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y separately published work icon The Seven Stages of Grieving single work   drama   - 23 scenes
Issue Details: First known date: 1995... 1995 The Seven Stages of Grieving
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'This is a proud milestone in Australian theatre history; a contemporary Indigenous performance text from the highly acclaimed Kooemba Jdarra. Appropriating western forms whilst using traditional storytelling, it gives emotional insight into Murri life. This one-woman show follows the journey of an Aboriginal ‘Everywoman’ as she tells poignant and humorous stories of grief and reconciliation. A powerful, demanding and culturally profound text, The 7 Stages of Grieving is a celebration of Indigenous survival, an invitation to grieve publicly, a time to exorcize pain. It has a universal theme told through the personal experiences of one incredible character.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (Playlab).

Exhibitions

Reading Australia

Reading Australia

This work has Reading Australia teaching resources.

Unit Suitable For

AC: Year 10 (NSW Stage 5)

Themes

family, grief, History, Indigenous rights, the past

General Capabilities

Critical and creative thinking, Ethical understanding, Intercultural understanding, Literacy

Cross-curriculum Priorities

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures

Production Details

  • First produced by Kooemba Jdarra at the Metro Arts Theatre, Brisbane, 1 September 1995.

    Director: Wesley Enoch.


    New production by the Sydney Theatre Company at the Wharf Theatre from February to March 2008. Later presented at Wagga and Albury, NSW.


    Produced by the State Theatre Company of South Australia at The Space, Adelaide Festival Centre, 22-29 May 2010 and then on tour in regional South Australia until 17 June 2010.


    Presented by the Queensland Theatre Company. A Grin & Tonic Theatre Troupe production. Performed 17-28 March 2015 at Bille Brown Studio, QTC.

    Director: Wesley Enoch.

    Cast: Chenoa Deemal.


    Also at QUT Gardens Theatre in May, 2017 as a part of a national tour. The productions then travels to London as a part of the 2017 Origins Festival (http://originsfestival.bordercrossings.org.uk/).


    Set to be presented by Sydney Theatre Company at the Roslyn Packer Theatre, 23 May to 13 June 2020.

    Director: Shari Sebbens.

    Designer: Elizabeth Gadsby.

    Associate Designer: Tyler Ray Hawkins.

    Lighting Designer: Mark Pennington.

    Composer & Sound Designer: Steve Francis.

    Cast includes Elaine Crombie.

    This production then presented by State Theatre Company of South Australia, Space Theatre, 25 June to 4 July 2020.

    Sydney Theatre Company production cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    State Theatre Company of South Australia production cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.


    Sydney Theatre Company production rescheduled for 21 May - 19 June 2021.

    Director: Shari Sebbens.

    Set & Costume Designer: Elizabeth Gadsby.

    Lighting & AV Designer: Verity Hampson.

    Composer & Sound Designer: Steve Francis.

    Cast: Elaine Crombie.


    Presented by the State Theatre Company of South Australia, 28 July - 7 August 2021, at the Space Theatre.

    Director: Shari Sebbens.

    Set & Costume Designer: Elizabeth Gadsby.

    Lighting & AV Designer: Verity Hampson.

    Composer & Sound Designer: Steve Francis.

    Cast: Elaine Crombie.


    See also the entry in the AusStage database for more production information.

Contents

* Contents derived from the Brisbane, Queensland,:Playlab , 1996 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Memories and the Paini"You came ashore, pale like spirit people", Cec Fisher , single work poetry (p. 10)
Why Do We Applaud?, Wesley Enoch , single work column (p. 13-16)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 1995
Alternative title: 原タイトル
Language: Japanese

Works about this Work

y separately published work icon Wesley Enoch & Deborah Mailman's The 7 Stages of Grieving : Text Guide Anica Boulanger-Mashberg , Cheltenham : Insight Publications , 2022 23862592 2022 single work criticism 'Insight Text Guides take students into the deeper layers of meaning in a range of popular novels, plays, films, short-story collections and nonfiction texts. They are designed to develop detailed knowledge, in-depth understanding and genuine insight into each text.' 

