By DENNIS AMOR

QUEENSLANDERS in the State's north will get a personal insight into life as grey nomads ... from the comfort of their theatre seats.

Carol Burns and Bob Newman in a scene from Walking by Apple Tree Creek

Not for them the daily challenges of being on the road without a TV signal, hunting for lost keys, wrestling with complicated foldaway chairs, mobile phones, portable barbecues, questionable caravan parks and pushy truck drivers.

No, they will experience life as ageing travellers and all the attendant problems from the plush auditorium of Rockhampton's Pilbeam Theatre.

The Brisbane-based La Boite Theatre Company is taking its thought-provoking production of Walking by Apple Tree Creek to the beef capital as part of its 6000km, 38-day tour of 11 centres in Queensland, NSW and Victoria.

The play will be presented on May 22 by Rockhampton Regional Council and will be a highlight of the Pilbeam Theatre's 2009 See It Live season.

Walking by Apple Tree Creek, starring Carol Burns and Bob Newman, is the tender and funny story of two Aussie battlers who invest in a mobile home and take off into the great blue yonder.

Their travels take in the Big Pumpkin in Beaudesert, the Big Prawn in Ballina, the Big Chicken in Moonbi, the Big Snake in Ayr, the Big Beer Bottle and Big Shell in Tewantin and the Big Pineapples in Gympie and Nambour.

Oh, and not forgetting the Big Bull in Rockhampton.

The intrepid travellers not only tackle the constant challenges of being on the road, but also the overwhelming effects of battling with dementia.

The real Apple Tree Creek ...now a roadside rest area north of Childers. Photo: Dennis Amor

And when they stay on the banks of Apple Tree Creek at the side of the Bruce Highway in Queensland - about 290km south of Rockhampton - Del must come to terms with Stan's deteriorating mental health from degenerative Parkinson's disease.

Ironically, it was there where they met and fell madly in love half a century before. Del has loved and grown old with someone who suddenly doesn't know who she is.

During the moving 80-minute performance, she draws on their 50-year relationship to spark something in Stan's failing memory. But in doing so, Del reveals a truth she thought she had left behind at Apple Tree Creek all those years ago.

Tickets for the Rockhampton performance are available from the Pilbeam Theatre Box Office, Dial'n'Charge on 4927 4111 or online at www.pilbeamtheatre.com.au

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