YELLAMUNDIE
There hasn’t been an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander playwriting festival in Sydney for 20 years. Andrea James, Artistic Associate at Carriageworks, has also noticed a lull in the commissioning of new Aboriginal works.
“It’s now trendy to do adaptations of European classics so that creates less places on stage for Aboriginal plays,” she explains. “Some theatres have slacked off in providing opportunities.”
Well thanks to Moogahlin Performing Arts, Carriageworks and the Sydney Festival, this landmark event will see 25 Aboriginal actors and six Aboriginal writers working with dramaturgs Francesca Smith and Chris Mead to develop their scripts. The end result will be three nights of free play readings from Feb 7th-9th.
“You’re going to get a snapshot of contemporary Aboriginal Australia and a sense of what our aspirations, concerns, struggles and loves are right now,” she explains.
James is directing two plays by Sydney playwrights Jada Alberts and Billy McPherson who are better known for their acting. “Aboriginal actors have to write because there are not enough Aboriginal roles and stories,” says James.
Weight by Alberts follows a 22-year-old boy dealing with the tragic suicide of his best friend. Cuz is a true story about two cousins from the stolen generation reconnecting after years apart. “The [plays] have a sort of magical realism. The writers are pushing the envelope and it will put a bomb under old playwrights.”
“We want industry people and peers to attend. There’s a whole community around Redfern that we want to come. Coming into the theatre is like listening to a yarn around the fire. It’s taking us back to that rich source of story telling. We have 25 Aboriginal actors and for them to see their own people on stage is such a great opportunity.”
Jan 27-Feb 9, Carriageworks, 245 Wilson Street Eveleigh, free (bookings required), 8571 9112, carriageworks.com.au
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