Romeril, of Walmer, has teamed up for the show with good mate Jack Charles, the legendary Aboriginal actor known as much for his colourful life as his characters.

Going Through is based on a true story Charles told the celebrated playwright from the visitors’ room of the Old Castlemaine Gaol – the actor being on the wrong side of the bars at the time.

“I first saw Jack Charles working for the New Theatre in a South African play in the late 1960s,” Romeril said.

Romeril went on to write a show for the actor, called Bastardy. That title was later used for a 2011 documentary of Charles’ life, which told a story of addiction, jail stints and homelessness, alongside that of his remarkable acting career.

“In 1991 he was in jail in Castlemaine so I called in to see him and asked what had been going on. He came good with the basic premise of this comedy,” Romeril said.

Charles and another inmate had been working out in the community for the day, when the wardens forgot to collect them and take them back to prison.

“So the poor buggers had to walk back to gaol,” Romeril said.

The men managed to make enough noise to beat their way back in, but Romeril’s play takes a different turn. In his version, they spot a freight train at the Castlemaine Railway Station below the gaol.

Believing it to be en route to Melbourne, the prisoners turn stowaways, fall asleep, and wake up in Swan Hill. It’s the basis of a classic comedic road-trip tale.

“I wrote the show based on the idea that it would be ready for him to play when he got out of jail, but no sooner was he out then he was back in, so the play didn’t get done, even though I’d finished it in 1993,” Romeril said.

He said this month’s belated premier was great timing, now the Old Castlemaine Gaol was available as a performance space.

“It’s a great space. It’s so atmospheric,” he said.

“Now, the play is going to gaol.”

Both men have strong ties to the region. Romeril has been based near Castlemaine since the 1960s and spent much of his childhood at his grandparents’ central Victorian home, while Charles’ great-grandfather was a Dja Dja Wurrung man.

The pair is working with an experienced cast and crew to bring the play to the Old Castlemaine Gaol for four shows between Saturday, March 14, and Sunday, March 22. Go to castlemainefestival.com.au for details.