Ruby Moon

by Matt Cameron

'It had been one of those scorching summer days. Sprinklers swivelled to a hypnotic beat, cicadas pulsed to the shimmering heat, the concrete was caramel under your feet and the ice-cream van turned slow motion into our dead-end street'. Matt Cameron's arresting new play begins like a fairytale - but ends somewhere else entirely.

Genres: Plays, Read For School, School

66 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Australian playwright and screenwriter.

Reviews

[Maddi Preston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Someone needs to change the cover, it is not an accurate representation of the book. A pure example of don't judge the book by it's cover.

[anastasia ࿓ ✧˖° · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
read for school

[amelia rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

that was weird I didn’t enjoy it

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

After studying this play in school, I continued to adore it. Whilst rarely performed, I often read it again and again. Cameron layers meaning and clues, leading you around and around, no matter how many times you read it. The amazing plot and characters make this play unforgettable. A contemporary Australian who-dunnit, mystery that needs more credit than it gets.

[Hayley Needs Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

I get the ending is open to interpretation but wtf happened??

(I read this for my drama class so I'm even more confused)

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

bruh I-

[Serena H]

what was that!

[ness]

what the actual fuck

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

what the actual fuck

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is truly one of the most immersive, atmospheric plays I have ever seen or read, and that’s what I love so much about it. It genuinely gets under my skin how creepy this one is; it really is unforgettable. Yes, the storyline is convoluted, and arguably unsatisfying with how open-ended it is, but that just means there’s endless possibilities to ponder. It also means that, from a production standpoint, a team working on this play could choose to push any agenda - focus on any themes, and insinuate any conclusion - that they’d like (aka this play is super versatile and open to a wide scope of interpretation)!

The characters are wonderfully enigmatic, the plot is fascinating, the whole thing is moody and atmospheric as hell, and combination of a quiet suburban setting - mixed with intense, deeply personal but also broadly social thematic commentary - makes for a thrilling theatre work.

‘Ruby Moon’ is severely underrated.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

When little Ruby Moon disappears, her parents are distraught, paranoid, and grieving, they believe someone in the cul-de-sac took her, so they'll knock on the doors of their strange neighbors to find answers. This play is an exploration into Australian gothic, diving into the uncertainty, mental deterioration, and unknown mystery of a little girl's disappearance.

Studying this for school, and the copy I got was last used in 2007. The copy of the book is literally so old the last time it was used I wasn't even conceived yet like wtf.

Anyway, this play is meant to be confusing, and the ending is insane and up to interpretation, but shows that missing children's cases never end at all, and the parents are left to spend forever grieving and wondering what happened....

but Ruby might've never even existed, nor any of their neighbours. Sylvie and Ray are so unwell that they (and the audience by extension) can't tell reality from imagination.

[Ystyn Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a chilling play that cleverly teeters on the edge of the real and the perceived, what is actually happening and what is only happening inside the minds of broken characters. It’s a great play to analyse, a whodunnit in the truest sense of the word, where the answers are all there but can be interpreted in so many different ways. And it has so much to say about marital relationships, parental responsibility, mental health, the death of community and being good neighbours, and dealing with loss. An extremely mature piece of theatre that I was very lucky to see when it premiered and have thoroughly enjoyed becoming reacquainted with.

[Rory · Rating 5 out of 5]

I made an account just to review this play - we finished reading it for drama and my entire class LOVED IT! It's perfectly weird and creepy, it's so fun to analyse and try to solve the mystery of where Ruby went and whether she's even real in the first place. There's a quote in the beginning of the book - "... a blind man in a dark room looking for a black hat which isn't there." It's the perfect summary of the eerie plotline. Confusing in the best way possible. I'd kill to see this performed live.

[Sam Schroder · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a great night at the school drama performance, where select scenes from Ruby Moon were performed, what else could I do but come home and read the whole thing so I knew how it ended! I can't believe I haven't read or seen this play before. Loved it. Want to see it in a professional setting. Fingers crossed someone does it again one day.

[Shanaye Firmstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read it for school but actually really enjoyed it. It was very creepy every page gave me goosebumps and kept me wondering. Someone needs to create new cover art though bc wtf is that? The cover does not match the vibe of the book one bit. It’s the definition of don’t judge a book by its cover

[Dorian Winter · Rating 5 out of 5]

i’m desperately obsessed with this macabre, suburban fairytale. it’s psychologically thrilling, actually, and the nods to absurdist and surrealist styles make it all the better. i’ve read “ruby moon” two times now! i love the descent into madness of the two parents and the clever, rich dialogue.

[Jenah Cocker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda interesting I guess. I really liked how suspenseful it was though it would have been so much better if I had watched the play rather then read it. I like how we never found out what happened to ruby or who did it. Definitely a more interesting school read

[esen ☼ ⋆｡˚⋆ฺ ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 simply because the ending left me highly shocked and somewhat empty with the ending. I am aware that the playwright intended for the audience to feel confused and leave the plot hanging, but in this situation, it highly stressed me out. However, fantastic writing and compelling plot!

[Darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a brilliant play? I thought that the suspense and carefully created eerie feeling was incredible. There were some moments that evoked confusion, but in essence, it was brilliant.

[Dini · Rating 4 out of 5]

confused

[jordy :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

didn’t really get it but it had some cool sentences

[Himali Kothari · Rating 4 out of 5]

A play about a missing child and grieving parents. What's real and what's fabricated? Grief can make the mind run askew.

[Georgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

i like the aspects of symbolism and extended metaphor but Ray is sus

[~mollie~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haunting, chilling, creepy, innovative, really truly erksome but well written.

[Ayesha · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover is absolutely abolishing but I do love Australian gothic<3
And it’s really greatly interesting to read from the perspective that Ruby never existed in the first place

[Alisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This play was mysterious and brain-twisting.

I still don’t know what happened! This was crazy in the best way.

Read this for Year 11 Drama - prescribed text 👍🏼

[deniz ♡]

read for drama at school

[ems book nook]

im so freaking confused right now

[Rini · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read it for literature....what? That's all I have to say.

[Sophie Wu · Rating 2 out of 5]

yeah it's fine