 (Publication summary)

y separately published work icon Wesley Enoch and The 7 Stages of Grieving Dino Dimitriadis (presenter), 2021 25305701 2021 single work podcast
Shari Takes on Director's Role for Cultural Classic 2019 single work column
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 9 October no. 711 2019; (p. 36)
Deep Sense of History at Every Stage of Grieving Martin Buzacott , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 20 March 2015; (p. 15)

— Review of The Seven Stages of Grieving Wesley Enoch , Deborah Mailman , Hilary Beaton , 1995 single work drama
Talkin’ Blak : Humour in Indigenous Australian Theatre, 1970−2000 Karen Austin , 2015 single work criticism
— Appears in: Philament , February no. 20 2015; (p. 129-164)
'This paper looks at the renaissance of Indigenous Australian theatrical performance, from the early 1970s to its prominence in the lead-up to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. It focuses on the specific ways that humour has been used by Indigenous Australian performing artists to highlight unpleasant social issues in their communities, such as poverty, alcohol abuse, and the removal/stealing of children from their families. In conjunction with witty repartee, visual comedy both in movement and mimicry is often used by Indigenous performers. Philosopher Henri Bergson, well-known for his contributions to humour studies, claims that the physical humour in inflexible, repetitive, or exaggerated movements is inherently funny. Bergson argues that rigidity of movements or “something mechanical encrusted on the living” makes comedians appear inhuman and, as a consequence, this makes people laugh. Contemporary philosopher and humour theorist Simon Critchley notes that the opposite is also true: We often find it funny when people give the impression of being all too human. For Critchley, the recognition of predictable behaviours is just as funny as any automated actions.' (129-130)
Hope Turns to Disappointment as Inconvenient Truths Revisited Murray Bramwell , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 24 May 2010; (p. 17)

— Review of The Seven Stages of Grieving Wesley Enoch , Deborah Mailman , Hilary Beaton , 1995 single work drama

Review of The Seven Stages of Grieving produced by the State Theatre Company of South Australia at The Space, Adelaide Festival Centre, 22-29 May 2010 and then on tour in regional South Australia until June 17 2010.

Review of Daniel Keene's The Share produced by five.point.one, The Bakehouse, Adelaide from 20 May to 5 June 2010

Lamentations Murray Bramwell , 1997 single work review
— Appears in: The Adelaide Review , June no. 165 1997; (p. 23)

— Review of The Seven Stages of Grieving Wesley Enoch , Deborah Mailman , Hilary Beaton , 1995 single work drama
Untitled Helen Thomson , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 30 May 1996;

— Review of The Seven Stages of Grieving Wesley Enoch , Deborah Mailman , Hilary Beaton , 1995 single work drama
Untitled Kate Herbert , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: Herald Sun , 31 May 1996;

— Review of The Seven Stages of Grieving Wesley Enoch , Deborah Mailman , Hilary Beaton , 1995 single work drama
Untitled Carrie Kablean , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: The Sunday Telegraph , 10 March 1996;

— Review of The Seven Stages of Grieving Wesley Enoch , Deborah Mailman , Hilary Beaton , 1995 single work drama
Aboriginal Encounters : Cross-Cultural Perspectives on First Nation Drama Marc Maufort , 2003 single work criticism
— Appears in: Transgressive Itineraries : Postcolonial Hybridizations of Dramatic Realism 2003; (p. 147-231)
Section II of this chapter is entitled 'Staging Australian Aboriginality.'
Windshuttling the Right : Some Australian Literary and Historical Adaptations for the Stage Helen Thomson , 2004 single work criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 3 no. 2004; (p. 133-142)
Focusing on the disjunction between versions of national history in white and black narratives of shared history, the article provides an overview of theatrical adaptations of cultural narratives that deal with Aboriginal experience in Australia's post-contact history.
y separately published work icon A Compelling Force : Indigenous Women Playwrights Maryrose Casey , 2007 St Lucia : AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource , 2007 Z1271301 2007 single work criticism
Sydney Theatre Company Madeleine Hinchy , 2008 single work column
— Appears in: Lowdown , February/March vol. 30 no. 1 2008; (p. 25)
Presenting the Past : Historiography in Aboriginal Theatre of the 80s and 90s K. G. Naga Radhika , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 70 no. 3 2010; (p. 144-162)
Last amended 10 Oct 2024 15:09:47
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