Farmers and rural residents in New South Wales’ Central West are turning to amateur theatre and musical performance as a creative outlet from the pressures of agricultural life. The ABC feature highlights stockman and playwright Jack Dodds, who balances farming near Cumnock with writing and performing musical comedies including Schapelle Schapelle and Murder Horse. Members of the long-running Molong Players theatre group say acting, writing and stage production help people step away from droughts, market pressures and the isolation of farm life while strengthening rural community connections.