In honour of Australia Day, I thought I'd write about my favourite Australian plays. Not just ones written by Australians, but those that tell something of our country's story. Sadly though, I came to realise my experience with true 'Aussie theatre' is painfully limited.
I could always blame the theatre-makers for failing to produce new works. But I think that's not necessarily the problem - there are numerous new plays being written and performed across all of Sydney's theatres. I was lucky enough to get to see Keating! on its third return season, and laughed hysterically, in spite of only being a mere child during the majority of the period presented in the show. I do however believe it resonates in Australia, rather than of Australia. Could you tour this internationally with the same success - doubtful, although the songs are certainly catchy.
I also got to see the brilliant Deborah Mailman in the equally brilliant premier of 7 Stages of Grieving, which she co-wrote with Wesley Enoch. It was the first time I had ever seen Indigenous Australia represented on stage. I remember crying, laughing, crying and generally being in awe of the extreme talent of the woman in front of me.
The good news is that the Aboriginal voice has not disappeared from our theatres. Look at Belvoir's determination to bring the Aboriginal voice to the stage in last year's Buried City, Don't Take Your Love to Town and Beautiful One Day. And this year will give us This Heaven, Coranderrk and The Cake Man.
And the Sydney Theatre Company are kicking off their 2013 season with The Secret River, based on the award winning book by Kate Grenville (which I hear is brilliant, more on this when I finally get to see it in February), and finishing with an adaptation of Storm Boy.
Plus, moving away from just the Indigenous angle, you've got the team at Griffin, who's website proudly claims to 'lead the country in developing and producing great Australian stories'. And the increasingly long Short and Sweet festival.
So what about existing work? This is probably more of a concern. Last year I watched Summer of the Seventeenth Doll at Belvoir, and fell in love with the play that had seemed fairly boring to me in high school. It was especially refreshing to hear the Aussie accent used in its appropriate setting, rolling over words like 'bloke', 'blue' and 'up North'. (Not that I'm criticising the artistic choice of many local directors to insist upon their actors using their natural voices but it don't always work so good, eh). What I like (now) about Doll is that there's a desperation to the characters - a little of the Aussie battler in all of them. Interestingly, though set in Melbourne (or Sydney depending on the version), I can't help but picture Pearl, Olive, Emma and Roo in an outback town; the dusty streets, the single pub, the falling down shack of a house. But probably the strongest pangs are drawn in picturing those 16 kewpie dolls, with their hideously made-up plastic faces, painted on hair and spiky skirts providing the poor dear with zero modesty. It's been successful in that it is part of the school curriculum, but it really didn't come to life for me until I saw it staged. Thanks Belvoir for introducing this classic to me for a second time.
But I can't say I've seen a lot of other 'classics' from the Aussie library. There are countless Williamson's, Enright's and Nowra's that remain on my 'to do' list, and regardless of the fact I heard more about it than any other play at university, I'm still to see a production of Away, by Michael Gow. University can also be thanked for introducing me to Blackrock and Cosi, and Stephen Sewell's Sisters (which I think is sadly un-lauded) but only to scenes, rather than whole productions. I guess the lesson is that the classics don't come around too often, so make the time to see them.
And memorandum to own-personage: see more new Aussie theatre, lest it never get produced again!
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