Wesley Enoch
Encyclopedia
Wesley Enoch is an Australian playwright
and artistic director
of Murri descent.
, Wesley Enoch grew up in Brisbane
.
Enoch was trained in Drama in the Bachelor of Arts (Drama) course at Queensland University of Technology where he directed and acted in many productions. He was also a founding member of the QUT Bonzani Commedia Troupe.
Wesley has been Artistic Director of Kooemba Jdarra Indigenous Performing Arts, an Associate Artist with the Queensland Theatre Company
, Resident Director with the Sydney Theatre Company
, Artistic Director of Ilbijerri Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Theatre Co-Operative and Associate Artistic Director Company B Belvoir St.
The plays that he writes and those he directs deal with issues of Aboriginal culture and the complexities of Australian race relations. Wesley attained prominence with his production of 7 Stages of Grieving (co-written with Deborah Mailman) and then with Jane Harrison's Stolen, which premiered at the Playbox Theatre and went on to tour both nationally and internationally.
His play, Black Medea is based on Euripides
' Medea
updates the Greek tragedy, giving it an Aboriginal perspective and transporting it to an Australian setting. A young Indigenous woman leaves her desert home, denies her culture and forsakes her family to follow her wealthy, city-born lover. But her seeming good fortune soon turns bad, as her loveless marriage to the drunken and violent Jason falls apart. When Medea attempts to leave with their young son, Jason makes her promise that she will never take their child from the house.
His most recent work is RiverlanD, the story of artist, Ian W Abdulla. It juxtaposes the Great Flooding of the Murray River
in 1956 with the lives of a contemporary urban Indigenous family. The once mighty river force and the lives of three generations of family are bound together. The production embraces a recreation of spirit and a family's sense of place in the land.
In 2002, Wesley was the recipient of an Australia Council for the Arts Cité International des Arts residency in Paris
. His The Story of the Miracles at Cookie's Table won the 2005 Patrick White Playwrights' Award
.
On 24 June 2010, Wesley was announced as the new Artistic Director of the Queensland Theatre Company
succeeding Michael Gow
, taking up his appointment on a part-time basis from July 2010 and then full-time from 2011.
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and artistic director
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
of Murri descent.
Life
The eldest son of Doug and Lyn Enoch from Stradbroke IslandStradbroke Island
Stradbroke Island, also known as Minjerribah, was a large sand island that formed much of the eastern side of Moreton Bay near Brisbane, Queensland until the late 19th century...
, Wesley Enoch grew up in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
.
Enoch was trained in Drama in the Bachelor of Arts (Drama) course at Queensland University of Technology where he directed and acted in many productions. He was also a founding member of the QUT Bonzani Commedia Troupe.
Wesley has been Artistic Director of Kooemba Jdarra Indigenous Performing Arts, an Associate Artist with the Queensland Theatre Company
Queensland Theatre Company
The Queensland Theatre Company was established in 1970 as the Royal Queensland Theatre Company. The Company is the state's flagship professional theatre company, headed up by multi-award winning playwright and director Wesley Enoch...
, Resident Director with the Sydney Theatre Company
Sydney Theatre Company
The Sydney Theatre Company is one of Australia's best-known theatre companies operating from The Wharf Theatre near The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Sydney Theatre and the Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre....
, Artistic Director of Ilbijerri Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Theatre Co-Operative and Associate Artistic Director Company B Belvoir St.
The plays that he writes and those he directs deal with issues of Aboriginal culture and the complexities of Australian race relations. Wesley attained prominence with his production of 7 Stages of Grieving (co-written with Deborah Mailman) and then with Jane Harrison's Stolen, which premiered at the Playbox Theatre and went on to tour both nationally and internationally.
His play, Black Medea is based on Euripides
Euripides
Euripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...
' Medea
Medea
Medea is a woman in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, niece of Circe, granddaughter of the sun god Helios, and later wife to the hero Jason, with whom she had two children, Mermeros and Pheres. In Euripides's play Medea, Jason leaves Medea when Creon, king of...
updates the Greek tragedy, giving it an Aboriginal perspective and transporting it to an Australian setting. A young Indigenous woman leaves her desert home, denies her culture and forsakes her family to follow her wealthy, city-born lover. But her seeming good fortune soon turns bad, as her loveless marriage to the drunken and violent Jason falls apart. When Medea attempts to leave with their young son, Jason makes her promise that she will never take their child from the house.
