Love Asunder

Step back into the 1830s with Love Asunder, a moving new music theatre work telling the true story of Irish convicts Alice and John McKinlay.

Separated by transportation to Van Diemen’s Land during the Irish Potato Famine, their journey of love, loss, resilience and extraordinary determination unfolds through nine original songs, written jointly by award winning vocalist Elly Hoyt and pianist Louise Denson, joined by violinist Charlie McCarthy.

Convicted and transported separately for theft, against all odds Alice and John reunited in lutruwita/Tasmania and rebuilt their life together after serving their sentences. The songs blend Irish and folk music with the trio’s shared love of genre bending jazz. Love Asunder premiered at the Clarence Jazz Festival in 2025 with a six piece ensemble and was performed again in a trio setting in December at the Hobart Convict Penitentiary.

Now the trio bring this uniquely Tasmanian story to one of the state’s most significant convict heritage sites, Woolmers Estate.

Woolmers Estate – Sunday Concert

Sunday 16th, 12:30pm – 1:30pm. $39 per person. 

The perfect way to spend a Sunday. Join us in the Frances Mary Archer Gallery for a one hour performance of Love Asunder, then stay on and make an afternoon of it with lunch in the Rose Garden Cafe (lunch booked and paid separately).

Love Asunder is a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the stories and atmosphere of colonial Van Diemen’s Land, through live theatre, music and two of Tasmania’s most significant convict heritage sites.