Black Theatre (Sydney)
Encyclopedia
The National Black Theatre was a theatre company run by a small group of Aboriginal people based in the Sydney
suburb of Redfern
. The original concept for the theatre grew out of political struggles, especially the land rights demonstrations which at the time were being organised by the Black Moratorium Committee. The centre held workshops in modern dancing, tribal dancing, writing for theatre, karate and photography, and provided a venue for new Aboriginal drama. It also ran drama classes under Brian Syron who conducted the first of a planned series of six-week fulltime workshops for his students who included Jack Davis, Freddie Reynolds, Maureen Watson, Lillian Crombie, and Hyllus Maris. These people went on to become known in the Aboriginal community for their work in the Australian theatre and film industries.
and the land rights demonstrations which at the time were being organised by the Black Moratorium Committee.
Workshops
After working in the United States as a director and actor for eight years Brian Syron
returned to Sydney and following his award winning directorial production at The Ensemble Theatre, Kirribilli, of "Fortune and Men's Eyes" he held acting classes in 1969 for Indigenous actors including Gary Foley
and Dennis Walker at the Foundation for Aboriginal Affairs.
Paul Coe
, a law student, approached Jenny van de Steenhaven, also known as Sheehan, a non Aboriginal drama student to run classes for young people in 1971. They were given a grant of $870 to continue the workshops and play readings in February, 1972.
An art workshop was involved in the printing of posters (including those for the N'ingla a-na rallies) and in ceramics, sculpture, carving, etc. N'ingla a-na (1972) is a 72 minute documentary directed by European Australians Alessandro Cavadini and Carolyn Strachan and it is considered
The writer's workshop studied theatre, provided group material, wrote plays, and supplied some of the scripts for the revue. It was also involved in various long-term programs and the assessing and analysing of scripts.
Carole Johnson, an African American dancer, toured Australia with the Eleo Pomare Dance Company in February and March. They witnessed the media coverage of the tent embassy, and the attempts to remove it, and understood the human rights issues.
Carole started classes in May, using St Luke's Church hall by the end of the year. Participants included Euphemia Bostock, her daughter Tracey, Wayne Nicol, Norma Williams (Ingram), and Elsie and Joanne Vesper. The dance workshop was filmed in Sharing the dream
.
Funding
Coe and Sheehan applied on behalf of ‘Black Theatre’ for funding from the Council of the Arts for training, to expand the drama workshops. They were refused on the grounds of ‘lack of expertise’ and 'inexperience’. Other similar, equally inexperienced, groups received funding when they were formally established – APG in 1970 and Nimrod in 1971. Casey outlines this as one of a number of obstacles they faced.
In mid 1972 Bob Maza was invited to come to Sydney, to share his experience. He had set up Nindethana in Melbourne
with Jack Charles, and had had a number of roles in television. A grant of $500 from the Council of the Arts went towards his train ticket and relocation costs. His ‘professional’ status did attract the funding that was needed. $5500 was granted by the Council of the Arts. Maza had been to the United States in 1970 as part of a delegation to the Pan African Conference. He and Sol Bellear spent some time working and studying with the National Black Theatre of Harlem
. Perhaps inspired by that, Redfern's National Black Theatre took shape. Also helpful, Maza had experience writing his own material, as existing texts weren’t meeting their needs. They rented a house at 174 Regent Street, and for workshops were given use of the hall named Murawina behind a church by Wayside Chapel and the Aboriginal Women’s Action Group who operated the children’s breakfast program. (Shepherd Street Chippendale?) Maza ran the workshops when Coe and Sheehan had to resume their studies.
When Carole went to South East Asia in September to continue her investigation of dance cultures, Phemie Bostock, assisted by Wayne Nicole, took over the coordination of the Dance Group. Carole proposed an Aboriginal Community Arts - Education Centre to the Aboriginal Arts Advisory Committee, encapsulating the needs and wants of the community. Social outlets, and cultural and training programs were needed in Redfern.
First performances
The first formal and publicly acknowledged performance by Black Theatre was street theatre
in 1972 to publicise the Black Moratorium and the Gove land rights claim
against Nabalco, (now Rio-Tinto Alcan
). This was broadcast nationally by This Day Tonight
.
The next performance was to lead the Aboriginal land rights demonstration, held on 14 July across the country on NAIDOC Day. The Pitjantjatjara expression N'ingla-a-na 'We are hungry for our land' became the rally call.
Six days later, on 20 July, the news came through that the Aboriginal Tent Embassy
in Canberra
had been removed.
At the re-erection of the tent embassy, on 30 July, the Black Theatre performed the Dance of the Embassy, also called The challenge which was a symbolic re-erection of the tent embassy but portrayed the whole history of Aboriginal / European conflict and gave powerful expression to the emotions of that event.
On 7 September, the dance group performed a public concert at the Friends' hall in Devonshire Street, Surry Hills. It was a presentation of class work, works in progress and students' material. The Embassy dance, called Awakening, was revised to include traditional Aboriginal movements.
Basically black
When Bob Maza came to Sydney, he undertook an apprenticeship program for directors and actors with the Nimrod Theatre Company
. In the absence of a performance space, the political revue Basically Black was performed at the Nimrod Theatre Company's Stables Theatre, directed by Ken Horler. The cast included Aileen Corpus, Gary Foley, Zac Martin, Bob Maza and Bindi Williams. The revue was a biting satire, continuing the response to the High Court
ruling against a traditional claim to land ownership. The reports were that it was very funny. Premiering 27 October, a successful season of five or six weeks ran until December 3.
The final performance coincided with a federal
election
and the famous ALP / Gough Whitlam
victory.
Ebony Profile Casting agency
By the end of 1972 NBT, as it was known, was based at 181 Regent Street, an umbrella organisation for a range of groups.
----
The Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council was established at the Black Theatre in 1973, illustrating its value as a community hub.
Basically black tour and television production
Basically Black was invited to the Innisfail Festival in Queensland
. Trusting the assurances of funding, the Black Theatre troupe set off on tour - visits to missions and reserves considered important as there were a range of human rights issues in that state.
However the promised funding from the Council for the Arts did not arrive, which put a lot of pressure on the shoe string budget. A new production had been planned for March, a musical, Millingurri. Thirteen out of the fourteen songs were original, some were recorded. However NBT did not continue operating. Lester Bostock carried on as administrator after the tour, followed by Tony Coorey. Funds were frozen for some time. There was a brief lull while people reenergised.
The cast reunited for the ABC television production of Basically Black, At a 1993 Aboriginal Medical Service meeting Gary Foley
is quoted as saying :
The foundations were laid for a broad range of initiatives that followed – the possibility of Aboriginal-initiated theatre had been opened up.. What was needed next, was a performance space.
First National Seminar on Aboriginal Arts
The first National Seminar on Aboriginal Arts was held in Canberra in May 1973, sponsored by the Aboriginal Arts Board of the newly formed Australia Council for the Arts. (The newly elected ALP had a commitment to the arts – there was a substantial increase in funding and reorganisation of procedures enabling greater accessibility to resources, leading to independence of the Australia Council in 1975. The Aboriginal Arts Board had 15 Aboriginal members)
Paul Coe, Brian Syron, Gary Foley, Oodgeroo Noonuccal
, her grandson Denis Walker and other delegates discussed possibilities. A number favoured outreach work with mobile productions and workshops touring. Syron suggested a black theatre in each state, as a supplement, not replacement to traditional forms A group presented a program of short sketches on topical issues.
