David Milroy David Milroy i(A56043 works by)
Born: Established: 1957 Perth, Western Australia, ;
Gender: Male
Heritage: Aboriginal Palku / Palyku ; Aboriginal
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

Works By

Preview all
1 Windmill Baby, Old May David Milroy , 2023 extract drama (Windmill Baby)
— Appears in: First Nations Monologues 2023;
1 3 Panawathi Girl David Milroy , 2022 single work musical theatre

'Saddle up for the next big Black musical. Set in a small town in the northwest of Western Australia in the 1960s, Panawathi Girl overflows with wild joy as hippies and cowboys, politicians and protesters fuel an all-singing, all-dancing night of entertainment.

'Written by David Milroy, the much loved playwright behind Waltzing the Wilarra, and featuring an all-star cast of WA talent, this music-filled journey is brimming with heart and humour. Follow our heroine Molly Chubb from the big smoke back to the small country town of her birth as she searches for her place in the world.

'Set amidst a time of great political change, this bold new production from Yirra Yaakin will have you questioning if much has changed at all, even as it has you tapping your toes and yearning for more.'  (Production summary)
1 y separately published work icon Rodeo Moon David Milroy , 2015 8731746 2015 single work drama

'Rodeo Moon is a Jack and Jillaroo musical theatre play set in 1969 in the north-west of Western Australia. In the weeks leading up to a Federal election between Gough Whitlam and John Gorton, a travelling rodeo hits town, exposing old attitudes to the changing face of Australia.'

Source: Carriageworks website. (Sighted: 14/7/2015)
1 Walardu and Karla David Milroy , 2013 single work short story
— Appears in: Fire : A Collection of Stories, Poems and Visual Images 2013; (p. 11-26)
1 2 Crowbones and Carnivores David Milroy , 2012 single work drama '"Crowbones and Carnivores" takes the audience on an emotionally charged musical journey to the edge of the desert. Amongst a nest of sandalwood, two fractured families await the arrival of a train. A sudden tragedy releases a pungent tale of love, patriarchy and red-hot smoking revenge.' Source: www.enjoyperth.com.au/ (Sighted 26/11/2012).
1 Looking Back, Looking Forward David Milroy , 2012 single work autobiography
— Appears in: RealTime , October-November no. 111 2012; (p. 21) 'The first play David Milroy wrote was in 1997. Called "Runamuk", it was for a newly founded Western Australian theatre company, Yirra Yaakin. David, Lynette Narkle (currently seen as the matriarch in the film The Sapphires) and Paul MacPhail, programmed Yirra Yaakin's first season with plays that hadn't yet been written. And then David wrote some of them, creating a playwright in the process. Here, he reflects on the evolution of aboriginal theatre and current issues that he feels need to be addressed.'
1 Playwright's Notes David Milroy , 2011 single work criticism
— Appears in: Waltzing the Wilarra 2011; (p. 63)
1 8 y separately published work icon Waltzing the Wilarra David Milroy , David Milroy (composer), 2011 Strawberry Hills : Currency Press , 2011 Z1733011 2011 single work musical theatre 'Charlie, Elsa and Fay take you on a musical journey back to 1940's post-war Perth. Against a backdrop of curfews, and the fear of arrest for consorting, white and black manage to form their own club. For a night they can forget their worries and experience rare happy times singing, dancing, listening to music, and with a little luck, romance. Forty years on, as the club faces demolition, our three characters meet once again to stage a musical reunion and protest in an attempt to save their old stomping ground.' (From the publisher's website.)
1 Killer Kane David Milroy , 2010 single work drama 'Killer Kane is set on a modern day remote Aboriginal community in the spinifex country of Australia's north-west and offers a glimpse into remote community life where hard and fast decisions over family, country and Native Title must be made. Abe and Sally, who have been touring with their band for over a year return to their community in an attempt to straighten out their lives. Meanwhile, homeland communities have been under pressures of their own.' Source: www.waapa.ecu.edu.au/performances-and-events/all/performances/2010/11/aboriginal-theatre-presents-killer-kane3 (Sighted 15/11/2010).
1 1 Good Lovin' David Milroy , 2009 single work drama

'Yirra Yaakin, in association with Healthway, promoting the Respect Yourself Respect Your Culture message, and the WA Department of Health, is proud to present a three day performance and workshop program aimed at encouraging and supporting young people to make positive sexual health choices.

Using Hip Hop, theatre and humour, Good Lovin' gets our kids thinking about what's right for them. The Good Lovin' program kicks off with a new play, which examines some common youth sexual health problems. The performance is followed by a two-day workshop with trained facilitators and sexual health experts.' Source: www.yirrayaakin.com.au/ (Sighted 15/12/2009).

1 1 In The Nyitting Time Derek Nannup , David Milroy , Samantha Lee Cook , 2008 single work drama children's 'In the Nyitting time the land was flat and there was no KFC or Happy meals. The land slept deeply, waiting for the alarm to go off, waiting to be awakened. This was a different time, this Nyitting time, 'cause animals ruled and shook the earth alive. So come back, way back to discover the Nyitting time.' - Yirra Yaakin
1 4 Muttacar Sorry Business Mitch Torres , David Milroy , 2004 single work drama 'A unique performance and workshop package tackling the high incidence of road trauma amongst Indigenous communities. Which road will you choose?' (Yirra Yaakin Noongar Theatre Company)
1 18 Windmill Baby David Milroy , Josie Ningali Lawford , 2004 single work drama
— Appears in: Contemporary Indigenous Plays 2007; (p. [201]-228) Windmill Baby is the story of Maymay, an old Aboriginal woman who returns to the deserted Kimberley cattle station that was her home 50 years ago. A one-woman redemption piece told through Indigenous voices, with the endearing characters of Wun-man, Two-man, Aunty Darbella and old Maymay, this play is delivered with the poetry of a campfire storyteller.
1 Cruel Wild Woman Sally Morgan , David Milroy , 1999 single work drama
1 1 y separately published work icon Runamuk David Milroy , 1997 Perth : Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company , 1997 Z1709724 1997 single work drama travel
1 5 King Hit David Milroy , Geoffrey Narkle , 1997 single work drama
— Appears in: Contemporary Indigenous Plays 2007; (p. [83]-116)

'An acclaimed play that strikes at the very heart of the Stolen Generations, exploring the impact on an individual and a culture when relationships are brutally broken.' 'Based on the life story of Geoffrey Narkle, King Hit mirrors the lives of many Aboriginal people of his generation. Forcibly removed from his family, Geoffrey was raised on Wandering Mission before leaving to join Stewart's Boxing Troupe, where he travelled the South West as a tent boxer.'

'Ultimately it would be Geoffrey's fighting spirit that gave him the strength to turn away from a downward spiral of despair and find peace within and reconcile broken family bonds.' (Source: Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company website; Publisher's blurb,19/07/2009).
1 15 Sistergirl Sally Morgan , David Milroy , 1992 single work drama humour

A light comedy about the friendship formed between two women from very different backgrounds. It is concerned with two alcoholics, both women, whose plight has landed them in a hospital ward where they are fighting their addiction with medical concern, mostly good-natured abuse - and the odd drop of secreted gin. They are from two very different cultures - one is Irish, the other Aboriginal - and the only bond they have is a shared experience of what drink can do.
X