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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be advised this document may contain references to people who have since passed away.

Darlinghurst Theatre Company acknowledges the traditional owners of Country throughout Australia, and pays respect to Elders past, present and emerging.

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Using these Teacher Notes

These notes have been created for students and teachers attending the production of Rainbow’s End at Darlinghurst Theatre Company. It is not possible to encompass every possible aspect of study within one resource, especially for a quality text such as Rainbow’s End, but we hope this gives you and your students the best start and a range of higher order references to continue your own exploration in class.

While Rainbow’s End is well-suited for study across a range of Key Learning Areas (KLAs), for the purposes of these notes English and Drama are the two KLAs selected for focus.

The content of these notes is adaptable for years 7 – 12, and the curriculum information in the Appendix is for years 7 – 12.

In NSW, Rainbow’s End is a prescribed text (drama) for the Stage 6 Common Module, Texts and Human Experiences, for English Standard, English Advanced and English Studies. A list of relevant content descriptions and outcome codes forms the Appendix to this resource.

The resource is intended to give background and contextual background for you as the teacher, and for students engaging with the text; as well as suggestions for practical activities.

Please contact sophie@darlinghursttheatre.com with any questions or feedback.

Suggestions for Establishing a Respectful Environment for the Classroom

- When presenting your opinion, begin statements with, “I believe/ I think/ I feel”. Respect the opinions and feelings of others, even if – perhaps especially if – they are different to your own

- Different perspectives, including those of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people bring immense value and multi-faceted considerations to classroom discussions. Aboriginal Australian Culture is the oldest living continuous culture on earth, and perspectives pertaining to Indigenous Australians are relevant to all people living in Australia.

- Take time to research quality references to form the basis to your assessments of the text. - Listen to others and allow them to present their entire opinion in completion before countering with your

point of view. Respectful listening is as paramount as respectful talking.

Keep going with this list. Do you have a similar set of protocols for your class/es already? Add any other points the class agrees are important to the constructive exploration of texts in English and Drama classes.

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Preparing to Engage with Rainbow’s End Rainbow’s End is largely set in an area known as ‘The Flats’ on the Goulburn River between the towns of Shepparton and Mooroopna in regional Victoria. The traditional owners of the land in this area are the Yorta Yorta people1.

The specific setting of Rainbow’s End is likely to be within the boundaries of a different Nation to the location in which your school and/or residence are located. Who are the traditional owners of land on which your school is located? Research the correct wording for an acknowledgement of these traditional owners.

Before the arrival of British Colonists, there were over 500 different clan groups or ‘nations’ across the continent of Australia. There were distinct languages, cultures and beliefs. It is important to be able to distinguish and acknowledge these many unique cultural and language groups. As such, preferred terminology in reference to Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander people is to refer to, for example, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. This is preferable to the more general term of Indigenous, as this can refer to indigenous people in other parts of the world. Note that in the first scene of the play, the radio announcer refers to Aborigines; this is a widely rejected term and is not generally accepted as respectful terminology.

Developing an understanding of the protocols and respect required when engaging in discussions of Country and Culture will be essential to the study of this text.

Acknowledgement of Country

Whether or not the text being studied in class covers Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander themes and characters, including an Acknowledgement of Country is best practice as a regular introduction to classes, events, assemblies and other gatherings at your school.

According to Reconciliation Australia, an Acknowledgement of Country is:

An Acknowledgement of Country is a way of showing respect and awareness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander owners of the land on which a meeting or event is being held, and of recognising the continuing connection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to their Country2.

An Acknowledgement of Country can be performed by anyone3 (which distinguishes it from a Welcome to Country, see below). Beginning a unit of work on Rainbow’s End with an appropriately worded Acknowledgement marks a recognition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

1 Aboriginal Victoria’s Welcome Map, accessed on 18/10/2018 https://achris.vic.gov.au/weave/wca.html 2 Welcome and Acknowledgement of Country, Reconciliation Australia website, accessed on 13/10/2018 http://www.reconciliationsa.org.au/learn/welcome-and-acknowledgement-of-country- 3 Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners, Victorian Government website, accessed on 13/10/2018, https://www.vic.gov.au/aboriginalvictoria/heritage/welcome-to-country-and-acknowledgement-of-traditional-owners.html

Who are the traditional owners of land on which your school is located? Research the correct wording for an acknowledgement of these traditional owners.

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What is a Welcome to Country?

Reconciliation Australia provides this definition of a Welcome to Country: A Welcome to Country is where a Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander traditional owner, custodian or Elder welcomes people to their land. Protocols for welcoming visitors to Country have been part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures for thousands of years.4

Unlike an Acknowledgment, a Welcome must be performed (and can only be performed) by an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person who is from the land on which the Welcome is occurring.

A Welcome to Country takes place usually as the first item in a ceremony, event, festival, conference, parliamentary sitting or other significant occurrence. It can take many different forms, such as a speech, song or performance.

Has your school ever had a local Elder attend and perform a Welcome to Country? Is it something the school might consider? How would you go about booking this for a school event, for example, who would you contact?

Encourage students to perform an appropriate, respectfully worded, mindfully presented Acknowledgement of Country as you begin each unit of work. Also, encourage students and families who are of Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander heritage to feel welcome in your school environment, for example through the way the entrance is presented, the way assemblies and occasions commence, and opportunities for Indigenous Australian students to perform Acknowledgements and other official presentations.

Connecting with Local Elders

Perhaps the most important aspect of studying Rainbow’s End will be connecting with your local Aboriginal Land Centre, Cultural Centre or other important Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander body local to the school.

A starting place is the Local Aboriginal Land Council, or the Local Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG)5. For an excellent reference on reaching out to local Aboriginal organisations, see the website listed as footnote number 6 in this document. Local Aboriginal Elders, even if not from the Country on which Rainbow’s End is set, are going to be able to share invaluable insights into some of the themes, plot points, context and history of the play. A relationship with local Aboriginal Elders, families and communities will bring richness to all class discussions.

4 Welcome and Acknowledgement of Country, Reconciliation Australia website, accessed on 13/10/2018 http://www.reconciliationsa.org.au/learn/welcome-and-acknowledgement-of-country- 5 Australian Children’s Education and Care Authority, Engaging with Aboriginal Communities, accessed from website 19/10/2018, http://files.acecqa.gov.au/files/NEL/engaging-with-aboriginal-communities1.pdf

Have you ever been at an event where there has been a Welcome to Country? Discuss and share the form it took and describe what took place.

Noting Reconciliation Australia’s statement that a Welcome has been part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures for thousands of years, why do you think a Welcome can only be performed by Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander people from that Country?

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NSW Curriculum Links (Secondary) Stage Subject Content Outcomes Stage 4 English Texts that are widely

regarded as quality literature; A widely defined Australian literature, including texts that give insights into Aboriginal experiences in Australia; A wide range of literary texts from other countries and times, including poetry, drama scripts, prose fiction and picture books; texts written about intercultural experiences; texts that include aspects of environmental and social sustainability

EN4-1A EN4-2A EN4-5C EN4-7D EN4-5C EN4-8D

Drama The Elements of Drama; Dramatic Forms and Performance Styles: Scripted Drama; Realism; Aboriginal Performance.

4.1.1 4.1.3 4.2.1 4.3.1 4.3.2 4.3.3

Stage 5 English A range of types of texts; texts that are widely regarded as quality literature; a range of Australian texts, including texts by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander authors and those that give insights into diverse experiences of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples; Texts with a wide range of cultural, social and gender perspectives

EN5-1A EN5-2A EN5-5C EN5-7D EN5-8D

Drama The Elements of Drama; Dramatic Forms and Performance Styles: Scripted Drama; Realism; Aboriginal Performance.