Carole Johnson returned in November to take up a consultancy position with the Urban Theatre Committee (UTC), a sub-committee of the newly established Aboriginal Arts Board (AAB). This meant she worked more with helping to find a building for Black theatre than with dance workshops.
For the first time, a theatre company used Aboriginal people to play Aboriginal people. Sydney Theatre Company produced The story of Bennelong. Boddy's The Cradle of Hercules at the Sydney Opera House Old Tote theatre.
----
Black Theatre Arts and Cultural Centre
They opened officially on 26 July, renaming themselves The Black Theatre Arts and Cultural Centre. Roberta Flack
and Rahsaan Roland Kirk
were among the celebrities there. Betty Fisher had accepted the position to run the centre.
She recruited Stella Adler
trained Aboriginal theatre director, actor and teacher Brian Syron
to work on setting it up. A huge empty and derelict hall was leased from the Methodist Church (Wesley Central Mission) for $15,000 a year with very few conveniences. Casey refers to a former printing works in Botany St, but it is likely the 27-31 Cope Street address, the two streets merge.
With the help of friends such as Tom Hogan and Kevin Cook
from the Builders' Labourers Federation, she renovated the old warehouse and developed a theatre and studio area. Born in Berry on the New South Wales south coast, Fisher was a well-known, respected and multi talented personality - a cabaret entertainer for 16 years singing with Graham Bell's Jazz Group. Fisher had also toured for 3 years with the Aboriginal band Black Lace and was on many Aboriginal service committees, including the Foundation for Aboriginal Affairs. Her musical achievements in her short lifetime are quite remarkable when you consider that both Black Lace and Graham Bell's Jazz Group are extremely highly regarded in the music world.
By November 1974, it was up and running.
A theatre provided seating for 100 in a semicircle built up on scaffolding, with cushions spread across. The focus was again on training and workshops. Casey tells the story of a Koori parent leaving his child, overheard outside the centre
Functions included: skill development
• outlet for artists and the community
• theatre centre
• exhibition space
• exhibited the work of Aboriginal fashion designers sykes and smith mumshirl 132
• drop in and meeting place for local and international visitors
• focal point for the community
• youth centre
• starting point for stolen generations with the task of beginning the search for their family, at that time known as lost generation.
• bridge between non Aboriginal producers and directors and Aboriginal actors. For example Peter Weir
and some television producers did casting interviews there.
The first play staged at the theatre, The chocolate frog, was written by non-Aboriginal Jim McNeil. While on the executive committee of the Foundation for Aboriginal Affairs, Bettie Fisher had initiated its use as the subject of workshops conducted for inmates of Sydney prisons. (Year unknown)
Syron and Johnson worked on a workshop program to upgrade black theatre across Australia. Carole returned to the United States in May, but returned in 1975 committed to ‘get dance on solid ground’.
----
Dance showcase
A joint dance program with the Sydney dance group, and Queensland’s Yelangi Dance Company and Torres Strait Island Dancers was presented in February, and a short performance on 6 April, to introduce funding bodies to the work being done by the Black Theatre
The cake man
The first serious play to be workshopped at the centre by director Brian Syron in collaboration with Bob Maza was The cake man, written in 1974 by Robert Merritt
from Erambie Aborigines' Reserve`, Cowra. Merritt wrote The cake man while he was in gaol and the play was then smuggled out of the gaol by the Prison Education Officer to the Australian National Playwrights Conference (ANPC). Katherine Brisbane and her husband the late Phillip Parsons Brisbane, the founders of Currency Press, passed the text on to Bob Maza in an amazing act of humanitarian aid to the Black arts of Australia. In it he expressed what he believed was at the root of Aboriginal despair.
It was mainly cast in the Redfern community and starred Justine Saunders, Brian Syron, Zac Martin, Teddy Phillips, and an 8-year-old Lisa Maza plus non Aboriginal actors Max Cullen and Danny Adcock. This was a contentious decision weighing up the need for black emergence vs collaboration and skill development.
Gerry Bostock tells how, during the performance of one scene in which a group is set upon by two white thugs, visitors from Elcho Island became incensed and tried to climb on to the stage to offer their assistance, yelling ‘I’ll help ya, brother!’ and ‘I’ll come and save ya, cousin!’
After initial refusal, Merritt was finally permitted to attend opening night under guard. The cast refused to go on stage until the handcuffs were removed. Lisa Maza presented him with a cake at the end. The play was a huge success with large Koori audiences attending. Casey stresses what an important milestone it was – the first completely Aboriginal written, initiated, controlled, full length, professional, recognised production.
Six week Training Program
The first national performing arts training for Aboriginal people had a profound effect, on the participants, and as a catalyst for performing arts in Sydney. Syron and Johnson, as members of the UTC, devised a continuing training scheme - to nurture new interests and new ideas, increase visibility and participation, and demonstrate the need for a permanent course or school. It was funded by the Commonwealth Department of Education and the Aboriginal Arts Board, and supported by the Black Theatre.
28 students were selected nationally through mini workshops held in the capital cities; Brisbane and Melbourne (Adelaide postponed). This ‘travelling theatre’ would also build networks. Syron taught drama, Johnson and Nicol taught dance, Ande Reese (aka Ande Evan Maddox) taught writing, Tom Rosser taught Karate. The intensive six week course took place at the Black Theatre in Redfern in June and July. Students included Maureen Watson, Jack Davis, Lillian Crombie, Andrew Jackamos, Hylus Maris, Wayne Nicol, Christine Donnelly, Aileen Corpus, Zac Martin, John Bayles, Lorraine Mafi.
On the last night the group staged plays and dances they had written or choreographed. Over 300 people came from all over the country with no advertising.
Syron met with Carole Johnson and Ande Reese to discuss the production of a film record of The Six Weeks Workshop because he believed that history was being made by all those involved and they needed to record the historic events in order to realise their value. Ande, like Carole, was an African American residing in Sydney, with experience in film and television production in the United States. She had been a screenwriting fellow at the American Film Institute, so she began work on a film (which would be completed in 1976).
Outcomes
After the six week training program, people could for the first time see possibility of employment.
Members of the dance group requested more specialised training, and a Careers in Dance course commenced in October. It moved to Bodenweiser Dance Studio in Chippendale, the breakaway causing some grief in the Redfern community. This was the forerunner of The Aboriginal / Islander Dance Theatre (AIDT) and The Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Scheme (AISDS), which evolved into the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA) in 1988, and the offshoot Bangarra Dance Theatre
in 1989.
Christine Donnelly applied for a grant to continue dance workshops at the Centre, but was initially refused.
In August, Johnson and Syron were terminated as consultants to the Aboriginal Arts Board (Urban dance and Urban Theatre), the only consultants for the UTC with experience in the performing arts. (Chicka Dixon
was a member who became increasingly active.)
While the dance group focused on further education, the drama group saw most of its students gain work. Many excelled in other areas of the performing arts as well. Yvette Isaacs was awarded a Conservatorium of Music scholarship. Known now as Maroochy Baramba, a successful musician, she has performed in leading roles and established a recording and publishing company Daki Budtcha. Jack Davis
developed as a playwright, Cheryl Stone became a booking agent, Maureen Watson became a well-known storyteller and started Radio Redfern. Christine Donnelly founded the Aboriginal Dance Theatre Redfern (ADTR) in 1979 to serve the Redfern community. Lucy Jumawan has worked there for many years as senior dance teacher.
