in the loop: realblak advance word
beautiful one day
The theatrical documentary Beautiful One Day (Belvoir, Nov 17-Dec 23) is a co-production between Belvoir, Ilbijerri Theatre Company and version 1.0: the three companies “came together in 2011 over a shared sense of outrage at the injustices surrounding a death in custody in 2004….[P]rompted by the Palm Island community, Beautiful One Day looks for a way to turn outrage into real understanding and new possibilities. At its heart is a determined struggle to understand the persistent heavy-handedness of white Australia.” The cast includes Rachael Maza and Kylee Doomadgee, with set and costumes by Ruby Langton-Batty (see p11).
coranderrk
Melbourne’s Ilbijjeri Theatre Company and Belvoir are co-producing the Sydney season of Coranderrk (RT107, p34) with a cast that includes Jack Charles and Kelton Pell. Written by Andrea James (see p4) and Giordano Nanni (who conceived the idea for the show) and directed by Isaac Drandric (see p23), Coranderrk draws on the records of a Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry in 1881 to tell the powerful story of the men and women of the Coranderrk Aboriginal Reserve who successfully challenged the Aboriginal Protection Board (Belvoir, Dec 2013).
meyne wyatt & peter pan
Image: Meyne Wyatt, Buried City, Urban Theatre Projects
photo Heidrun Löhr
Image: Meyne Wyatt, Buried City, Urban Theatre Projects
Aboriginal theatre artists hit the mainstream in 2011-12 in collaborative works with white theatre workers tackling classic works. Meyne Wyatt, who trained in the Aboriginal Theatre Course at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts will appear for Belvoir in the title role in JM Barrie’s Peter Pan, directed by Ralph Myers (Jan-Feb, 2013). Wyatt won the best newcomer prize at last year’s Sydney Theatre Awards, was seen earlier this year in Urban Theatre Project’s Buried Cities and in Griffin’s Silent Disco, has a supporting role in The Sapphires and is in Bell Shakespeare’s currently touring production of Moliere’s School for Wives.
tom e lewis and king lear
Tom E Lewis and Michael Kantor are collaborating to create The Shadow King, based on Shakespeare tragedy’s, with Lewis as Lear in a cast that includes Jimi Bani; the associate director is Isaac Drandric and props and costumes are by Ruby Langton-Batty (Malthouse, Oct 7-28). The work has been developed in association with the Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth Festivals.
yirra yaakin & the cake man
The classic Aboriginal play, The Cake Man, by Robert J Merritt will receive a welcome production as part of Belvoir’s Downstairs program in a co-production with Perth’s Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company in November 2013. Yirra Yakkin Artistic Director Kyle J Morrison will direct. The cast includes actor and emerging filmmaker Irma Woods.
RealTime issue #111 Oct-Nov 2012 pg. 24