5.1.1 5.1.3 5.2.1 5.3.1 5.3.2 5.3.3

Stage 6 (Preliminary) English A range of types of texts; texts that are widely regarded as quality literature; a range of Australian texts, including texts by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander

(Outcomes for Standard English course given) EN11-1 EN11-3 EN11-5 EN11-7 EN11-8

NSW Curriculum Connections – English and Drama

Curriculum content descriptors and outcome codes for English and Drama Years 7 – 10, and Years 11 & 12

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authors and those that give insights into diverse experiences of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples; Texts with a wide range of cultural, social and gender perspectives

Drama Theatrical Traditions and Performance Styles; Elements of Production in Performance; Acting

P2.2 P2.6 P3.1 P3.2 P3.4

Stage 6 (HSC) English Rainbow’s End is one of the prescribed texts (drama) for the Standard, Advanced and EALD courses for the common module, Texts and Human Experiences

EN12-1 EN12-3 EN12-5 EN12-7 EN12-8

Drama Appreciates and analyses drama; Experiential learning – Australian Drama (relevant acting techniques, characterisation, performance styles and spaces, themes, issues and historical and social perspectives relevant to the set topic).

(Outcomes for Standard English course given) H2.4 H3.1 H3.2 H3.4 H3.5

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Analysing Rainbow’s End

Jane Harrison - Playwright

A descendant of the Muruwari people, Jane Harrison is a playwright, critic, and novelist. Raised by her mother (alongside a sister) in the Victorian Dandenongs, she worked first as a copywriter for advertising agencies before she was commissioned by Ilbijerri Theatre Company to write the play Stolen. The play was included in the VCE English and NSW HSC syllabi and awarded the Kate Challis RAKA Award in 2002. It remains her best-known and most-toured play.

Harrison followed Stolen with a succession of plays about Australian Aboriginal experiences, including Walkabout, Rainbow's End, Blakvelvet, Custody, and First Contact, which was directed by Leah Purcell under the title The Visitors. Harrison's plays are widely performed, studied, and awarded: Rainbow's End (2005) was included in the NSW HSC syllabus between 2009 and 2012, Blakvelvet won the Theatrelab Indigenous Award in 2006, and Custody won the Holmes à Court Indigenous Award in 2007.

Harrison made her debut as a novelist in 2015 with Becoming Kirrali Lewis (which, in manuscript form, won a Kuril Dhagun Indigenous Writing Fellowship), a coming-of-age story of an Aboriginal teenager growing up in the 1980s and coming to an understanding of her parents' life among the turbulent activism of the 1960s.

Harrison also holds a Master of Arts degree from the Queensland University of Technology.6

6 This biography is an extract of the which appears on the site https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A34457, accessed 26 November 2018

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Interview with the Playwright

1. Jane, tell us a little about yourself: what are some things students might be curious to know about you?

I grew up with my Aboriginal mother and my sister in the outer suburbs of Melbourne, a long way away from extended family and country. I always felt connected to my Aboriginality but as I grew older I wondered why. It wasn't until I was commissioned by Ilbijerri Theatre Company to write the play Stolen, about the stolen generations, that I began to explore my own cultural heritage more thoroughly and to find my way back to the community. Writing plays was my way to connect.

2. What inspired you to write Rainbow’s End?

Ilbijerri Theatre Company commissioned 6 writers to each write one decade of Victorian Aboriginal history. I chose the 1950s and as I was living near Shepparton in Victoria I chose to write about the area near Shepparton known as ‘The Flats’. The brief from Ilbijerri was to write about the heroes of that era and there were some well-known people such as John Patten and William Cooper and Pastor Doug Nicholls. Not long before my mother, Shirley Angus, had contributed to a book of Victorian oral stories and there was one story in there about the family of Pastor Doug. (Interestingly my mother nursed Pastor Doug in a geriatric hospital). I could have written about the men, but I decided to write about the women who often held the family together while the men were out doing good works in the community

3. Does the play reflect personal experiences for you or your family?

Although Rainbows End has a fictional family it also contains details of my family's background. Small details such as Nan Dear crocheting the pillow shams came from my mother's stories of her mother doing the same. Mind you my mother grew up in a house with dirt floors but she said everything was immaculate!

I guess any story I write will have threads my own family stories in it. It is my way of honouring those stories by adding those rich, lived details.

4. Thinking about Australian identity in the play: Gladys is so excited to see the Queen visit Shepparton.

The dwellings where Gladys, Nan and Dolly live are deliberately hidden from Her Majesty. At the time

the play is set, how did First Nation people ‘fit into’ Australian identity?

I only had eight weeks to write the first draft and I visited Rumbalara Elders Service in Mooroopna and also the ‘Keeping Place’ where there was a scrapbook of all the articles about the local Aboriginal people over the decades and it listed the floods that would happen regularly and how Aboriginal people on the flats were evacuated to Higher Grounds the Higher Grounds being the town tip I was fascinated by this error which included historic events such as the Queen's visit Queen Elizabeth in 1954 she travelled from Shepparton to Mooroopna on the causeway beside the flats and the local council decided to spare her the ordeal of seeing the humpies along the flats and they lined the roadway with Hessian. Full of these local fascinating stories I created a fictional family, and a fictional storyline that wove in real events that came that became rainbows end

5. Do you think this sense of identity in Australia has changed to be more inclusive of Culture and Country?

I certainly think that young people's attitudes to identity are changing in Australia. When my mum grew up she was called racist names and had stones thrown at her house because she was Aboriginal. In some schools I've visited recently they have included Aboriginal culture in the curriculum for the benefit of all students and those

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students take pride in knowing about the Aboriginal heroes of the past. They know who Eddie Mabo is, they know about Vincent Lingiari. They are taught language and history at every level of the curriculum and they celebrate Aboriginal culture across the school. It is brilliant to see that.

6. In relation to whom Dolly can marry, which arises several times for Dolly in the play; how do young people

learn lore of kinship and marriage?

Traditionally young people would learn the law of kinship and marriage from their family and from an early age they would know who was related to whom and what the obligations were between family members. Even though in more urban areas traditional marriage systems such as moieties are no longer practiced. Informally families often keep like a family tree in their head of who is related to who. It’s one of the reasons why Aboriginal people ask where you from and what the family name is, so they can work out if you related or not

7. Students might be curious to learn more about housing for First Nations people in the 1950s; how did

you research this aspect of the play?

In the Mooroopna the area beside the river was called ‘The Flats’. In the 1950s Aboriginal people living there fundraised to get Aboriginal housing built. 10 concrete houses were built and the housing estate was known as Rumbalara, which means rainbow. Unfortunately, a white manager managed Rumbalara and all sorts of rules were placed around the Aboriginal people living there, such as having no visitors after 5 pm and not being allowed to play music, which was a big part of the community atmosphere of The Flats. The houses were freezing in winter and boiling hot in summer and there was little privacy, as the walls didn't even go to the ceiling.

8. Papa Dear is a wonderful, almost legendary presence throughout the play. Can you share some thoughts

on what inspired this character, his function in the play, and were there real life figures who fed into the

concept for this character?