Performances
Jack Davis presented for a performance his second one-act play, The biter bit
Bettie Fisher continued to invite touring international Black artists to perform at the Black Theatre. Despite resistance by a number of non-Aboriginal entertainment managers, visitors included the band, Osibisa
, and the Ghanaian drummers.
Change of government
In November 1975, there was a constitutional crisis and the Liberal Party
under Malcolm Fraser
gained power. Funding and support for Aboriginal arts, and rights, was about to change.
However tragically Bettie Fisher died of coronary arteriosclerosis
on 12 May 1976, still in her thirties. Brian Syron wrote that
Funding withdrawn
A proposed grant from the Federal government of $86,000 for the 76-77 financial year was withdrawn in June 1976. (Dance and drama were funded separately.) The Board (under the new Liberal government
) didn’t support the organisation, and was critical of Lester Bostock’s appointment as Fisher’s replacement. Ironically the Board was planning to spend $197,000 to send 30 Aboriginal performers to Nigeria to take part in the 2nd World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture.
Marcia Langton believed that the difficulties faced by the black theatre in this period occurred because their work challenged the ‘accepted’ expectations of Aboriginal people. Justine Saunders agreed - 'challenging stereotypes, presenting real human beings dealing with conflict.'
Here comes the nigger
To deal with the financial crisis a fundraising committee was established. The company used their limited resources to produce the play Here Comes the Nigger written by Gerry Bostock. This was the final production at the Redfern Black Theatre and Cultural Centre in 1976. It was directed by Jack Charles, then Bob Maza who withdrew for other commitments. It then became a cooperative affair with Gerry Bostock and Bryan Brown directing with the cast . The cast included Athol Compton, Kevin Stuart (Smith), Julie McGregor, Marcia Langton, Bryan Brown, Robert Hensley, John Bayles, Ron Murray, Lorraine Mafi Williams and Venieca Doolan. Marcia Langton, for example, was running the box office as a volunteer for NAISDA student performances at the centre, in between working for The Aboriginal Medical Service around the corner.
This was the first occasion a profile was achieved outside the urban Aboriginal communities The play was successful – they were starting to draw in a wider audience, often first time visitors to Redfern, which helped to start to break down the barriers.
Film: Tjintu Pakani - Sunrise awakening
Syron noted in Kicking Down the Doors that Tjinto-Pakani : Sunrise Awakening was completed, including footage of the first professional performance by Black Theatre's dance group under the direction of Carole Johnson in 1976. The film won first prize in the Greater Union Awards, documentary category, at the Sydney Film Festival in May that year. It also screened in Paris at L'Homme Regarde L'Homme, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and had a private screening at Universal Studios in Hollywood. A half hour version was televised by the ABC.
One of the items was the Embassy dance, performed this time with traditional movements.
In an interview with Reese for a paper titled "The Australian Film Commission" written in September, 1977, Reese said that when she made Sunrise Awakening
did a television production of the play The Cake Man in 1977, making it the first telemovie to be written by an Aboriginal playwright. After its success, Merritt then tried to put on another stage production of the play.
Under Ogilvie's direction and starring Justine Saunders with Zac Martin and Brian Syron it was the first Aboriginal play to enter the repertoire of the European Australian mainstream theatre.
Prime Minister
Malcolm Fraser
announced that cultural activities involving Aboriginal people would no longer be helped by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, but would become the responsibility of the Australia Council
. No funds were granted to the Council for its additional responsibilities.
Lester Bostock recalled that the Theatre had applied to the Department and to the Australia Council for assistance but had received no reply. Lack of funding had become an enormous strain on the Theatre, and all involved. As Langton explained
By the end of 1977 the Black Theatre had closed.
In 1980 Bostock and Bryan Brown
received Script development funding from the Creative Development Branch of the Australian Film Commission
for a documentary to be made from Bostock's script Here Comes the Nigger.
In 1982 The Cake Man starring Justine Saunders, Graham Moore
and Syron, and directed by Syron, was invited to the International World Theatre Festival in Denver, Colorado and played to packed houses receiving widespread acclaim (despite bureaucratic and private company disinterest).
Merritt went on to become the first Aboriginal screenwriter to co-write a feature film "Running Man" (1982) and the first Indigenous screenwriter of feature film "Short Changed" (1986)
In 1984 Bob Merritt set up the Eora Centre for the visual and performing arts in Redfern, offering young Aboriginal people a comprehensive education. He filmed it in Eora Corroboree
In 1987 the First National Black Playwrights’ Conference was held under the artistic directorship of Brian Syron, thanks to a push from people like Chicka Dixon, Gary Foley and Rhoda Roberts.
Out of this came the Aboriginal National Theatre Trust (ANTT), established in Sydney in 1988.
In 1988 Carole Johnson was a foundation member and first director of the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA). She played a major role in the training of Aboriginal and Islander dancers and actors in movement, dance and choreography.
NAISDA is based on an idea of Johnson's, where young people would be taught traditional dance from their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander elders while also studying a modern dance technique.
Johnson also played a pivotal role in the establishment in 1989 of the Bangarra Dance Theatre
. She was founder and foundation member of the theatre which began in the Police Boys Club, Pitt Street, Redfern. The Bangarra Dance Theatre performed their first professional performance in 1990 in Brian Syron's feature film Jindalee Lady (1992), the first feature film to be directed by an Indigenous Australian.
It was also true that
Bettie Fisher
Gerry Bostock
Lester Bostock
Kevin Smith
Marcia Langton
Justine Saunders
. When ATSIC was abolished in 2005, the Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC) took over the overseeing of the site, redeveloping it in 2008, liaising with Sol Bellear, Redfern Aboriginal Authority's CEO. The ILC sought expressions of interest from Aboriginal businesses and organisations in the arts, multimedia, retail and/or hospitality. Koori Radio
moved in and set up a recording studio.
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
suburb of Redfern
Redfern, New South Wales
Redfern is an inner-city suburb of Sydney. Redfern is 3 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney...
. The original concept for the theatre grew out of political struggles, especially the land rights demonstrations which at the time were being organised by the Black Moratorium Committee. The centre held workshops in modern dancing, tribal dancing, writing for theatre, karate and photography, and provided a venue for new Aboriginal drama. It also ran drama classes under Brian Syron who conducted the first of a planned series of six-week fulltime workshops for his students who included Jack Davis, Freddie Reynolds, Maureen Watson, Lillian Crombie, and Hyllus Maris. These people went on to become known in the Aboriginal community for their work in the Australian theatre and film industries.
