sharks have come to make their claim - the money she owes - or her life.

Iris's little sister Louise (Lisa McCune), near deafened by her biological clock after a series of failed relationships, anticipates a life with Jed once the divorce is final. But during the evening she finds herself irresistibly drawn to another.

Iris's younger lover, William (Matthew McFarlane), is looking forward to spending more time with her, but instead has a life-changing encounter with Ellen that affects his future in more ways than one.

Iris and Jed's closest friends, Ellen (Melissa Madden Gray) and Patrick (Peter Cousens), find the notion of celebrating a divorce callous. They reassure themselves that their own marriage is unwavering - until the events of the evening leave them both reeling.
Toby (Hugh Sheridan) the waiter harbours ambitions to be a big name artist and is determined to attract the attention of the party's host. But Toby's encounters with Jed have unexpected consequences.

Jed and Iris's decision to divorce sets everyone off on unforseen paths and as the evening unfolds, chaos and mayhem ensue. At the end of the party Jed and Iris make a confession to their guests after a night of revelations about history and love, mortality, friendship and destiny.

Iris: Goodbye, my love
Jed: Goodbye, my lover
Iris: In an hour we'll be free! I'll be free of your belligerence, your ego, your cynicism
Jed: I'll be free of all your moods, your relentless search for imperfection, your social insatiability…
Iris: Your ghastly jokes
Jed: Your tendency to drink
Iris: Your need to win every argument
Jed: How you finish all my -
Iris: - sentences. Your obstinacy
Jed: Your untidiness
Iris: Your moral flexibility
Jed: Your book club
Iris: Your self-righteousness
Jed: Your Renault
Iris: Your culinary snobbery!