Papa Dear is inspired by Pastor Doug Nicholls who was an Aboriginal minister for Aboriginal Inland mission (as well as playing football for Richmond footy club in the day even though he was only about 5 foot tall). Pastor Doug was often away. For example he went to Western Australia to complain about the standard of living for Aboriginal people there. Because he was away quite a lot being an activist for Aboriginal rights his wife and family had to be very independent and resilient and resourceful. He was a hero of the era but so were his wife and family. Pastor Doug Nicholls ended up becoming the Governor of South Australia, the first Aboriginal person to have a position of that stature. There is a statue of him and his wife Gladys in Melbourne CBD. Later in his life my mother nursed Pastor Doug in a geriatric home. She said the nurses would fight over who got to nurse him he was such a beautiful person. I know quite a few of the descendants of Pastor Doug and he is beloved within the community here in Victoria.

9. The women in this play are strong, vibrant characters who show great courage. They are also vulnerable

to male characters making decisions for them, or subjecting them to abuse. Can you share some of your

thoughts on what you wanted to convey about the roles and power structures for men and women in the

play?

I was asked to write about the heroes of the era and there were some notable figures like Pastor Doug Nicholls and William Cooper but there were also many unacknowledged heroes. To me, these were the women who kept the home fires burning and looked after their families while the men were away doing good works. The women had to be so resilient and self-sufficient - chopping the wood, collecting potatoes from Spud Lane, hauling water up from the river for their washing, picking fruit or working at the Cannery and looking after the children. I want to write about them. In my research about the area I spoke to some of the people who grew up there as children back in the

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1950s. They talked about the incredible freedom they had from the worries that adults around them were dealing with – poverty, threat of removal, getting enough to eat. It was seen as ‘adult business’ – and so the children were often spared knowing the harsh realities of their life.

Gladys not being able to read was based on an Elder I interviewed who talked about her mother's generation having a great education at Cummergunja through the teacher Shadrack James. Her generation missed out – they had walked off the mission due to the harsh treatment of the Mission Manager and they were heavily involved in supporting the war effort so that generation missed out on gaining literacy.

10. Gladys and Dolly argue at one point in the play about dealing with racism, Gladys believing she had a

tougher time than Dolly, even though Dolly describes verbal and physical racial abuse. Do you think the

experience of racism improving or worsening in Australia from the 1950s to today?

Oh dear, that's a hard one to answer. I know my mother suffered a lot of racism growing up in a country town where the Aboriginality of her family was so visible but being fair skinned myself I didn't suffer racism directly. People would often say racist things around me not knowing that I had Aboriginal heritage. I think there's so much more understanding about racism today, especially casual racism. It gets picked up and identified more but you only have to hear and see what happens to Aboriginal sports people to know that racism still exists in Australia.

11. National Reconciliation Week 2018 had a theme of ‘Don’t Keep History a Mystery’ – how far has Australia

come with the experience of acknowledging history of our First Nations people since colonization? How

does this relate to some topics being off limits for Nan, such as the departure from Cummeragunja?

I think we've come a long way in acknowledging effects of colonisation, the stolen generations and racism this in country BUT we're not there yet. I think things like intergenerational trauma and even things like Australia Day - the uproar around what it means for Aboriginal people, are not fully understood. I read a survey that said that 60% or so of Australians don't even understand that January 26th is the anniversary of the beginning of Colonisation. They don't really understand how Australia came to be colonized as a country. We definitely have to understand the past to understand the present. The medium of theatre and fictional stories, such as novels, can carry the storylines of history in a way that’s accessible and ‘human’. When you're writing identifiable characters they can carry the story of historical events and an audience or a readership can relate to those characters and a feel for that period of time was he will watch him already feel the experience of what it's like to walk in those shoes and I think that can be a really powerful way of connecting for Aboriginal people it means that their stories and Histories are acknowledged and shared and for non-aboriginal people they get an insight into the experiences of the other but maybe aren't so different from their own.

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Place in Rainbow’s End This section of the resource considers the setting of the play and will look at some of the physical situations we encounter in the play.

Rainbow’s End is largely set near Shepparton, Victoria. According to the Greater Shepparton City Council website; The Greater Shepparton area holds significant Aboriginal cultural heritage, and is amongst the most culturally diverse municipalities in regional Victoria. Historically there were eight tribes that occupied Greater Shepparton, consisting of the Yorta Yorta, Bangerang, Kalitheban, Wollithiga, Moira, Ulupna, Kwat Kwat, Yalaba Yalaba and Nguaria-iiliam-wurrung clans, all of which spoke the Yorta Yorta language7.

The opening scene of the play describes the ‘Aboriginal huts’, where main characters Dolly, Nan Dear and Gladys live, as along the Goulburn River, in the Goulburn Valley area outside Shepparton.

If you are going to place a map of this area in your classroom, which map will you use? Consider maps showing Aboriginal nations and language groups.

Reflect on how these significant events may have impacted the lives of families such as the Dears.

Given the domestic nature of the play i.e. its focus on the home life and daily life of the Dear family, Nan, Dolly and Gladys’s housing becomes a central setting where much of the action of the play is centred. This section will take a detailed look at the nature and significance of home in the play.

Gladys, Dolly and Nan’s home is described as a humpy: what sort of a dwelling is this?

Reflect on the living conditions within this humpy dwelling, paying particular note to the scene with the Inspector (Scene 8. The Inspection). This scene also raises the idea of ‘assimilation’. As a class, you will need to research and discuss the concept of assimilation as it pertains to historical Australian government policies, to build a nuanced understanding of this as a theme of the play. See the Further Resources section for some additional reading.

“And you need interim housing to ease you into the townships. Are you aware of the concept of assimilation, Mrs Banks?” (Inspector, Scene 8).

7 http://greatershepparton.com.au/community/diversity/aboriginal-community-and-partnerships

Create a timeline of key events and developments in this region: with the class separated into four groups, allocate the following time periods, which will form the basis of group research: pre-British colonisation; time of colonisation to 1950s; 1950s to 2000s; 2000s to present day. Each group can share their findings with the class, and include images, audio and video in their presentations where possible. See the Further Resources section for research starting points.

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Nan describes her last place of residence as Cummeragunja: “NAN DEAR: At least here we do things our way. Not like the Cummeragunja days, always at the mercy of the manager –“

What and where is Cummeragunja? What is the significance of Cummeragunja to the play Rainbow’s End?

A site like this one might be useful http://koorihistory.com/cummeragunja/

What is a reserve in terms of the history of Aboriginal housing? What is a mission in this same context? Again, reflect on what these terms and places mean to the settings in Rainbow’s End.

Can you draw any parallels or contrasts to what you have read, heard in the media, or learnt about so-called Aboriginal housing in the present day? Can you reflect on the differences in housing, autonomy, freedom of movement and protection of human rights by comparing your own living situation to that of Dolly, given she might be of a similar age to you(r students)?

Time in Rainbow’s End

This section of the resource looks at the treatment of time, and the passing of time, in the play.

The time period of the play is more than one year (noting that Dolly goes through a pregnancy and birth during the time period depicted in the play, which tells us time spans more than 9 months). Note that during this time period, characters within the play also move through different moments of imagined futures, and imagined visions of ‘what might be’. In this sense, the play treats time with some flexibility.

These staged imaginings and visions reflect the very real human experience of wishing and hoping for a positive future, of imagining what might be – que sera, sera.

The historical period in which the play is set is the 1950s. Given we open with Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to Australia, we can assume the play might be set in 1954.

