Character Relationship Map: Celia

Characters

• Celia Carmichael (played by Rebecca Smart) — protagonist

  An imaginative eight-year-old girl navigating grief, family tension, and political paranoia in 1957 Australia. She experiences vivid hallucinations of a monster called the Hobyah, often projecting her...

• Ray Carmichael (played by Nicholas Eadie) — supporting

  Celia's strict and politically conservative father. He strongly opposes the Tanner family due to their Communist Party affiliation, leading to family conflict. He reports them to his brother, the loca...

• Pat Carmichael (played by Mary-Anne Fahey) — supporting

  Celia's mother who tries to comfort her daughter after traumatic events. She later discovers inconsistencies suggesting a serious incident occurred while she was away, including a bruise on Celia and...

• Alice Tanner (played by Victoria Longley) — supporting

  A neighbor and member of the Communist Party of Australia. Her family's political beliefs cause significant friction with Celia's father, ultimately leading to Evan losing his job and the family reloc...

• Hobyah's Pack (played by James Newman) — supporting

  A theatrical or hallucinatory entity representing Celia's deep-seated fears and trauma. Appearing as a monstrous blue hand or creature, the Hobyah serves as a psychological manifestation of her anxiet...

• Grandmother (played by Margaret Ricketts) — supporting

  Celia's recently deceased grandmother whose death triggers the story's events. Celia finds emotional comfort through visions of her. Her wooden Japanese mask becomes a point of conflict when it is sto...

• Heather Goldman (played by Clair Couttie) — supporting
• Evan Tanner (played by Martin Sharman) — supporting

  The Tanner family patriarch and a member of the Communist Party of Australia. His political affiliation leads to severe professional repercussions after Celia's father reports him, resulting in job lo...

• Karl Tanner (played by Adrian Mitchell) — supporting

  Another of the Tanner siblings who shares Celia's adventures and rebellious spirit. He participates in the quarry rituals, crafts effigies, and faces retaliation from Stephanie's group, including bein...

• Steve Tanner (played by Alexander Hutchinson) — supporting

  One of the Tanner children who befriends Celia. They engage in rebellious activities together, such as making and burning effigies of adults in a rock quarry ritual. He is later ambushed and locked in...

• Meryl Tanner (played by Callie Gray) — supporting

  The Tanner daughter who forms a close bond with Celia. They play together at the quarry and participate in the effigy-making ritual. She endures the consequences of their actions when Stephanie's gang...

• Miss Greenway (played by Deborra-Lee Furness) — minor
• Mrs. Casey (played by Irene Inescort) — minor
• Vicar Mitchell (played by Myles Sharpe) — minor
• White Knight (played by Luke Mathews) — minor
• Slim (played by Shannon McNamara) — minor
• Debbie Burke (played by Louise Le Nay) — minor
• Soapy Burke (played by Feon Keane) — minor
• Stephanie Burke (played by Amelia Frid) — minor
• Inspector John Burke (played by William Zappa) — minor

Story Analysis

A young girl's psychological evolution through grief, friendship, and political conflict in 1950s Australia.

Plot Progression

1. Grief and First Visions
2. Neighborhood Bonds and Political Tensions
3. Rituals and Retaliation
4. Loss and Hallucination
5. The Deadly Prank