1972
Street theatre was organised by the Aboriginal community in Redfern by 1972 as a form of political action. Its value in publicising issues was used to support many protests and rallies in the early 70s. Gary Foley recalls one action to support the establishment of a legal service. Informal and formal theatrical performances were staged to raise awareness about the tent embassyAboriginal Tent Embassy
The Aboriginal Tent Embassy is a controversial semi-permanent assemblage claiming to represent the political rights of Australian Aborigines. It is made of a large group of activists, signs, and tents that reside on the lawn of Old Parliament House in Canberra, the Australian capital...
and the land rights demonstrations which at the time were being organised by the Black Moratorium Committee.
sketches and street theatre ... in hotels, in lounges of pubs... We performed as black theatre groups, as street groups, in the marches. Black theatre would get involved with all the political demonstrations. [Gerry Bostock]
Workshops
After working in the United States as a director and actor for eight years Brian Syron
Brian Syron
Brian Syron was a human rights advocate, teacher, actor, writer, stage director and Australia's first Indigenous feature film director who has been recognised as the first First Nations feature film director.-Life:...
returned to Sydney and following his award winning directorial production at The Ensemble Theatre, Kirribilli, of "Fortune and Men's Eyes" he held acting classes in 1969 for Indigenous actors including Gary Foley
Gary Foley
Gary Foley is an Australian Aboriginal Gumbainggir activist, academic, writer and actor . He is best known for his role in establishing the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra in 1972 and for establishing an Aboriginal Legal Service in Redfern in the 1970s...
and Dennis Walker at the Foundation for Aboriginal Affairs.
He is still interested in helping to create a black theatre in Sydney and will be willing to train Aboriginal people who are interested in becoming professional actors.
Paul Coe
Paul Coe
Paul Coe ', a Wiradjuri man, is an Australian Aboriginal activist. He was the son of Leslie Coe, and the grandson of Paul Joseph Coe and Edith Murray and the great grandson of Thomas Coe and Jessie Mary, née Waggerah ....
, a law student, approached Jenny van de Steenhaven, also known as Sheehan, a non Aboriginal drama student to run classes for young people in 1971. They were given a grant of $870 to continue the workshops and play readings in February, 1972.
An art workshop was involved in the printing of posters (including those for the N'ingla a-na rallies) and in ceramics, sculpture, carving, etc. N'ingla a-na (1972) is a 72 minute documentary directed by European Australians Alessandro Cavadini and Carolyn Strachan and it is considered
an historically significant film, one of the first to examine the land rights movement and Aboriginal activism...highlighting the work of the Aboriginal Health and Legal Service and the national Black Theatre as examples of the growing movement for self determination
The writer's workshop studied theatre, provided group material, wrote plays, and supplied some of the scripts for the revue. It was also involved in various long-term programs and the assessing and analysing of scripts.
Carole Johnson, an African American dancer, toured Australia with the Eleo Pomare Dance Company in February and March. They witnessed the media coverage of the tent embassy, and the attempts to remove it, and understood the human rights issues.
Eleo insisted that Aboriginal people be invited guests to his performances ... He had the first three rows reserved for them .. a first.Carole stayed in Sydney and was introduced to Jenny Isaacs who was working for the Australian Council for the Arts.
She told me she'd be here anyway, could she work here. I said Redfern mob would love to see your performance; we organised a bus to get people there. Within two weeks we drummed up a grant application for Carole to stay on the basis she would be doing workshops.
Carole started classes in May, using St Luke's Church hall by the end of the year. Participants included Euphemia Bostock, her daughter Tracey, Wayne Nicol, Norma Williams (Ingram), and Elsie and Joanne Vesper. The dance workshop was filmed in Sharing the dream
Sharing the Dream (film)
Sharing the dream is a 1974 short 16mm film which recorded the Black Theatre dance workshops in Redfern in 1973 taught by Carole Johnson....
.
Funding
Coe and Sheehan applied on behalf of ‘Black Theatre’ for funding from the Council of the Arts for training, to expand the drama workshops. They were refused on the grounds of ‘lack of expertise’ and 'inexperience’. Other similar, equally inexperienced, groups received funding when they were formally established – APG in 1970 and Nimrod in 1971. Casey outlines this as one of a number of obstacles they faced.
In mid 1972 Bob Maza was invited to come to Sydney, to share his experience. He had set up Nindethana in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
with Jack Charles, and had had a number of roles in television. A grant of $500 from the Council of the Arts went towards his train ticket and relocation costs. His ‘professional’ status did attract the funding that was needed. $5500 was granted by the Council of the Arts. Maza had been to the United States in 1970 as part of a delegation to the Pan African Conference. He and Sol Bellear spent some time working and studying with the National Black Theatre of Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
. Perhaps inspired by that, Redfern's National Black Theatre took shape. Also helpful, Maza had experience writing his own material, as existing texts weren’t meeting their needs. They rented a house at 174 Regent Street, and for workshops were given use of the hall named Murawina behind a church by Wayside Chapel and the Aboriginal Women’s Action Group who operated the children’s breakfast program. (Shepherd Street Chippendale?) Maza ran the workshops when Coe and Sheehan had to resume their studies.
When Carole went to South East Asia in September to continue her investigation of dance cultures, Phemie Bostock, assisted by Wayne Nicole, took over the coordination of the Dance Group. Carole proposed an Aboriginal Community Arts - Education Centre to the Aboriginal Arts Advisory Committee, encapsulating the needs and wants of the community. Social outlets, and cultural and training programs were needed in Redfern.
First performances
The first formal and publicly acknowledged performance by Black Theatre was street theatre
Street theatre
Street theatre is a form of theatrical performance and presentation in outdoor public spaces without a specific paying audience. These spaces can be anywhere, including shopping centres, car parks, recreational reserves and street corners. They are especially seen in outdoor spaces where there are...
in 1972 to publicise the Black Moratorium and the Gove land rights claim
Gove land rights case
Milirrpum v Nabalco Pty Ltd, 17 FLR 141 , was the first litigation on native title in Australia. The decision of Justice Richard Blackburn ruled against the claimants on a number of issues of law and fact, rejecting the doctrine of aboriginal title in favor of terra nullius.Although Milirrpum was...
against Nabalco, (now Rio-Tinto Alcan
Alcan
Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. is a Canadian company based in Montreal. It was created on November 15, 2007 as the result of the merger between Rio Tinto PLC's Canadian subsidiary, Rio Tinto Canada Holding Inc., and Canadian company Alcan Inc. On the same date, Alcan Inc. was renamed Rio Tinto Alcan Inc..Rio...
). This was broadcast nationally by This Day Tonight
This Day Tonight
This Day Tonight was an Australian Broadcasting Corporation current affairs program of the late 1960s and early 1970s.- Overview :...
.
The next performance was to lead the Aboriginal land rights demonstration, held on 14 July across the country on NAIDOC Day. The Pitjantjatjara expression N'ingla-a-na 'We are hungry for our land' became the rally call.
For the first time Aboriginal people with their families came out on the streets in large numbers to support their younger people.
Six days later, on 20 July, the news came through that the Aboriginal Tent Embassy
Aboriginal Tent Embassy
The Aboriginal Tent Embassy is a controversial semi-permanent assemblage claiming to represent the political rights of Australian Aborigines. It is made of a large group of activists, signs, and tents that reside on the lawn of Old Parliament House in Canberra, the Australian capital...
in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
had been removed.
At the re-erection of the tent embassy, on 30 July, the Black Theatre performed the Dance of the Embassy, also called The challenge which was a symbolic re-erection of the tent embassy but portrayed the whole history of Aboriginal / European conflict and gave powerful expression to the emotions of that event.
On 7 September, the dance group performed a public concert at the Friends' hall in Devonshire Street, Surry Hills. It was a presentation of class work, works in progress and students' material. The Embassy dance, called Awakening, was revised to include traditional Aboriginal movements.
I think everyone present sensed that this was a very significant event for the Aboriginal community, and the considerable number of Redfern ‘Koories’ present bore this out.