Political context: 1949 saw the beginning of the Menzies era in Australia. Menzies was Australia’s longest serving Prime Minister, serving two separate terms. He was known as a staunch monarchist8. The Menzies era, as refers to Menzies’s second term from 1949 – 1966, was a time of economic prosperity in Australia. The National Archives of Australia describes the economic outlook thus:

Menzies had the good fortune to gain office just as the previous Chifley government’s post-war economic reforms were beginning to bear fruit. His government also benefited from the economic stimulus provided by the Korean War and the post-war mass migration program, a scheme the Menzies government warmly embraced. Annual factory production in Australia rose from £489 million in 1949 to £1843 million in 1959. This, combined with generally strong commodity prices and high export earnings, was the foundation for the ‘long boom’ of the Menzies years9.

The Royal Tour: 1954 was the year of the Royal Tour when Queen Elizabeth II visited Australia in the year after her coronation. The Queen’s Royal Tour of 1954 was one of the most significant events of that time, with an estimated 75% of the Australian population attending one of her appearances10 to catch a glimpse of “our pretty young monarch and the Duke,” as Gladys puts it. The Queen’s visit is viewed historically by some as a celebration of all

8 http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/menzies/ 9 http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/menzies/in-office.aspx#section6 10 http://www.abc.net.au/archives/80days/stories/2012/01/19/3411411.htm

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things British, at a time when Australia was experiencing mass migration: migrants, like Aboriginal Australians, were expected to assimilate and to adhere to Australia’s inherent ‘Britishness’11

Television was not introduced in Australia until 1956: other devices of communication included wireless, telegram, post and newspapers. The Great Depression and the two World Wars were not far from the collective Australian consciousness, and there is some thought that Australia was still recovering from the devastation and loss of these conflicts.

Dialogue

How does the language of the play add to the vividness of the time period the play is set in? Consider some of the dialogue and references used in the play, and how they reflect life in early 1950s Australia, and other aspects of the setting of the play. Give a reason for each line/phrase selected as to why it makes the play’s setting more vivid and clear to the audience:

This list is a sample for you to start with, and extend:

- that valve (a feature applicable to wirelesses and radios, technology outmoded today)

- I wouldn’t miss it for all the tea in China (a cliché widely used in the era though less so today – considered an ‘old fashioned’ cliché)

- Stage Direction for Scene 3. Oh, Errol: GLADYS is chopping wood with an axe and listening to Pick a Box on the radio. Gladys is using a manual axe (though this is still of course widely in use today, pre-chopped firewood and chainsaws are very common); Pick a Box was a popular radio program of its era no longer in circulation; and listening to a radio (wireless) is not as common.

- Dolly’s list of ‘modern phenomena’ such as bodgies, widgies, canned food and the Hokey Pokey (Scene 3. Oh, Errol)

Continue with your list as a class, forming a more vivid and clear picture of the play’s setting and historical context through the dialogue, stage directions and language of the play.

Aboriginal words: reading the play, find examples of Aboriginal words amongst the Standard English dialect; for example buka bung stew for dinner (Scene 1), goomees, that gubba fella

Terminology: characters in the play variously use the term ‘Aborigines’, including Nan Dear when she questions Errol about the contents of the Encyclopedias. This is an outdated term that is no longer used and is considered offensive. It is recommended to seek out articles from NITV or other quality platforms to research why this term is offensive. Note too that Nan uses the term ‘retarded’ which is also outdated and offensive terminology in a current context, though more broadly used in the historical era of the play.

11 https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/the-queen-in-australia/notes/

This section considers how the dialogue in the play is a feature that

brings the characters, setting and historical context of the play more

vividly to life.

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Dialogue distils meaning: This is an effective activity to do very early in the process of studying the play – even before students have read the play script in its entirety. It tends to illuminate for students how much meaning they are able to read from dialogue, even without being familiar with the plot and background of the play. The activity also illuminates just how carefully the playwright plans and selects each word and crafts each line of dialogue to build the cohesive and impactful arc of meaning of the play.

The teacher needs to do some background work for this activity; select up to 40 lines of dialogue from the play, and type/copy them into one document. Leave off the name of the character who says this line in the play. You should select pithy lines of dialogue you judge to capture key moments of character, plot, themes and key moments in the play. Your document will resemble the below, only with many more examples:

French verbs! Mink stoles! You put ideas into that girl’s head.

Ask him what it says in that there Encyclops about the Aborigines, eh?

It’s the company’s! If I misplace it they will dock my pay tuppence.

Why don’t yah join us? You look like a party girl …

I’d like to be an actress or a model, like in the magazines, like Gina Lollabridgida …

But really, I … it’s silly, but I’d kind of like to be a nurse.

They’ve got in mind Aboriginal housing. They want to call the housing Rumbalara.

It means end of the Rainbow.

Well, it’s all very impressive ... What I’m wondering is how she’d fit in.

I’m not an interloper – I belong here – this is my land!

Your arrangements will need to be re-evaluated, with the impending new arrival. I’m not

sure that the house is suitable for an extended family …

Once you have your dialogue list ready it to display to the class. Then, lead a discussion of each of the lines of dialogue, with the class having a go at deciphering: WHO might be saying this? (age, status, gender, and so on)

- Who might this speaker be speaking TO and/or ABOUT? (someone related, older, younger, less/more powerful etc)

- WHERE might this line be being said? (at home, in a public place, outdoors)

- WHY are they saying this?

Students at this point are detectives reading clues, and as they have not commenced study of the text it’s not a memory exercise – there is no right or wrong answer, but we want them to use their higher order thinking skills to read these lines of dialogue. Start to knit these deductions together to form links between deductions from each line. Note the class’s conclusions somewhere you can refer back to throughout study of the play. Compare these initial deductions with what students learn once they read and study the play in its entirety. It is often surprising how accurate students’ initial deductions can be, based purely on their ability to distil meaning from the playwright’s carefully selected and crafted dialogue.

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Themes

Rainbow’s End presents rich opportunities to study a range of themes that are crucial to understanding Australian history. This section will list just some of these themes as a starting point for continued research and discussion.

- Generational experiences of racism: Nan Dear mocks Gladys’s aspirations for Dolly and chides Gladys for hoping Dolly might aspire to more than working at the cannery. Why does Nan Dear hold this attitude? The deliberate and systemic limitations on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are exemplified through scenes such as Gladys and the Bank Manager, and the fact Gladys cannot read. (Refer to article by Dr Alana Lentin in Further Resources section).

- Truth telling: what is not talked about and what cannot be said. Nan Dear will not talk about forced removals of children, why she left Cummeragunja, and other topics that are off limits. Why do you think she is unwilling to discuss certain things, especially in front of Dolly?

- Aboriginal Housing: white people controlled where Indigenous Australians lived and the sorts of dwellings Indigenous Australians occupied. Consider how removal from traditional lands impacted connection to Country and Culture, and sense of identity around connection to traditional lands. Research as a class Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights as citizens, to health care, housing, voting, education and employment.

- “Whitefellas need to be educated about our ways”: part of reconciliation is mutual learning, opportunities to learn from each other. Indigenous Australian cultures are the oldest living sustainable cultures in the world. Australians have much to be proud of and learn about from each other.

- Assimilation: for example for Dolly as she wrestles with her identity: “What do you want from me, mum? Do you want me to walk like them, talk like them. Pretend to be one of them?”

- Connection to Country: Nan Dear desires to die on country, after a “feed of swan eggs”. With this she is expressing her connection to her Country has not ceased even though she is not living on Country. Nan expresses in the first scene of the play that she has to go back to the old place to die (“Well, of course I’m not gunna die. Not here anyway. Gotta go back to me old place to do that.” Scene 1. Queen’s Visit).