His most recent work is RiverlanD, the story of artist, Ian W Abdulla. It juxtaposes the Great Flooding of the Murray River
Murray River
The Murray River is Australia's longest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between New South Wales and Victoria as it...
in 1956 with the lives of a contemporary urban Indigenous family. The once mighty river force and the lives of three generations of family are bound together. The production embraces a recreation of spirit and a family's sense of place in the land.
In 2002, Wesley was the recipient of an Australia Council for the Arts Cité International des Arts residency in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. His The Story of the Miracles at Cookie's Table won the 2005 Patrick White Playwrights' Award
Patrick White Playwrights' Award
The Patrick White Playwrights' Award is an annual Australian literary award established jointly by the Sydney Theatre Company and The Sydney Morning Herald in honour of Patrick White's contribution to Australian theatre...
.
On 24 June 2010, Wesley was announced as the new Artistic Director of the Queensland Theatre Company
Queensland Theatre Company
The Queensland Theatre Company was established in 1970 as the Royal Queensland Theatre Company. The Company is the state's flagship professional theatre company, headed up by multi-award winning playwright and director Wesley Enoch...
succeeding Michael Gow
Michael Gow
Michael Gow is an Australian playwright and director most famed for his 1986 work Away.As a student at Sydney University, Gow acted and directed with the Dramatic Society from 1973-1976. After graduation, Gow went on to act with Nimrod, Thalia and Sydney theatre companies.He has been the Artist...
, taking up his appointment on a part-time basis from July 2010 and then full-time from 2011.
Plays
- Black Medea
- The 7 Stages of Grieving, (co-written with Deborah MailmanDeborah MailmanDeborah Mailman , is an Australian television and film actress. She was the first Aboriginal actress to win the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role...
) - The Story of the Miracles at Cookie's Table, Griffin Theatre CompanyGriffin Theatre CompanyGriffin Theatre Company is an Australian theatre specialising in new writing. It is the resident theatre company at the SBW Stables Theatre in Kings Cross, Sydney, Australia...
and HotHouse Theatre
Productions
- Bitin’ Back, Kooemba Jdarra
- Black Medea Malthouse Theatre, Company BCompany B (theatre)Belvoir is an Australian theatre company based at the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, Australia. Its Artistic Director is Ralph Myers.Belvoir receives government support for its activities from the federal government through the Major Performing Arts Board of the Australia Council for the Arts and...
- The 7 Stages of Grieving
- The SapphiresThe Sapphires (play)The Sapphires is an Australian play written by Tony Briggs and directed by Wesley Enoch. It is set in 1968 and it tells the story of The Sapphires, a singing group of four Koori women who tour Vietnam during the war.It was inspired by the true story of Briggs's mother, Laurel Robinson, and aunt,...
- The Cherry Pickers , Kevin GilbertKevin GilbertKevin Matthew Gilbert was an American songwriter, musician, composer, producer and collaborator born in Sacramento, California, later living in San Mateo, California where he attended Junipero Serra High School...
- Stolen
- Fountains Beyond
- Purple Dreams
- The Sunshine Club
- EORA Crossing
- Riverland, Scott Rankine
- Fountains Beyond
- Romeo and Juliet, Bell Shakespeare CompanyBell Shakespeare CompanyBell Shakespeare is an Australian theatre company specialising in the works of William Shakespeare. It was founded in 1990 by John Bell..Bell Shakespeare is Australia's only national touring theatre company. Its current practice is to tour three mainstage productions to each Australian state in...
, SydneySydneySydney 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... - The Sunshine Club
- Black-ed Up
- The Dreamers
- Wonderlands
- Conversations with the Dead
- Rainbow’s End, Koeemba Jdarra
External links
- Terms of engagement: Directions for new Indigenous leadership Video of discussion at The MonthlyThe MonthlyThe Monthly is an Australian national magazine of politics, society and the arts, which is published eleven times per year on a monthly basis except the December/January issue. Founded in 2005, it is published by Melbourne property developer Morry Schwartz...
- Interview