Basically black
When Bob Maza came to Sydney, he undertook an apprenticeship program for directors and actors with the Nimrod Theatre Company
Nimrod Theatre Company
The Nimrod Theatre Company, in Nimrod Street, Kings Cross, Sydney, Australia, was founded by in 1970 by John Bell, Richard Wherrett and Ken Horler, and gained a reputation for producing more "good new Australian drama" from 1970 to 1985 than any other Australian theatre company...
. In the absence of a performance space, the political revue Basically Black was performed at the Nimrod Theatre Company's Stables Theatre, directed by Ken Horler. The cast included Aileen Corpus, Gary Foley, Zac Martin, Bob Maza and Bindi Williams. The revue was a biting satire, continuing the response to the High Court
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
ruling against a traditional claim to land ownership. The reports were that it was very funny. Premiering 27 October, a successful season of five or six weeks ran until December 3.
The final performance coincided with a federal
Government of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...
election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
and the famous ALP / Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
victory.
the cast, crew and audience gathered in the theatre foyer to party and watch the results of the Federal election come in on specially installed TV sets ... the McMahon government (and twenty-two years of conservative rule) lost the election to a Labor landslide.
Ebony Profile Casting agency
Also at this time certain advertising agencies began offering work to local blacks. This interest led to the formation of Ebony Profile, a part of NBT established as a black casting agency providing people with a grounding in advertising, television and films. The agencies and TV producers rely on “Ebony Profile” to provide them with actors, actresses, etc.
By the end of 1972 NBT, as it was known, was based at 181 Regent Street, an umbrella organisation for a range of groups.
----
1973
Dance classes had ceased for a few months. While Phemie prepared herself to be a teacher, she searched for a replacement for Carole. A few came and went, until Lucy Jumawan, recently arrived from the Philippines ensured a regular schedule.The Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council was established at the Black Theatre in 1973, illustrating its value as a community hub.
Basically black tour and television production
Basically Black was invited to the Innisfail Festival in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. Trusting the assurances of funding, the Black Theatre troupe set off on tour - visits to missions and reserves considered important as there were a range of human rights issues in that state.
It was a white bus, and on the side of it had Black Theatre and Basically black underneath it. And in those days we had a lot of looks and stares of people wondering what all these blackfellas in this bus here ... [Ted Maza, Bob Maza's nephew, was involved in the music side]
However the promised funding from the Council for the Arts did not arrive, which put a lot of pressure on the shoe string budget. A new production had been planned for March, a musical, Millingurri. Thirteen out of the fourteen songs were original, some were recorded. However NBT did not continue operating. Lester Bostock carried on as administrator after the tour, followed by Tony Coorey. Funds were frozen for some time. There was a brief lull while people reenergised.
The cast reunited for the ABC television production of Basically Black, At a 1993 Aboriginal Medical Service meeting Gary Foley
Gary Foley
Gary Foley is an Australian Aboriginal Gumbainggir activist, academic, writer and actor . He is best known for his role in establishing the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra in 1972 and for establishing an Aboriginal Legal Service in Redfern in the 1970s...
is quoted as saying :
"The first black television show by the ABC, which was a version of Basically Black, had some scripts culled by non Aboriginal scriptwriters from the original production". Foley
The foundations were laid for a broad range of initiatives that followed – the possibility of Aboriginal-initiated theatre had been opened up.. What was needed next, was a performance space.
First National Seminar on Aboriginal Arts
The first National Seminar on Aboriginal Arts was held in Canberra in May 1973, sponsored by the Aboriginal Arts Board of the newly formed Australia Council for the Arts. (The newly elected ALP had a commitment to the arts – there was a substantial increase in funding and reorganisation of procedures enabling greater accessibility to resources, leading to independence of the Australia Council in 1975. The Aboriginal Arts Board had 15 Aboriginal members)
Paul Coe, Brian Syron, Gary Foley, Oodgeroo Noonuccal
Oodgeroo Noonuccal
Oodgeroo Noonuccal was an Australian poet, political activist, artist and educator. She was also a campaigner for Aboriginal rights...
, her grandson Denis Walker and other delegates discussed possibilities. A number favoured outreach work with mobile productions and workshops touring. Syron suggested a black theatre in each state, as a supplement, not replacement to traditional forms A group presented a program of short sketches on topical issues.
Carole Johnson returned in November to take up a consultancy position with the Urban Theatre Committee (UTC), a sub-committee of the newly established Aboriginal Arts Board (AAB). This meant she worked more with helping to find a building for Black theatre than with dance workshops.
For the first time, a theatre company used Aboriginal people to play Aboriginal people. Sydney Theatre Company produced The story of Bennelong. Boddy's The Cradle of Hercules at the Sydney Opera House Old Tote theatre.
----
1974
The Black Theatre group reformed. Originally there were no financial resources, then funding was obtained from the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and AAB to establish and manage a centre. As Casey saidOne of the major problems facing Aboriginal artists was the battle to be taken seriously as artists rather than as social issues to be supported. To this end the Black Theatre’s achievement of establishing its own performance space was an important step. The resulting exposure of their theatre work to a wider audience was another major step.
Black Theatre Arts and Cultural Centre
They opened officially on 26 July, renaming themselves The Black Theatre Arts and Cultural Centre. Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is notable for jazz, soul, R&B, and folk music...
and Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Rahsaan Roland Kirk was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played tenor saxophone, flute and many other instruments...
were among the celebrities there. Betty Fisher had accepted the position to run the centre.
She recruited Stella Adler
Stella Adler
Stella Adler was an American actress and an acclaimed acting teacher, who founded the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City and the The Stella Adler Academy of Acting in Los Angeles with long-time protege Joanne Linville, who continues to teach and furthers Adler's legacy...
trained Aboriginal theatre director, actor and teacher Brian Syron
Brian Syron
Brian Syron was a human rights advocate, teacher, actor, writer, stage director and Australia's first Indigenous feature film director who has been recognised as the first First Nations feature film director.-Life:...
to work on setting it up. A huge empty and derelict hall was leased from the Methodist Church (Wesley Central Mission) for $15,000 a year with very few conveniences. Casey refers to a former printing works in Botany St, but it is likely the 27-31 Cope Street address, the two streets merge.
With the help of friends such as Tom Hogan and Kevin Cook
Kevin Cook
Kevin Lee Cook is an American basketball coach, and former collegiate athlete, who is now the women's basketball head coach at Gallaudet University.*...
from the Builders' Labourers Federation, she renovated the old warehouse and developed a theatre and studio area. Born in Berry on the New South Wales south coast, Fisher was a well-known, respected and multi talented personality - a cabaret entertainer for 16 years singing with Graham Bell's Jazz Group. Fisher had also toured for 3 years with the Aboriginal band Black Lace and was on many Aboriginal service committees, including the Foundation for Aboriginal Affairs. Her musical achievements in her short lifetime are quite remarkable when you consider that both Black Lace and Graham Bell's Jazz Group are extremely highly regarded in the music world.
By November 1974, it was up and running.
A theatre provided seating for 100 in a semicircle built up on scaffolding, with cushions spread across. The focus was again on training and workshops. Casey tells the story of a Koori parent leaving his child, overheard outside the centre
You go in there and get what I can’t give you. Those theatre people can give it to you.
Functions included: skill development
• outlet for artists and the community
• theatre centre
• exhibition space
• exhibited the work of Aboriginal fashion designers sykes and smith mumshirl 132
• drop in and meeting place for local and international visitors
• focal point for the community
• youth centre
• starting point for stolen generations with the task of beginning the search for their family, at that time known as lost generation.