- Colonization: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had systems of cultural and knowledge transfer and education systems in place before colonization. Nan, Gladys and Dolly must participate in a white education system, speaking English, learning to read and studying with electric light. “First the housing problem must be fixed… after all, how can the children study in the evenings if there is no electric light?” Students can explore the many other systems of education and culture/knowledge transfer that do not revolve around Western/post-colonial models of how an education is received.

- Standing up for your human rights: Gladys’s journey to being able to find her voice and make her protest heard.

- Families come in a range of forms: Errol, Dolly and the baby become a family unit.

- Intercultural understanding: Errol expresses that, “it’s like your family’s from another world or something”.

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- Intergenerational Trauma: as former Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, stated in his 2008 apology to the Stolen Generations, “We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country. For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.” This statement acknowledges the trauma passed from one generation to another, and that government policies and actions of the past have had repercussions for younger generations. Can you find instances in the play that reflect this? Stolen Generations is referenced several times in the play, with Ester’s sons disappearing, for example.

- The importance of education as a human right, and as a way to expand opportunities, options and social

capital in the world. When Errol enters the Dear family’s orbit, he brings knowledge and the tools of education, for example by helping Gladys learn to read which he does at her invitation and with her close collaboration. This gives her the opportunity to state her case at the end of the play. This idea exists alongside the idea that there are many ways to receive an education, and the traditional custodians of Australia had complex and effective educative systems in place before colonisation.

- How embarrassing family can be: this universal and relatable theme is beautifully captured in the scenes with Dolly dealing with her mum and grandmother, and her embarrassment at some of their actions. This is present in Gladys’s relationship with her own mother as well.

- Lore and laws around kinship and marriage. This is raised in the play and is best explored with an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person as a consultant with knowledge in this area as an advisor first hand.

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Characters

Rainbow’s End is a multi-generational drama depicting three generations of Aboriginal women on stage. The play uses the device of doubling (one actor playing more than one character) to depict additional characters in the narrative. For example, the actor playing Errol also plays the inspector and the bank manager, among others. The actors playing Gladys, Dolly and Nan generally do not double as other characters.

Central Characters:

Gladys Dear

Dolly (short for Dolores) Dear

Nan Dear

Errol Fisher

Additional Characters (some of whom we see on stage, some we hear about or from)

Papa Dear

Bank Manager

Inspector

Cousin

Aunty Ester, Lionel, Roy, Robbie (off stage characters)

Doubling – moving from one character to another: consider how the actor playing Errol can rapidly change to a different character. What sort of performance and production elements might be employed to achieve this? As an exercise in class, experiment with character transitions. Select two characters, for example Errol and the bank manager. Decide to work first of all with physical traits. How is Errol’s posture different to the bank managers; how do they walk, sit and move differently; how much physical ‘space’ does each take up, what is their sense of status in a room? Explore changing from one character to the next, wordlessly, simply through changes to physicality. Share your findings with the class and share feedback with each other on how clear this transition is. Now select and add one line of dialogue for each character. Explore how their voices, delivery, tone, volume, pitch and pace differ from each other. Voice these lines along with your physical exploration, and share this with the class. Now, add a costume element. Consider what sort of costume item – glasses, hat, tie, briefcase, e.t.c. – might best help you transition from one character to the next. Add this to your depiction with your physical exploration and your dialogue. Share with the class and reflect on how effective, clear and appropriate your doubling is. Now take this further into more extended scene studies.

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Central statement – what is at the heart of the character? Consider the central characters of Gladys, Dolly and Nan, and you may add Errol if you wish. Look through the play text to find what you think is the central statement of that character, i.e. what is it that she/he says that you feel best captures the essence of that character? Write these central statements onto a shared class mural, arriving at a single central statement for each character through class group discussion. Display these as the guiding principal and motivator for each character. You may wish to add secondary notes to this mural, including other lines of dialogue that support this central statement, descriptors for each character, and moments that seemingly contradict or surprise the audience about this character as well. Your aim is to display in your classroom a rich tapestry of character descriptions all anchored by your central statement on each character. You might also extend this activity by authoring a central statement for the play as a whole – rather than this being a line of dialogue, try writing an original statement about the play as a whole class. Limit yourselves to one sentence only. Add this to your mural.

Often some of the most interesting observations about a character come from what other characters say about them. Can you find instances of this as part of the above ‘central statement’ activity?

Section Three: Responding to Rainbow’s End in Production

Interview with Director Liza-Mare Syron

1. What drew you to direct this play?

Firstly, I was invited to direct the play by Glen Terry and Amy Harris, but after reading it the first time I knew that Jane’s play was a classic story of love and family against the backdrop of Aboriginal Australia in the 1950’s. This account is beautifully constructed through the wonderful characters in the play and I believe it is a play that will belong in the canon of contemporary indigenous plays in Australia.

2. It’s I’m sure difficult to summarise, but I wonder if you could share what you think is the central statement

of this play – what is the key idea, or key message?

This play shows the incredible resilience of Aboriginal people. The life world reality of a subjugated existence in contrast with the love and humanity of a people who refuse to be brought down to the level of their oppressors. This is a woman’s story, of intergenerational experiences and how people project a hopeful future.

3. How would you describe the world of this play, and could you share some of the early design ideas you

have for the set and costumes to reflect this world?

Jane is very clear in her script about the setting of the play. Set in the 1950’s Nan, Gladys and Dolly live in a hut/shed on a flood area near the Goulburn River in the Goulburn Valley near Shepperton NSW. This is a precarious place to live as the river would flood regularly.

In thinking about the design, I am looking to make it quite earthy, a loam floor and a semblance of a working hut furnished with found objects. People were very resourceful in rural Australia in the 1950s. There needs to be a representation of the new and old world so some local clan markings somewhere in the mix.

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4. Are there early concepts you can share about the physical world of the play as expressed through the set

design?

The costumes will be warm and earthy contrasted with Glady’s silk gloves and aspiration for the finer things in life. Musically I hope to bring in popular Australian and Aboriginal country music of the time.

5. Could you describe early thoughts on the contrasting ‘modern’ housing Gladys’s family is moved to,

compared to the humpy by the river? How might a designer capture this contrast?

I don’t see the new home as being very much different from the old one only in the strength of the materials that make up the structure. Let’s not be too idealist about what type of housing Aboriginal people would have been offered. However, I am sure that Nan will spend a bit of time making it like home.

6. What sort of research is involved in designing a play like Rainbow’s End, and what sort of sources do you

use?

I sat down with the playwright and spoke about her vision for the play. Jane has a very clear sense of the world and characters and what her inspiration was in composing them. The actors and I will spend some time discussing the situation that Nan’s family find themselves in. The main cast, Lily Shearer (Nan) was born in Brewarrina and has real life experience of growing up in a remote location, Dellara Williams (Gladys) and Phoebe Grainer (Dolly) will have heard stories from their Aunts about life growing up on missions and in small towns. So, the world of the play is not that unfamiliar to them. We will talk a bit about this knowledge and pay our respects to our mother’s, grandmother’s and ancestors who lived through these conditions. It was not that long ago.

7. This is a really popular play for study. Is there a message, perspective or idea you would encourage

students and teachers to explore in their study of the play? Something particularly special, pertinent or

relevant to you?

Key words that come to mind include:

• Aboriginal Australia in the 1950s and 60’s government protection policies and state legislation. • Black Diggers - the experience of returned Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander World War II soldiers • Living conditions of Aboriginal Australian’s in the post war period-rural • Australian immigration policies of the 1950’s and 60’s. • Aboriginal music of the 1950s and 60’s.

