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y separately published work icon Namatjira single work   drama  
Issue Details: First known date: 2010... 2010 Namatjira
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Albert Namatjira was a man of firsts: the first successful Indigenous artist and the first Indigenous man to be made an Australian citizen. At the height of his fame in the 1950s Albert Namatjira's shows sold out within minutes. If you didn't own one of his paintings you probably had a print in your lounge room.

'He also supported over six hundred members of his community, lost two of his ten children to malnutrition, was forbidden to own land, imprisoned for having a drink with his friends, and died a broken man.

'Namatjira is a whole-hearted tribute to a great man. (From the publisher's website.)

Production Details

  • Co-produced by Company B Belvoir and Big hART, Belvoir Street Theatre Upstairs, 27 September - 9 November 2010. Director: Wayne Blair and Scott Rankin.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 2010

Works about this Work

y separately published work icon Performing Indigenous Identities on the Contemporary Australian Stage : Land, People, Culture Susanne Thurow , London New York (City) : Routledge , 2020 18706499 2020 multi chapter work criticism

'Over the past 50 years, Indigenous Australian theatre practice has emerged as a dynamic site for the discursive reflection of culture and tradition as well as colonial legacies, leveraging the power of storytelling to create and advocate contemporary fluid conceptions of Indigeneity.

'Performing Indigenous Identities on the Contemporary Australian Stage offers a window into the history and diversity of this vigorous practice. It introduces the reader to cornerstones of Indigenous Australian cultural frameworks and on this backdrop discusses a wealth of plays in light of their responses to contemporary Australian identity politics.

'The in-depth readings of two landmark theatre productions, Scott Rankin's Namatjira (2010) and Wesley Enoch & Anita Heiss' I Am Eora (2012), trace the artists' engagement with questions of community consolidation and national reconciliation, carefully considering the implications of their propositions for identity work arising from the translation of traditional ontologies into contemporary orientations. The analyses of the dramatic texts are incrementally enriched by a dense reflection of the production and reception contexts of the plays, providing an expanded framework for the critical consideration of contemporary postcolonial theatre practice that allows for a well-founded appreciation of the strengths yet also pointing to the limitations of current representative approaches on the Australian mainstage. This study will be of great interest to students and scholars of Postcolonial, Literary, Performance and Theatre Studies.' (Publication summary)

'Namatjira' : Beyond the Script - Visual and Performative Aesthetics as Conduits for the Communication of Western Aranda Ontology Susanne Thurow , 2018 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australasian Drama Studies , October no. 73 2018; (p. 130-159)

'This article explores the performative configuration and staging of a Western Aranda ‘place to stand’ in the inter-culturally produced biographical play Namatjira (2010–13; written by Scott Rankin with and for the Namatjira Family). The author leverages her comprehensive insight into the play’s devising and production processes, garnered from extended co-locations and touring with the producing company Big hART. She explores how both verbal and visual expression combine in the play to articulate a culturally coded Western Aranda worldview, ontology (theory of being-in-the-world) and identity. The critical elucidation of the postmodern frameworks that dominate the written script is juxtaposed with an analysis of the visual aesthetics of the play, which convey a distinctly Western Aranda perspective on Country, place-making and holding. The performative influence of these aesthetics is then illustrated in a comparison of three different stagings of Namatjira: a ‘default’ metropolitan staging; a full-scale open-air production for community on Country in the Hermannsburg Historic Precinct in 2012; and a staged play-reading at Parramatta Riverside Theatres in 2018 that aptly confirmed the significant bearing of visuality on the overall assertion of an Indigenous ‘place to stand’ in Namatjira.'  (Publication abstract)

On Namatjira's Plains, Appreciation for a Familiar Landscape Reborn Amos Aikman , 2014 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 4-5 January 2014; (p. 1, 2)
y separately published work icon The Challenge of Humour in Contemporary Australian Indigenous Theatre : Examining the Relationship between Performer and Audience in 'The 7 Stages of Grieving', 'Stolen' and 'Namatjira' Bronwen J McNab , Adelaide : 2013 9293207 2013 single work thesis
Namatjira Play Starts as Relatives Meet Queen Namatjira Family Revisit Royal Link Matthew Westwood , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Australian , 29 November 2013; (p. 12) The Canberra Times , 29 November 2013; (p. 10)
[Review] Namatjira Elissa Blake , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 3 October 2010; (p. 14)

— Review of Namatjira Scott Rankin , 2010 single work drama
Story Draws Together Colourful Threads of an Artist's Life Jason Blake , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 1 October 2010; (p. 13)

— Review of Namatjira Scott Rankin , 2010 single work drama
[Review] Namatjira Elly Varrenti , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 16 August 2011; (p. 19)

— Review of Namatjira Scott Rankin , 2010 single work drama
Brilliant Portrayal of Indigenous Icon Peter Wilkins , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 16 September 2011; (p. 7)

— Review of Namatjira Scott Rankin , 2010 single work drama
Namatjira 2011 single work review
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 5 October no. 511 2011; (p. 44)

— Review of Namatjira Scott Rankin , 2010 single work drama
'I Can Tell the Stories from the Heart of Our Country.' : Trevor Jamieson Joyce Morgan , 2010 single work biography
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 2-3 October 2010; (p. 4-5)
Play Features Art Great's Life Margaret Smith , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 22 September no. 485 2010; (p. 76)
Honouring Albert Kirstie Parker , 2011 single work column
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 1 June no. 502 2011; (p. 53)
An Art Born of Both Worlds Joyce Morgan , 2011 single work column
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 6 August 2011; (p. 16-17)
Different Strokes Diana Streak , 2011 single work column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 10 September 2011; (p. 10-12)

Awards

2012 winner Helpmann Awards for Performing Arts in Australia Best Regional Touring Production For the 2011 Big hART touring production.
2011 nominated AWGIE Awards Stage Award
2010 winner Sydney Theatre Awards Best New Australian Work For the 2010 Company B Belvoir and Big hART production.
2010 nominated Sydney Theatre Awards Best Mainstage Production For the 2010 Company B Belvoir and Big hART production.
Last amended 17 Oct 2024 11:27:18
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