''The Cake Man'' is a 1975 play by
Aboriginal Australian
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...
writer
Bob Merritt
Bob Merritt is the retired senior pastor of Eagle Brook Church in suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, a megachurch.
Early life and education
Merritt's father was Calvin Merritt, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Neshannock Towns ...
, notable for being the first play written by an
Indigenous Australian
Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
person to be published, televised and to tour out of Australia. A
telemovie
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
was made of a 1977 performance of the play. The Aboriginal Theatre Company was formed by Bob Merritt and
Brian Syron
Brian Gregory Syron (19 November 1934 – 14 October 1993) was an actor, teacher, Aboriginal rights activist, stage director and Australia's first Indigenous feature film director, who has also been recognised as the first First Nations featur ...
especially to produce the play for a tour to the United States in 1982.
Background
''The Cake Man'' was written by Merritt while an inmate at
Bathurst Gaol
Bathurst Correctional Centre, originally built as Bathurst Gaol in 1888, is a prison for men and women located in the city of Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, and operated by the Department of Communities and Justice. Bathurst holds inmate ...
, having been jailed for a minor offence.
He was assisted by
Jim McNeil
James Thomas McNeil (23 January 1935 – 16 May 1982) was an Australian award-winning playwright. While serving a 17-year sentence in Parramatta Correctional Centre for armed robbery and shooting a police officer, McNeil began writing plays. With ...
.
[
]
Synopsis
The play opens with a tableau
Tableau (French for 'little table' literally, also used to mean 'picture'; tableaux or, rarely, tableaus) may refer to:
Arts
* ''Tableau'', a series of four paintings by Piet Mondrian titled ''Tableau I'' through to ''Tableau IV''
* ''Tableau viv ...
showing a missionary in the early days of white settlement in Australia giving an Aboriginal woman a Bible after her husband has just been shot by a British soldier. It goes on to tell the story of Sweet William, a sad Aboriginal man living in contemporary Sydney with his wife Ruby, still practising Christianity, and children. Sweet William has lost both self-respect and his 11-year-old son Pumpkinhead's respect.[
The story is partly drawn from Merritt's experience of growing up on ]Erambie Mission
Erambie Mission is an Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal community located on the western banks of the Lachlan River, from the town of Cowra, in the Central West, New South Wales, Central West region of New South Wales, Australia.
History
Eramb ...
in Cowra, New South Wales
Cowra is a small town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre and the council seat for the Cowra Shire, with a population of 9,863.
Cowra is located approximately above sea level, on the ...
. The eponymous Cake Man is a character who is sent with gifts of love by Jesus for Aboriginal children, but has been blinded by a villain so that he can only see white children on his wanderings in the bush
"The bush" is a term mostly used in the English vernacular of Australia and New Zealand where it is largely synonymous with '' backwoods'' or ''hinterland'', referring to a natural undeveloped area. The fauna and flora contained within this a ...
. Bible stories are mixed with mythology, as the Cake Man represents the hope of Christian love held by Ruby.[ The story tells of a family struggling to survive on a ]mission
Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to:
Organised activities Religion
*Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity
*Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
.
Style and tone
The coordinator of a course in Aboriginal theatre at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts
The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) at Edith Cowan University (ECU) was established in 1980 to provide performing arts tuition. WAAPA (commonly pronounced "whopp-a") operates as a part of ECU, located at the ECU campus in ...
wrote in a masters thesis
A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...
(2010):[PDF]
/ref>
Performances
1975–1982
''The Cake Man'' was the first full-length play staged by the National Black Theatre
The National Black Theatre is a non-profit cultural and educational corporation, and community-based theatre company located on 5th Avenue in Harlem, New York.
History
The National Black Theatre (NBT) is a non-profit cultural and educational co ...
,[ with its first run of performances taking place at the ]Black Theatre Arts and Culture Centre
The National Black Theatre (NBT) was a theatre company run by a small group of Aboriginal people based in the Sydney suburb of Redfern which operated from 1972 to 1977. The original concept for the theatre grew out of political struggles, espec ...
in Redfern, Sydney
Redfern is an inner-city suburb of Sydney located 3 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Local government in Australia, local government area of the City of Sydney. Strawberry Hills, New South Wales, Strawb ...
on 12 January 1975, directed by Bob Maza
Robert Lewis Maza (25 November 1939 – 14 May 2000), known as Bob Maza, was an Aboriginal Australian actor, playwright and activist.
Early life and education
Robert Lewis Maza was born on Palm Island in North Queensland on 25 November 1939, ...
, and with Brian Syron
Brian Gregory Syron (19 November 1934 – 14 October 1993) was an actor, teacher, Aboriginal rights activist, stage director and Australia's first Indigenous feature film director, who has also been recognised as the first First Nations featur ...
taking the role of Sweet William, in his first performance in 10 years.[ Merritt, escorted by prison guards, attended the opening night in handcuffs. The actors refused to commence the performance until Merritt's handcuffs were removed.]