Production Elements

The production designer and director collaborate to develop a vision for the physical world of the play – the setting is written onto the stage as the set design. The production designer is instrumental to creating and executing this world, enabling the story to be told clearly, cohesively and flexibly. They also have to deliver this vision on time and within budget, and within practical and safety constraints of a theatre. It is a crucial role in the creative team.

This physical world is then further shaped by colour, light, contrast, tone and shadow wrought by the lighting design. This world is further enhanced by the sound design, and of course brought to life by the actors.

The production designer also creates the costume designs, again working to ensure the story written onto the stage is coherent, historically accurate, practical, and delivered within the particular logistical framework of the theatre.

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Responding to the Rainbow’s End costume design: sketch your memories of the costume designs from the Darlinghurst Theatre Company/Mooghalin Theatre production, using whatever media suits you. How do these designs reflect the historical setting of the piece? How do they reflect status, gender, character’s attitude to themselves and their view of the world? What would happen if you were to substitute elements of one costume for another? Experiment with altering the designs, extending this so far as to add elements from a different historical setting, for example put flared 1970s trousers on Errol, or denim overalls from the 1980s on Dolly. How does this change the effect and impact of the costume designs? How does this alter the tone of the play and the story it is telling? You can extend this activity by actually sourcing 1950s clothing you think would be appropriate for an actual production of the play (perhaps reflecting as best you can find the actual costumes you saw on stage). Also source clothing you believe would not be appropriate for production. Have people dress in these combinations of clothes, and as a class read and discuss the impact of each costume choice. The point of the activity is to experientially learn the level of care a designer invests in every detail of every costume on the stage. Every single element is carefully chosen, as one nonsensical or inaccurate choice can completely skew the meaning of a moment, scene, character or story.

Stage action: what do you recall about the shape of the stage? What was the playing space like? Sometimes theatre makers will refer to this stage space as the ‘footprint’, and this basically refers to the area the stage design takes up within the theatre space. Was there a central or main are within this footprint where most of the action took place? How much of the auditorium did the footprint take up? Note down, and through discussions add to, a list of surprising moments or stage action choices that you weren’t expecting to see on stage. Why did these surprise you – why do you think you remember them?

Sound design: go through the play script and source some of the songs, sound effects and radio voices you see listed in the script. As a class, make as comprehensive an audit as you can. Categorise these sound elements into three columns – music; sound effect; live stage sound. Create this list together. Now, use the internet and other sources to find sound effects that fulfil this list.

Opening sound montage: have a look at the opening moments of the script. Take turns to voice the radio announcer. Source a recording of Que Sera, Sera from 1954 (or close to) and have it ready to play at the end of the radio announcement, as per the script. What is the effect of the flood announcement being followed by this blithe, poignant music? What do you think the playwright is trying to convey to the audience, about setting, tone and character? How does she achieve this? Extend this activity by developing a lighting sequence for these very first opening moments of the play. Consider colour, timing and intensity of lighting and mark up your script to indicate what is happening and when with your lighting sequence.

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SFX: Radio: Repeated radio broadcasts from Shepparton warned the towns-folk of their peril as thunderstorms with heavy rain inundated the flood areas in the Goulburn Valley. Aborigines living in huts on the Goulburn River outside Shepparton were moved out when the river swelled over its banks. Crying women and children sat on sodden blankets and clothing watching the water rise into their huts.The rains at Shepparton were the heaviest on record, and 750 points fell in 40 hours. SFX: Que sera, sera; Whatever will be will be; The future’s not ours to see; Que sera, sera.

Stage Action: consider how subtext is conveyed on stage. One way is via what is not said, rather than dialogue. Below is an example of (mostly) non-verbal communication, communicated by the playwright via the stage directions. This seemingly short sequence establishes crucial information for the play. What is the information conveyed? What plot points are established that grow in significance/meaning/symbolism throughout the play? Find other instances of non-verbal stage action that is rich in meaning.

SCENE 4 Lights up on a brylcreamed lad, ERROL with bike and studying his map. DOLLY enters pushing the pram from the opposite direction ERROL: Morning, Miss. After they have passed each other they look back and check each other out – an instant spark of attraction passing between them. DOLLY exits. ERROL pushes on towards GLADYS, is chopping wood.

Review the production: you are going to review the production, but not in writing. Share your ideas as an oral presentation, or create a video news report to capture your views. The reason for choosing these alternative methods of presentation is to unlock ideas you may not have had previously, and to acknowledge there are a range of ways to disseminate and translate information beyond written expression.

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Scene Studies

A note on scene studies. At no point should students engage in accents or other caricatured performance choices if/when reading or performing scenes from the play. As with any text that explores intercultural experiences, attempts by students to assume an accent or portray a caricature can be extremely offensive. Read the text naturally in the student’s natural accent, pursuing a truthful reading of the meaning of the line, not a portrayal of stereotypes, assumptions or clichés – this serves no one.

Suggested Scenes for Classwork

1. Extract from Scene 4: establishes key characters and relationships; sets up the meeting of two worlds/intercultural experiences; fun scene to play with the rapport between Dolly and Errol, as well as the different roles Dolly has to play in her family, community and for outsiders like Errol. Note Gladys is a presence in the scene in a different area of the stage providing the underscoring with her humming.

GLADYS continues to sing softly, as the spotlight goes on DOLLY and ERROL. DOLLY: Sold many? ERROL: Um …. That was my first presentation. DOLLY: Fair dinkum? ERROL: Well, the first one I got all the way through, anyhow. You see, I just got in. The company gave me a map and a bicycle and a train ticket to Mooro – Moo-roo- .. DOLLY: Mooroopna. ERROL: Thanks. I’ve never been so far from Melbourne. DOLLY: So you’re from the big smoke? What’s it like? ERROL: Good, I suppose. Just like anywhere. He looks around. DOLLY: Anyway, you go the way I told ya. Fancy coming to the Flats! ERROL: Yes. But all’s well that ends well. DOLLY starts to head inside. ERROL: I get to deliver them. In four weeks … [Shyly] Will you be around …? DOLLY: ‘spose. Not going anywhere. A bicycle bell is heard off stage. DOLLY: Not delivering them on ya bicycle, I hope? ERROL: No … the company utility. Where is my bicycle? DOLLY: Oi! You little monkeys, get that ruddy bicycle back ‘here, or I’ll give youse a kick up the moom. [Politely] Found it. And you were worried about losing your map! Well… goodbye, then. ERROL: Goodbye, then … and thanks. DOLLY: What for? ERROL start to speak and stops himself. He stands and watches her while she returns to the humpy. Lights down then up on the interior.12

2. Scene 6: The Delivery: a great scene for playing with status, relationships, and all main characters occupying the same space. Note the neat and swift scene transition at the end as well.

