RAINBOW’S ENDPrescribed Text: Area of Study Belonging

ABOUT THE CONTEXT Commissioned by the Ilbijerri Theatre

Company in 2001 Objective was to tell the stories of Victorian

Indigenous People The play was written prior to Kevin Rudd’s

2008 Sorry speech Before this time dispossession from the land

and the Stolen Generation had not been officially awknowledged

ABOUT THE PLAY AND PLAYWRIGHT The play is a realist text set in 1950’s

Australia- beside the Goulburn River near Shepparton.

Jane Harrison is a direct descendant of the Muruwari people of New South Wales. She grew up in Victoria

The play is written in Two Acts. Act One has a Prologue and 14 Scenes Act Two has seven brief scenes

RUMBALARA This is the name of the housing project

opened in the area in 1958. The name means End of the Rainbow- hence

the plays title. The people who lived there survived on

meagre wages. It was not until 1967 that Aboriginals

received equal pay

RACE RELATIONS During the 1950’s the Aboriginal community

of Victoria was heavily marginalised. They lived on the outskirts of whgite towns. There was segregation- including at public

pools and cinemas. The Queen visited Australia in 1954 with her

husband. This is explored in the play and is Ironic as the Aboriginals were hidden during this visit.

AUDIENCE AND PURPOSE The play targets both a white and Aboriginal

audience. The first group are unfamiliar with the hardships faced by Aboriginals in this time period and the second want to see their exp eriences represented.

The play is in part a move to awknowledge past injustices.

For Aboriginal audience it is recognition of belonging to a community with a shared history.

READING THE PLAY As this text is a play you must imagine how it

would look and sound. Stage Directions tell you what the characters

are doing Pay attention to props. Music and Lighting is important as they

emphasise emotions When the directions give the word Beat- it

means it is a very brief pause to emphasise the emotional impact between characters.