First, Do No Harm by Grace Malouf

Arenowned surgeon’s ambition. Her son’s Olympic dream. A secret that could cost them both everything.

NIDA in association with bAKEHOUSE Theatre and producer Talia M-K presents First, Do No Harm, the highly anticipated debut play by Grace Malouf, directed by Charley Allanah.

First, Do No Harm is a bold new work that slices into the volatile intersections of medicine, politics and family. At the height of her campaign for President of the Australian Medical Association, renowned surgeon Melissa Annous faces the unimaginable: her Olympic-hopeful son reveals a secret that threatens his future and her public standing.

Unflinching and unsettling, but also extremely witty and poignant, the play probes the ethics of bodily autonomy, the politics of disability and the boundaries of empathy. A finalist for the Silver Gull Award 2025, this is theatre that refuses easy answers, demanding audiences confront what it means to own – and alter – our bodies.