12 Extracts from the script for Rainbow’s End are reproduced here with permission.

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SCENE 6. The delivery. Interior of the humpy. DOLLY [whispering]: But why do you have to do it in here … GLADYS: It’s ready to storm out there. Volume A would get wet. She turns her attention to a brown paper parcel. GLADYS: Cuppa, Errol? ERROL: Sure, but first don’t you want to see it, in all its glory? GLADYS: Dolly, go get the jam tins, will you please. The down payment. We’d better sort that out first. DOLLY gets the tins and passes GLADYS the jam tins, one at a time. GLADYS; Now. Pear money, tomatoes (not worth picking em at tuppence a pound) ... GLADYS carefully empties each tin and counts up the coins. DOLLY hands GLADYS the last of the jars. GLADYS: Not that jar Dolly, that’s your glory box stash. DOLLY looks embarrassed. She exits. Orange money, don’t like picking them, don’t like getting up them ladders one bit. NAN DEAR: At least you’re clear of the snakes. ERROL: Snakes? GLADYS: Once when Dolly was a babe in a wooden box, teatowel over her to keep off the sun –I went to feed her and there was this massive carpet snake curled up with her! And my Dolly was fast asleep! Not a peep out of her! ERROL: But you killed it? They look at him askance. GLADYS: They keep down the mice. NAN DEAR [To herself]: Encyclops boy and he knows nothing! GLADYS: Anyway ... two pounds, 6 shillings, deposit. Six shillings every three months, for 24 months, that’s the deal. DOLLY: Oh, and here’s the contract all filled in. She hands the contract to ERROL who scans it. ERROL: And signed by you, Mrs Banks? GLADYS: Done! ERROL: Done! Not my first sale, but surely my longest negotiation. Now …. Drum roll please …. GLADYS: Oh, I’m so excited! He hands over the parcel and GLADYS tears it open. Isn’t it …extraordinary … daught? Volume A! Would you look at the pictures? In colour too! NAN DEAR: What does it say about the aborigines? GLADYS: Mum! DOLLY: Nan! ERROL: Mrs Banks- GLADYS: Errol, call me Aunty. I imagine we’ll be seeing a bit of you. She looks from ERROL to DOLLY and back again. DOLLY looks embarrassed. NAN DEAR scowls more. When he comes to pick up the payments.

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NAN DEAR: You mean you’ve got to pay more for those things? GLADYS: Mum! DOLLY: Nan! Lights down then straight up on DOLLY, outside the humpy .

3. Scene 11: The Bank VS Mrs Banks. This is a very strong scene for exploring status, and moments of change; also subtext with unspoken realisations and shifts in attitude and intention; consider too the function of Dolly’s presence – is she a presence in Glady’s imagination, why, and what does this mean? It’s a good scene for the actor playing Gladys to explore high stakes – this is a crucial conversation for her for a range of reasons.

Interior of a BANK MANAGER’S office. GLADYS, who’s all dressed up, is sitting in the visitor’s seat while he sits behind his desk. BANK MANAGER: And how can I be of service Mrs …? GLADYS: Banks. Mrs Len Banks. BANK MANAGER: Mrs Banks. You’re inquiring about a loan perhaps? GLADYS: Oh no. It’s about my youngest, Dolly. GLADYS rummages in her bag. BANK MANAGER: And she …? She triumphantly produces a photo of DOLLY. BANK MANAGER: Yes. Very pretty face. [Beat] I’m still not sure why you’re here … GLADYS: The teller’s position. BANK MANAGER: I don’t think so. GLADYS: But she’s just completed her Leaving Certificate – the first in the family - with real good grades … ‘n’ top of her class in algebra … DOLLY enters GLADYS: … she’d be a fine asset – here’s her school report – see, all A’s and B’s - and she won this for best and fairest for women’s basketball … GLADYS hands over the report, and a ribbon. BANK MANAGER: Well, it’s all very impressive ... What I’m wondering is how she’d fit in. GLADYS [steely]: She’d fit in fine. BANK MANAGER: In a job such as this, reliability is important …I am wondering how would she get into town each day. GLADYS: She has a bicycle. BANK MANAGER: Splendid. Rapport with our customers is important. Sorry, rapport means – GLADYS: Getting along. Making people feel comfortable like. BANK MANAGER: Yes. [Beat] Mrs Banks, are you a customer of this Bank? GLADYS: Well, no. [Confessing] I’ve never even been in one of these before. BANK MANAGER: A bank manager’s office? GLADYS: A bank! BANK MANAGER: But everyone needs savings …

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From his bag, he produces a tin money bank and hands over to GLADYS. You put your pennies in here, when they add up to a pound, you bring them in to us and we write the amount in your savings book. It helps you to save for something special, and you know that your money is safe. GLADYS: Just like jam tins. BANK MANAGER: Just like jam tins. (Pause) Well, if that’s all. DOLLY [onstage]: Have you learnt not to be shamed by them? GLADYS: No. The trainee position. For my Dolly … BANK MANAGER: To be honest, Mrs Banks … GLADYS: She’d be an asset. She’s a hard worker. She knows all about hard work. She’s honest. She’s polite. She deserves a break. One little break. Are you going to be the one to offer her that break, sir? She stares him down. Pause. BANK MANAGER: Why not? [Beat] Please add her name and address to this list … He hands her a clipboard and his fountain pen. She takes it … BANK MANAGER: …and she’ll be notified of an interview time. … she shakes her head. BANK MANAGER: Mrs Banks? [Beat] Oh, fountain pens are a little tricky, aren’t they? He calmly begins to fill out the form and GLADYS sits back down. Your daughter’s full name, Mrs Banks? GLADYS: Dolores. Dolores Alice Banks. Lights down.

4. Extract from Scene 14: Waters Rising. This is the latter part of the confrontation scene between Errol and Dolly. It captures the lack of understanding from Errol about Dolly’s family and what is important to her – her mother, grandmother and family.

SCENE 14. Waters rising DOLLY shrugs and moves further away from him, as if to leave. ERROL: I want you to come away with me. DOLLY: Away? ERROL: Yes. To the city. We can get married. We can get a little flat. Wouldn’t you like that? A sweet little flat with a balcony and a sitting room and a new-fangled Kelvinator and water on tap … that’d have to be better than the river … DOLLY: I’d have to leave the river … ERROL: We could be near the seaside. Brighton’s nice. DOLLY: I’d have to leave my family … ERROL: Well, we could catch the train up once or twice a year. Or they could come down to visit. In the city, there’s department stores so big, you could spend all day in them. Why in the city there’s even little restaurants you can eat spaghetti, just like in Italy.

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DOLLY: Spaghetti? ERROL: The point is, you could live in a real home, for the first time. You deserve better. DOLLY: Better? Kelvinator and water on tap … that’d have to be better than the river … DOLLY: I’d have to leave the river … ERROL: We could be near the seaside. Brighton’s nice. DOLLY: I’d have to leave my family … ERROL: Well, we could catch the train up once or twice a year. Or they could come down to visit. In the city, there’s department stores so big, you could spend all day in them. Why in the city there’s even little restaurants you can eat spaghetti, just like in Italy. DOLLY: Spaghetti? ERROL: The point is, you could live in a real home, for the first time. You deserve better. DOLLY: Better? ERROL: You’re repeating everything … DOLLY: I don’t understand what you’re saying…. ERROL: I’m offering you a future … our future, together. DOLLY: But … a real home? A real home is where there are people looking out for each other. [Beat] Do they do that in your home, Errol? Don’t matter if the floors are dirt. Don’t matter one bit. ERROL: Hang on. Are you saying you’d rather live in a humpy by the river? DOLLY: You just think that your world is better. But actually, when I think about it – when I think about that nasty Nancy – she has everything that opens and shuts – but I wouldn’t trade places with her for anything. And as far as what you’re offering … no thank you. This is my place. I’m staying right here with my Mum and my Nan. ERROL: But Dolly - DOLLY: No Errol. Our life isn’t perfect, but like Nan’s says, it’s ours. And you don’t respect that. I’m sorry … She goes to leave. ERROL: Please …Dolly. I promised I’d walk you home. At least let me do that. DOLLY: No. And don’t follow me, this time. [Beat] I can look after myself. Thunder, lightning. And she’s gone into the shadows leaving him.

