Waiting for Toni by James O’Sullivan is a humorous dramatic text that uses dialogue, absurd situations, and repeated misunderstandings to explore ideas about waiting, identity, communication, and perspective. Set beside a roadside tree, the play follows a group of young people who are all waiting for someone who never arrives. Through circular conversations, playful logic, and exaggerated characters, the text highlights how assumptions, language, and expectations shape human interactions.

This pack contains a detailed guided reading plan, comprehensive learning contract, and lesson slides to structure the teaching and learning process. 

Curriculum Phase: Phase 3
Year Level: Year 8

English: reading for meaning and inference, analysing dialogue and characterisation, exploring humour and absurdity, understanding dramatic structure, interpreting author intent, oral language and performance skills

Text type: Drama, play script, humorous fiction, theatre of the absurd

Key words include: acting, absurdity, assumptions, characterisation, communication, dialogue, drama, humour, identity, language, misunderstanding, oral language, performance, play script, perspective, questioning, repetition, theatre of the absurd, waiting