• bridge between non Aboriginal producers and directors and Aboriginal actors. For example Peter Weir
Peter Weir
Peter Lindsay Weir, AM is an Australian film director. After playing a leading role in the Australian New Wave cinema with his films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave and Gallipoli, Weir directed a diverse group of American and international films—many of them major box office...
and some television producers did casting interviews there.
The first play staged at the theatre, The chocolate frog, was written by non-Aboriginal Jim McNeil. While on the executive committee of the Foundation for Aboriginal Affairs, Bettie Fisher had initiated its use as the subject of workshops conducted for inmates of Sydney prisons. (Year unknown)
Syron and Johnson worked on a workshop program to upgrade black theatre across Australia. Carole returned to the United States in May, but returned in 1975 committed to ‘get dance on solid ground’.
----
1975
After sixteen months of lobbying the centre was given minimal government funding ($9200) from the Department of Aboriginal Affairs. [ADB]Dance showcase
A joint dance program with the Sydney dance group, and Queensland’s Yelangi Dance Company and Torres Strait Island Dancers was presented in February, and a short performance on 6 April, to introduce funding bodies to the work being done by the Black Theatre
The cake man
The first serious play to be workshopped at the centre by director Brian Syron in collaboration with Bob Maza was The cake man, written in 1974 by Robert Merritt
Robert Merritt
Robert Gray Merritt was a Nova Scotia playwright, film critic, and educator.Merritt was born in Yonkers, NY, the son of John Gray and Mildred Merritt...
from Erambie Aborigines' Reserve`, Cowra. Merritt wrote The cake man while he was in gaol and the play was then smuggled out of the gaol by the Prison Education Officer to the Australian National Playwrights Conference (ANPC). Katherine Brisbane and her husband the late Phillip Parsons Brisbane, the founders of Currency Press, passed the text on to Bob Maza in an amazing act of humanitarian aid to the Black arts of Australia. In it he expressed what he believed was at the root of Aboriginal despair.
"It is a poignant fragment of latter day mythology and a powerful Australian play which traces white man's devastation of Blacks over the 200 years to 1974" [Brian Syron]
"about a BibleBibleThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
-loving mother and an alcoholic father, and how a small boy's innocent faith transforms the life of a white ScroogeEbenezer ScroogeEbenezer Scrooge is the principal character in Charles Dickens's 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol. At the beginning of the novel, Scrooge is a cold-hearted, tight-fisted and greedy man, who despises Christmas and all things which give people happiness...
. But the identification with the characters which the cast immediately made gave the performed work a compelling emotional drive." [Brisbane.]
It was mainly cast in the Redfern community and starred Justine Saunders, Brian Syron, Zac Martin, Teddy Phillips, and an 8-year-old Lisa Maza plus non Aboriginal actors Max Cullen and Danny Adcock. This was a contentious decision weighing up the need for black emergence vs collaboration and skill development.
Gerry Bostock tells how, during the performance of one scene in which a group is set upon by two white thugs, visitors from Elcho Island became incensed and tried to climb on to the stage to offer their assistance, yelling ‘I’ll help ya, brother!’ and ‘I’ll come and save ya, cousin!’
After initial refusal, Merritt was finally permitted to attend opening night under guard. The cast refused to go on stage until the handcuffs were removed. Lisa Maza presented him with a cake at the end. The play was a huge success with large Koori audiences attending. Casey stresses what an important milestone it was – the first completely Aboriginal written, initiated, controlled, full length, professional, recognised production.
Six week Training Program
The first national performing arts training for Aboriginal people had a profound effect, on the participants, and as a catalyst for performing arts in Sydney. Syron and Johnson, as members of the UTC, devised a continuing training scheme - to nurture new interests and new ideas, increase visibility and participation, and demonstrate the need for a permanent course or school. It was funded by the Commonwealth Department of Education and the Aboriginal Arts Board, and supported by the Black Theatre.
28 students were selected nationally through mini workshops held in the capital cities; Brisbane and Melbourne (Adelaide postponed). This ‘travelling theatre’ would also build networks. Syron taught drama, Johnson and Nicol taught dance, Ande Reese (aka Ande Evan Maddox) taught writing, Tom Rosser taught Karate. The intensive six week course took place at the Black Theatre in Redfern in June and July. Students included Maureen Watson, Jack Davis, Lillian Crombie, Andrew Jackamos, Hylus Maris, Wayne Nicol, Christine Donnelly, Aileen Corpus, Zac Martin, John Bayles, Lorraine Mafi.
On the last night the group staged plays and dances they had written or choreographed. Over 300 people came from all over the country with no advertising.
Syron met with Carole Johnson and Ande Reese to discuss the production of a film record of The Six Weeks Workshop because he believed that history was being made by all those involved and they needed to record the historic events in order to realise their value. Ande, like Carole, was an African American residing in Sydney, with experience in film and television production in the United States. She had been a screenwriting fellow at the American Film Institute, so she began work on a film (which would be completed in 1976).
Outcomes
After the six week training program, people could for the first time see possibility of employment.
Members of the dance group requested more specialised training, and a Careers in Dance course commenced in October. It moved to Bodenweiser Dance Studio in Chippendale, the breakaway causing some grief in the Redfern community. This was the forerunner of The Aboriginal / Islander Dance Theatre (AIDT) and The Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Scheme (AISDS), which evolved into the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA) in 1988, and the offshoot Bangarra Dance Theatre
Bangarra Dance Theatre
Bangarra Dance Theatre is an Indigenous Australian contemporary dance company founded in 1989 by Carole Johnson, an African-American and founding director of National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association . Bangarra is the Wiradjuri word meaning "to make fire".Stephen Page has been the...
in 1989.
Christine Donnelly applied for a grant to continue dance workshops at the Centre, but was initially refused.
In August, Johnson and Syron were terminated as consultants to the Aboriginal Arts Board (Urban dance and Urban Theatre), the only consultants for the UTC with experience in the performing arts. (Chicka Dixon
Chicka Dixon
Charles "Chicka" Dixon was an Australian Aboriginal activist and leader.He was active in campaigns around the 1967 referendum and the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, dedicating his life to the fight for basic human rights and justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.In 1970 Dixon was...
was a member who became increasingly active.)
While the dance group focused on further education, the drama group saw most of its students gain work. Many excelled in other areas of the performing arts as well. Yvette Isaacs was awarded a Conservatorium of Music scholarship. Known now as Maroochy Baramba, a successful musician, she has performed in leading roles and established a recording and publishing company Daki Budtcha. Jack Davis
Jack Davis (playwright)
Jack Davis , was a notable Australian 20th Century playwright and poet, also an Indigenous rights campaigner. He was born in Western Australia, in the small town of Yarloop, and lived in Fremantle towards the end of his life. He was of the Aboriginal Noongar people, and much of his work dealt with...
developed as a playwright, Cheryl Stone became a booking agent, Maureen Watson became a well-known storyteller and started Radio Redfern. Christine Donnelly founded the Aboriginal Dance Theatre Redfern (ADTR) in 1979 to serve the Redfern community. Lucy Jumawan has worked there for many years as senior dance teacher.