5. Scene 15: The Flood. This is the climactic scene of the play, after which we enter a slightly surreal landscape of Rumbalara. The final image of the scene is incredibly striking and powerful and warrants discussion of how students can envisage staging this moment, as well as how the moment was staged in the production they have seen at Darlinghurst Theatre Company.

The humpy interior. Lightning. The two women are packing up their belongings.

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NAN DEAR: Grab the flour, Glad, and the tea. GLADYS: I have done this before, Mum. Only about a thousand times. Wonder if it’ll go as high as ’51. NAN DEAR: Hope not. Got too much to do. Don’t want to wait three days for it to subside. [Beat.] I hope she is alright? GLADYS: He has the Utility … I’m sure she’ll be fine … She’s sensible. NAN DEAR: She’s with a boy. That’ll make her silly, not sensible. GLADYS [cranky]: I let her go with him. Don’t take it out on the girl. NAN DEAR is put out. GLADYS now focuses on the Encyclopaedias. NAN DEAR: I’m worried, that’s all. GLADYS: Then just say you’re worried, rather than all that other nonsense. NAN DEAR: I’m worried. GLADYS [softer]: Mum. I’m sure she’ll be alright. NAN tries to convince herself that she’s being a worry-wart. Thunder. NAN reacts. A JUNGI [policeman] enters. NAN DEAR: Is it my granddaughter? Is she okay? JUNGI: Granddaughter? No ma’am. I’m here to help you up to the tip site. GLADYS: She was in Shepp - JUNGI: There’s no getting through tonight. They’ll evacuate her to the Church. If you could grab just the essentials … NAN DEAR packs her Singer sewing machine. JUNGI: Ma’am? Is this essential? NAN DEAR: It’s a Singer! GLADYS: Could you give us a hand with the Encyclopaedia set, lad? JUNGI: My orders are to move all people first, before we move property. Property can be replaced, after all. GLADYS: Not this, it can’t. Not on a picker’s wage. [Pleading] Look, it’s real important. For my daughter, see. Not for me, but for my daughter. Please. JUNGI: Alright. GLADYS: You’ll make sure they’re high and dry? JUNGI: Yes. Let’s get on with it. GLADYS helps NAN with the pram. The JUNGI leads them out of the humpy. A noise outside makes GLADYS alert. GLADYS: It’s a banshee wailing. Suddenly, a flash of lightening illuminates the statue like figure of DOLLY. The sight of her makes GLADYS freeze, as if she’s seen a ghost. DOLLY resolutely steps towards the humpy and steps inside the humpy. DOLLY screams. Rain, thunder, darkness. Time passes. The waters rise.

6. Extract from Scene 17: The Broadcast. This is a fantastic turning point for the plot and characters in the play and a prelude to Gladys finding her voice in the final scene; also an interesting one to stage as the live action is occurring with Nan Dear and Dolly, and the off-stage action is centred on Gladys via the radio – great for experimenting with ways to stage the scene. Also note the racist comments made by councilors that Gladys is countering.

RADIO DJ: We resume our live broadcast of the Rodney Shire Council meeting …

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COUNCILLOR 1: On Crown land. We bulldozed the shanties but they’re creeping back. This housing problem is not going away. The lack of sanitation poses a serious risk to the good people of our town ... NAN DEAR: This rubbish! COUNCILLOR 2: Why can’t an ablutions block be built out there? GLADYS: Excuse me … NAN DEAR stares at the radio. NAN DEAR: Hey DOLLY: What? NAN DEAR: Shh … COUNCILLOR 1: The night cart, for one, can’t get access for part of the year due to the flooding … GLADYS: - If I could say something - NAN DEAR: See … She points to the radio. COUNCILLOR 2: Then build it at Daish’s paddock. COUNCILLOR: That’s out of the question. GLADYS: - Why so? - COUNCILLOR 1: Daish’s is our town tip site, that serves the whole of our community, not just an itinerant minority, as the councillor for the West Ward well knows … CROWD: Roar from outraged councillors. GLADYS: Oi! Re the so-called ‘housing problem’, it is a housing problem because us Aboriginals - NAN and DOLLY are getting very excited. CHAIRMAN: Madam … DOLLY: They’re calling her madam! NAN DEAR: Shh! GLADYS: - Us Aboriginals are not welcome in the townships – CHAIRMAN: Madam! GLADYS needs to fight to be heard over the roars of the councillors. GLADYS: And apart from those concrete humpies that you built – call them houses? CHAIRMAN: - Order! I must insist – GLADYS: And what about the other families? If you won’t let us build us our own houses on higher ground - CHAIRMAN: - The chair does not recognise this – GLADYS: - as if we choose to live on a floodplain – not realising that we need water too – to cook and to clean – DOLLY: Go, Mum! CHAIRMAN: - There are protocols! If you read the rules - GLADYS: - Maybe you don’t think we do wash - CHAIRMAN: Eject this interloper - GLADYS: - I’m not an interloper – I belong here – this is my land! CHAIRMAN: Madam, read the rules! Eject her! CROWD: Hear! Hear! GLADYS: - I haven’t finished. In fact I’m just starting re ‘the housing problem’ …[fading out as she is being lead

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away] NAN picks up the radio and shakes it. NAN DEAR: Oh …Schizenhausen! DOLLY: Nan. NAN DEAR: The bloody valve! DOLLY is flabbergasted. Oh, don’t look at me like that! Like you’ve never heard anyone swear. DOLLY: In German? NAN DEAR: But my daughter. My Gladys! Did you hear her? She’s practically hugging the radio, as if it were GLADYS. I didn’t think you had it in you, daught. They dance a little gig around the radio as the lights fade.

7. Scene 19: Pay the Rent; a very challenging scene in terms of staging with the split focuses and multiple scenarios on stage at once.

8. Final moments of the play: consider staging the final moments of the entire play, with Papa Dear’s homecoming - how will you write this moment onto the stage, with consideration given to lighting, sound and stage action?

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Books

Heiss, Anita: Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia. Black Inc Books, 2018.

Pascoe, Bruce: Dark Emu – Aboriginal Australia and the birth of agriculture. Magabala Books, 2018.

Websites/pages:

Apology to Australia’s Indigenous peoples, Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Wednesday, February 13, 2008, 9:09am AEDT. Accessed 2/12/2018; https://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/our-country/our-people/apology-to-australias-indigenous-peoples

Australian Screen, NFSA website: Curator’s notes on ‘The Queen in Australia, 1954’. Accessed 3/12/2018. https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/the-queen-in-australia/notes/

Bringing Them Home report – Chapter 2, sections 3 & 4, Australian Human Rights Commission, April 1997. Accessed 2/12/2018, https://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/bringing-them-home-chapter-2#Heading23

Darlinghurst Theatre Company, theatre company website. Accessed 9/12/2018. https://www.darlinghursttheatre.com/

Greater Shepparton City Council, Community pages. Accessed 2/12/2018. http://greatershepparton.com.au/community/diversity/aboriginal-community-and-partnerships

Mooghalin Performing Arts, theatre company website. Accessed 9/12/2018. http://moogahlin.org/

Reconciliation Australia’s Narragunnawali site. Accessed 9/12/2018. https://www.reconciliation.org.au/narragunnawali/

Why racism is so hard to define and even harder to understand, Dr Alana Lentin, first published in The Conversation. Accessed 2/12/2018, https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/newscentre/news_centre/more_news_stories/why_racism_is_so_hard_to_define_and_even_harder_to_understand

Website and Screen Content portal

NITV (National Indigenous Television) https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/

Further resources

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Darlinghurst Theatre Company © 2018