In the neglected storehouse of Australian history, this is one of the definitive stories: at a Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry in 1881, the men and women of the Coranderrk Aboriginal Reserve went head-to-head with the Aboriginal Protection Board. Their goal was both simple and revolutionary: to be allowed to continue the brilliant, self-sustaining farming community they had established on the scrap of country left to them.
Direct from a critically-acclaimed season at Belvoir theatre in Sydney, Coranderrk will play Northcote Town Hall from Friday 15 - Sunday 24 August, 2014, in a Melbourne-premiere season exclusive to Darebin Arts' Speakeasy program of independent theatre. Inspired by transcripts from the 1881 Inquiry, an ensemble cast of Australia's best Indigenous actors, including Coranderrk descendant and Green Room Lifetime Achievement Award-recipient Jack Charles, will shed light on this forgotten struggle in Australian history.
"It is a great privilege to present this ground-breaking production that brings to life an important chapter in Australian history," said Vanessa Pigrum, Creative Culture Manager at Darebin City Council. "We are thrilled to be partnering with ILBIJERRI Theatre Company and Belvoir as we continue to bring award winning performers and productions to Darebin through the Speakeasy program."
The Coranderrk station was established 151 years ago in 1863 by surviving members of Kulin clans who had been displaced from their lands by the advancement of European colonisation. They settled outside of present-day Healesville, Victoria and established a thriving farming community. As white farmers began to settle in the area they lobbied to have the people of Coranderrk removed from the valuable farming land they were cultivating.
Darebin Arts' Speakeasy program of independent theatre is the home of cutting-edge performing arts north of the Yarra. Presenting a year-round program of new, exciting and dangerous theatre productions from around Australia, Speakeasy seeks to enliven the greater Melbourne area with world-class art and performances.
Coranderrk
Presented by Darebin Arts' Speakeasy and ILBIJERRI in association with Belvoir
8pm, Friday 15 - Sunday 24 August, 2014
5pm, Sunday 17 August, 2014
Opening Night: Saturday 16 August, 2014
Northcote Town Hall, Studio 1