Performances
Jack Davis presented for a performance his second one-act play, The biter bit
Bettie Fisher continued to invite touring international Black artists to perform at the Black Theatre. Despite resistance by a number of non-Aboriginal entertainment managers, visitors included the band, Osibisa
Osibisa
Osibisa is a British Afro-pop band, founded in London in 1969 by four expatriate African and three Caribbean musicians. Osibisa were one of the first African bands to become widely popular, leading to claims of founding World Music.-History:...
, and the Ghanaian drummers.
Change of government
In November 1975, there was a constitutional crisis and the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
under Malcolm Fraser
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
gained power. Funding and support for Aboriginal arts, and rights, was about to change.
1976
A subscription season was planned of ‘black plays by black artists’ including works by Gerry Bostock, Wole Soyinka, Ione elder and Archie Shepp.However tragically Bettie Fisher died of coronary arteriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis refers to a stiffening of arteries.Arteriosclerosis is a general term describing any hardening of medium or large arteries It should not be confused with "arteriolosclerosis" or "atherosclerosis".Also known by the name "myoconditis" which is...
on 12 May 1976, still in her thirties. Brian Syron wrote that
"Ms Fisher was Director of the Black Theatre Arts and Cultural Centre on a full-time basis during the theatre's short life. I regarded her contribution and legacy to Black Arts as monumental and her death a symptom of Australian societal attitudes towards Indigenous people. Aboriginal people die young."
Funding withdrawn
A proposed grant from the Federal government of $86,000 for the 76-77 financial year was withdrawn in June 1976. (Dance and drama were funded separately.) The Board (under the new Liberal government
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
) didn’t support the organisation, and was critical of Lester Bostock’s appointment as Fisher’s replacement. Ironically the Board was planning to spend $197,000 to send 30 Aboriginal performers to Nigeria to take part in the 2nd World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture.
Marcia Langton believed that the difficulties faced by the black theatre in this period occurred because their work challenged the ‘accepted’ expectations of Aboriginal people. Justine Saunders agreed - 'challenging stereotypes, presenting real human beings dealing with conflict.'
Here comes the nigger
To deal with the financial crisis a fundraising committee was established. The company used their limited resources to produce the play Here Comes the Nigger written by Gerry Bostock. This was the final production at the Redfern Black Theatre and Cultural Centre in 1976. It was directed by Jack Charles, then Bob Maza who withdrew for other commitments. It then became a cooperative affair with Gerry Bostock and Bryan Brown directing with the cast . The cast included Athol Compton, Kevin Stuart (Smith), Julie McGregor, Marcia Langton, Bryan Brown, Robert Hensley, John Bayles, Ron Murray, Lorraine Mafi Williams and Venieca Doolan. Marcia Langton, for example, was running the box office as a volunteer for NAISDA student performances at the centre, in between working for The Aboriginal Medical Service around the corner.
This was the first occasion a profile was achieved outside the urban Aboriginal communities The play was successful – they were starting to draw in a wider audience, often first time visitors to Redfern, which helped to start to break down the barriers.
Film: Tjintu Pakani - Sunrise awakening
Syron noted in Kicking Down the Doors that Tjinto-Pakani : Sunrise Awakening was completed, including footage of the first professional performance by Black Theatre's dance group under the direction of Carole Johnson in 1976. The film won first prize in the Greater Union Awards, documentary category, at the Sydney Film Festival in May that year. It also screened in Paris at L'Homme Regarde L'Homme, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and had a private screening at Universal Studios in Hollywood. A half hour version was televised by the ABC.
One of the items was the Embassy dance, performed this time with traditional movements.
In an interview with Reese for a paper titled "The Australian Film Commission" written in September, 1977, Reese said that when she made Sunrise Awakening
Aborigines wanted to know why they couldn't make their own films about themselves and how and what they were doing. They asked why films about Aborigines were invariably made by the white middle classAs Syron commented in his book Kicking down the doors, 'We would ask that question for many years to come.'
1977
ABC TVABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
did a television production of the play The Cake Man in 1977, making it the first telemovie to be written by an Aboriginal playwright. After its success, Merritt then tried to put on another stage production of the play.
'At that time it was to be all black. The Board offered us $12,000. I was disillusioned; I knew I wouldn't get what I wanted on that amount. Soon after that I meet George OgilvieGeorge OgilvieGeorge Ogilvie is an Australian actor and film director. He was born in Goulburn, New South Wales in 1931. He directed Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome with George Miller.He was awarded the A.M...
. He not only liked the play but saw it as a fresh challenge. We submitted a more realistic budget to the Aboriginal Arts Board. It was successful and the production opened at the Bondi PavilionBondi PavilionThe Bondi Surf Pavilion in Sydney, Australia, constructed in 1928, is a building of historic significance and has been listed by the Heritage Council. According to the National Trust it "has come to represent the Australian culture of beach bathing and outdoors living"...
, Bondi Beach in Sydney on 30 April 1977'
Under Ogilvie's direction and starring Justine Saunders with Zac Martin and Brian Syron it was the first Aboriginal play to enter the repertoire of the European Australian mainstream theatre.
Syron's and Saunder's performances were both highly acclaimed.
Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Malcolm Fraser
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
announced that cultural activities involving Aboriginal people would no longer be helped by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, but would become the responsibility of the Australia Council
Australia Council
The Australia Council, informally known as the Australia Council for the Arts, is the official arts council or arts funding body of the Government of Australia.-Function:...
. No funds were granted to the Council for its additional responsibilities.
Lester Bostock recalled that the Theatre had applied to the Department and to the Australia Council for assistance but had received no reply. Lack of funding had become an enormous strain on the Theatre, and all involved. As Langton explained
With no grants for over a year, the burden of supporting the centre plus making a living burnt people out .
By the end of 1977 the Black Theatre had closed.
Seeds sown for future growth
In 1979 Christine Donnelly, a participant in the six week program, founded the Aboriginal Dance Theatre (ADTR) to serve the Redfern community. It is situated next to the Black Theatre site.In 1980 Bostock and Bryan Brown
Bryan Brown
Bryan Neathway Brown, AM is an Australian actor.-Early life:Brown was born in Sydney, the son of John Brown and Molly Brown, a house cleaner who worked as a pianist in the early days of the Langshaw School of Ballet. He grew up in the south-western Sydney suburb of Bankstown and began working at...
received Script development funding from the Creative Development Branch of the Australian Film Commission
Australian Film Commission
The Australian Film Commission was an Australian government agency with a mandate to promote the creation and distribution of films in Australia as well as to preserve the country's film history. It also had a production arm responsible for production and commissioning of films for government...
for a documentary to be made from Bostock's script Here Comes the Nigger.
Barbara Aylsen : You already have one project floating with Gerry Bostock.
Bryan Brown : The project with Gerry is the first concrete movement I have made into another area. We worked together on a screenplay from Gerry's play "Here Comes the Nigger" which I want to shoot. I haven't yet had the opportunity to shoot it and I am still working out how I want to do it.
In 1982 The Cake Man starring Justine Saunders, Graham Moore
Graham Moore
Admiral Sir Graham Moore, GCB, GCMG was a British sailor and a career officer in the Royal Navy. He was the younger brother of General Sir John Moore.-Naval career:...
and Syron, and directed by Syron, was invited to the International World Theatre Festival in Denver, Colorado and played to packed houses receiving widespread acclaim (despite bureaucratic and private company disinterest).
