Nearly four years in the making, When the Rain Stops Falling is the highly anticipated production from Brink Productions presented as part of the 2008 Adelaide Bank Festival of Arts.

Written by Andrew Bovell, it is set against a backdrop of a dramatically changing climate, an uncertain future and the wonder of the Australian landscape, as it weaves four generations of interconnected stories, revealing estrangements within one family over an 80 year period.

From a cramped 1950s London flat to the windswept South Australian coast and into the heart of the Australian desert, the play follows the central journey of Gabriel Law as he retraces his father Henry's footsteps in an attempt to solve the mystery of his disappearance all those years before.

Under Chris Drummond’s direction, he has molded a production that is enlightening without ever being overstated. The beauty of this piece is in the writing and Andrew Bovell knows how to tug at the heart strings but at the same time is not afraid to sit back and throw some punches.

For just over two hours, the audience is taken on a journey that shifts back and forth in time through a series of juxtaposed rituals and metaphors. As each scene develops, we gain an understanding of its relevance, if not that obvious at the time. As the play states “I have the feeling that explaining the past will be much easier that explaining the fish.”

Nigel Pigot’s emotive creation of the roles of Gabriel York and Henry Law never diminishes; Carmel Johnson’s bittersweet performance of Elizabeth Law is beleaguered with the demons of her past, while Yalin Ozucelik has a child-like innocence as Gabriel Law looking for answers. Paul Blackwell, Michaela Cantwell, Kris McQuade and Anna Lise Phillips' round out this wonderful cast.

Niklas Pajanti's lighting is atmospherically moody, heightening Hossein Valamanesh's design of a series of screens and simply placed furniture in some scenes to the starkness of the Scott Theatre stage in others. Quentin Grant’s live soundscape has undertones of a Michael Nyman score that beautifully accompanies the ensuing action on stage.

Every once in a while the premiere of a new Australian play is worthy of a celebration. In this case it is worth the hangover and should not be missed.