Scene By Scene
A Lone Aboriginal Australian Describes the Arrival of the First Convict Fleet in Botany Bay on January 20th, 1788
Intention: The actor playing the Aborigine will have been holding Sideway during the first scene, before stepping off the stage and changing into the Aborigine costume. At the end of the first scene he then passes through the group of actors as if passing through some kind of strange dream. The other actors at first freeze, then move off slowly and begin to change. The aborigine then speaks, down stage, directly to the audience.
Rehearsal |
Text |
Performance Outcome |
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| 10/09/06 | Again this is not a scene that stands up to continual dissection. I think that once you have a concept for how to present the Aborigine, based upon an interpretation of the role of the character within the play, then it’s simply a case of rehearsing the staging and delivery. I am seeking to create a dream-like quality, as dreams and their meanings are a key part of Aboriginal culture. The Aborigine steps through the characters as they end scene one and they melt away. As this is a movement based sequence, and having only spent one rehearsal on the scene, we have mapped out roughly how this works and will refine it in future rehearsals. | The way in which the Aborigine enters the space and the convicts melt away works well; the simplicity seems to affect the audience in the right way |
| 11/10/06 | These short scenes are obviously important and I’ve had a clear sense of the staging of the Aborigine’s appearances but not necessarily a clear grasp of how he fits into our production. Obviously he represents the indigenous peoples of Australia that were very nearly exterminated after the arrival of the colonists. I think he links to our Grund Gestus in these terms. What happens to the natives is contrary to out sense of justice. Just as the convicts are taken from the land that bestows them a sense of identity then these people have their land taken from under them and suffer the ills and violence brought by these trespassers. Therefore the first appearance of the Aborigine is into a sense of the nightmare of the convicts, as if they are in fact a dream – reflecting the Aboriginal mythic culture of dreams and dreaming. Hugh will approach the convicts who are huddled downstage reaching for the light streaming into the hold, with the escalation of the sound effects reflecting this sense of nightmare. Then the convicts melt away and the Aborigine is left to ponder what he has seen, accompanied by sounds or music clearly associated with Aboriginal culture. |
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