Merritt went on to become the first Aboriginal screenwriter to co-write a feature film "Running Man" (1982) and the first Indigenous screenwriter of feature film "Short Changed" (1986)
In 1984 Bob Merritt set up the Eora Centre for the visual and performing arts in Redfern, offering young Aboriginal people a comprehensive education. He filmed it in Eora Corroboree
In 1987 the First National Black Playwrights’ Conference was held under the artistic directorship of Brian Syron, thanks to a push from people like Chicka Dixon, Gary Foley and Rhoda Roberts.
Out of this came the Aboriginal National Theatre Trust (ANTT), established in Sydney in 1988.
In 1988 Carole Johnson was a foundation member and first director of the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA). She played a major role in the training of Aboriginal and Islander dancers and actors in movement, dance and choreography.
I love it in the '90s how all these organisations get longer and longer names. [Rhoda Roberts]
NAISDA is based on an idea of Johnson's, where young people would be taught traditional dance from their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander elders while also studying a modern dance technique.
Johnson also played a pivotal role in the establishment in 1989 of the Bangarra Dance Theatre
Bangarra Dance Theatre
Bangarra Dance Theatre is an Indigenous Australian contemporary dance company founded in 1989 by Carole Johnson, an African-American and founding director of National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association . Bangarra is the Wiradjuri word meaning "to make fire".Stephen Page has been the...
. She was founder and foundation member of the theatre which began in the Police Boys Club, Pitt Street, Redfern. The Bangarra Dance Theatre performed their first professional performance in 1990 in Brian Syron's feature film Jindalee Lady (1992), the first feature film to be directed by an Indigenous Australian.
Conclusion - Impact
The ABC radio program Hindsight summarised:BlackTheatre had a profound impact on the Australian arts scene of today. It was also the place where many well known Aboriginal performers got their break. And its legacy is still apparent in today’s arts scene.
It was also true that
The centre also functioned as an informal meeting-place for Redfern Blacks who previously had few places in which to gather, save for the local pubs where they encountered prejudice from the Whites and aggression from the police.
Bettie Fisher
The centre for me is my blood, my guts, my heart and my soul, for my people and their culture. I’m a very emotional person as far as this centre is concerned. Because there is a helluva need for it.
Gerry Bostock
It was a major step in breaking down barriers, as for many people attending Black Theatre, it was their first visit to Redfern.
Lester Bostock
Its whole emphasis was to put the points across to its own community. That was the first step. By the people, for the people. All those other things that happened are secondary.
Black Theatre is no longer in Redfern, but in a spiritual sense, as a philosophy of an ideal, it’s still alive. The dreams and aspirations of those people are still carried on. When you see people like the Page boys, and you see programs like ICAM, and all these other things, those ideals are still there.The people are still called by the community the Black Theatre people. Even though it’s an empty lot now, it’s still called the Black Theatre site.
It developed a state of mind and it was also a focus of energy, because it became part of Redfern, where the Kooris and Murries knew their grass roots and knew their artistic endeavours. Many individuals have gone onto radio, television, dance or drama and now contemporary Aboriginal culture is recognised throughout the world.
Kevin Smith
It inspired a confidence in the community, that things could be done, and a message could be given. Black Theatre itself was a message stick.
It was also a refuge, a smart option, a vehicle and a place [to go] without being harassed by police and police dogs, being set upon and attacked and then having a criminal record.
Marcia Langton
It was very much a community centre. During rehearsals lots of people would come to watch how things were done in the theatre. It was one of those periods when a group of people with amazing backgrounds came together, Maza, Foley, Merritt and Syron, and it worked. It was a hothouse.
Justine Saunders
It gave the possibility of life... It was wonderful. .. the best thing I ever did, it fine-tuned me. It gave the chance to touch base with my culture. It was a blessing to a people.
Moving on - the future of the site
The Black Theatre building was handed over to the Redfern Aboriginal community, to a group called the Organisation for Aboriginal Unity (OAU), after its closure as a theatre. The OAU consisted of members of all of the existing organisations and individuals at the time of forming (1975). The OAU and the late Charles Perkins wanted the site to be developed as a cultural centre for the Redfern community, but there were never any funds to redevelop the site. It then became a squat. As there are organisations that exist now that that didn’t exist then, Wyanga (next door) being one and the Local Land Council another, the Aboriginal community established another organisation called the Redfern Aboriginal Authority, reforming late in 2004 following suggestions that the NSW Government planned to forcibly acquire land owned by Aboriginal people in Redfern's BlockThe Block (Sydney)
The Block is a colloquial but universally applied name given to a block of housing in Redfern Sydney. The block was purchased over a period of 30 years by the Aboriginal Housing Company for use as a project in Aboriginal-managed housing....
. When ATSIC was abolished in 2005, the Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC) took over the overseeing of the site, redeveloping it in 2008, liaising with Sol Bellear, Redfern Aboriginal Authority's CEO. The ILC sought expressions of interest from Aboriginal businesses and organisations in the arts, multimedia, retail and/or hospitality. Koori Radio
Koori Radio
Koori Radio is a community radio station based in Redfern broadcasting to Sydney on a city-wide licence. It is part of the Gadigal Information Service and is the only radio station in Sydney providing full-time broadcasting to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.Koori Radio is the...
moved in and set up a recording studio.
Further reading
- Casey, Maryrose Creating Frames: Contemporary Indigenous Theatre, 1967-97. University of Queensland Press, 2004
- The encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia. ed Dr David Horton 1994
- Foley, Gary The development of black theatre in the 1970s in The Koori History website
- Milne, Geoffrey Theatre Australia (Un)limited: Australian Theatre Since the 1950s
- The Mudrooroo / Mueller Project - A Theatrical Casebook: edited by Gerhard Fisher 1993
- Robinson, Raymond Stanley Dreaming tracks : history of the Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Scheme, 1972-1979 : its place in the continuum of Australian indigenous dance and the contribution of its African American founder Carole Y. Johnson.[Masters thesis] University of Western Sydney, 2000
- Syron, Brian / kearney, briann Kicking Down the Doors - A History of Indigenous Australian Filmmakers from 1968 - 1993, (Australian Council 1993 Literary Fellowship), Second Edition, Lulu Inc., USA, ISBN 978-1-84799-364-9
Film, television and radio
- 1972: Cavadini, Alessandro and Carolyn Strachan. N'ingla a-na; Hungry for land 72 min.
- 1973: Basically black ABC television 26/2/73
- 1973: Damjanovic, Milena Sharing the dream
- 1976: Reese, Ande Sunrise awakening
- 1997: Hindsight [26/10/97] Black Theatre Company ABC Radio
- 1999: Messagestick [31/10/99] Bob Maza talks about Basically Black ABC http://www.abc.net.au/message/tv/ms/bobmaza_311099.htm
- 2002: Messagestick [11/8/02] Black Theatre ABC http://www.abc.net.au/message/tv/ms/s640055.htm
- 2004: Messagestick [13/8/04] Bob Maza tribute ABC http://www.abc.net.au/message/tv/ms/s1171816.htm
- 2006: Messagestick [24/11/06] 50 years indigenous TV ABC http://www.abc.net.au/message/tv/ms/s1792454.htm
External links
- Leasing Opportunity - Black Theatre Site, 27-31 Cope Street through to 90 Renwick Street
- Redfern Oral History http://redfernoralhistory.org
- Stills from 1973 ABC-TV production of Basically Black on KooriWeb