In 1977 a production directed by George Ogilvie
George Buchan Ogilvie (5 March 1931 – 5 April 2020) was a prolific Australian theatre director and actor, who also worked as a director and actor within film and television.
Life and career
George Ogilvie began as an actor at the Canberra ...
was performed at the Bondi Pavilion Theatre
The Bondi Surf Pavilion in Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia, is an outstanding beach cultural icon of Australia, together with the beach, park and surf lifesaving club. The structure is listed on the NSW State Heritage Register 01786 a ...
in 1977, making it the first play by an Indigenous Australian playwright presented by professional actors at a mainstream Australian venue.[ On opening night, on 29 April 1977,] there were equal numbers of black and white people in the audience, which included Mum Shirl, founder of the Aboriginal Medical Service
Aboriginal Medical Services Redfern, known as AMS Redfern, formerly the Aboriginal Medical Service (AMS) is an Aboriginal Australian health service in the Sydney suburb of Redfern. Established around 1971, it was the first Aboriginal community- ...
, and Paul Coe
Paul Coe (born 4 February 1949), a Wiradjuri man born at Erambie Mission in Cowra, is an Australian Aboriginal activist. He is known for his advocacy of Aboriginal rights, with involvement in the publicity drive for the 1967 referendum, and the ...
, both former residents of Erambie, as well as Merritt's mother and brothers. Both gave speeches in which they expressed the meaning of the play to them, and Coe, then president of the Aboriginal Legal Service
The Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) (ALS), known also as Aboriginal Legal Service, is a community-run organisation in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, founded in 1970 to provide legal services to Aboriginal Australians a ...
, said "This play means more to me than my life". After playing for six weeks in Sydney, it toured other states, and was invited to the Negro Ensemble Company
The Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) is a New York City-based theater company and workshop established in 1967 by playwright Douglas Turner Ward, producer-actor Robert Hooks, and theater manager Gerald S. Krone, with funding from the Ford Foundation ...
's theatre in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.[ The production, in which Syron again played Sweet William and Justine Saunders played Ruby,][ was filmed by ]ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to:
*ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or
*ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia
ABC Television or ABC ...
.
In early July 1982 ''The Cake Man'' played at the Parade Theatre in Kensington
Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London.
The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...
, as a warm-up run before touring to the United States. Syron said at the time that the play was "about dispossessed people everywhere". Later than month, ''The Cake Man'' was performed at the World Theatre Festival in Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, with Justine Saunders as Ruby, in a role which she later said was one of her favourite roles. The tour was eventually funded mostly by the Aboriginal Arts Board
The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...
of the Australia Council
The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...
, the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust
The Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust is a theatre and performing arts company that was founded in September 1954, with the aim of establishing drama, opera and ballet companies nationally.
Founding
In 1954 the Australian Elizabethan Theatre T ...
(AETT), the New South Wales Government
The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...
, Department of Foreign Affairs, and CBC Bank (later National Australia Bank
National Australia Bank (abbreviated NAB, branded nab) is one of the four largest financial institutions in Australia (colloquially referred to as "The Big Four") in terms of market capitalisation, earnings and customers. NAB was ranked 21st-la ...
). Syron and Merritt had formed the Aboriginal Theatre Company in order to produce the play, and had approached the AETT first. The AETT sent out 140 letters requesting a donation of $500 to help fund the play, with only CBC responding, and the total amount raised was still not enough, so Syron raised a second mortgage
A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any pu ...
on his own home to top it up.[ There were invitations to perform it elsewhere and to televise or film it in the United States, and Syron had hoped to put it on stage at the ]Kennedy Center
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...
in Washington, DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
.[
In October 1982, it was staged at the ]Edward Street Theatre
Metro Arts Theatre is a heritage-listed building, originally a warehouse and then a theatre complex, at 109-117 Edward Street, Brisbane, Edward Street, Brisbane City, Queensland, Brisbane City, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1890. It h ...
in Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
, with Brian Syron and Justine Saunders in the main roles.
2ist century
In 2012, a play-reading
A stage reading, also known as a staged reading, is a form of theatre without Theatrical scenery, sets or Stage clothes, full costumes.
The actors, who read from scripts, may be seated, stand in fixed positions, or incorporate minimal Blocking (s ...
was performed by Moogahlin Performing Arts
Carriageworks is a multi-arts urban cultural precinct located at the former Eveleigh Railway Workshops in Redfern, Sydney, Australia. Carriageworks showcases contemporary art and performing arts, as well as being used for filming, festivals, ...
, presented by the Sydney Festival
Sydney Festival is a major arts festival in Australia's largest city, Sydney that runs for three weeks every January, since it was established in 1977. The festival program features in excess of 100 events from local and international artists an ...
and Carriageworks
Carriageworks is a multi-arts urban cultural precinct located at the former Eveleigh Railway Workshops in Redfern, Sydney, Australia. Carriageworks showcases contemporary art and performing arts, as well as being used for filming, festivals, fa ...
in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
, and on 16 January 2015 Moogahlin did a reprise at Eora College
TAFE NSW is an Australian vocational education and training provider. Annually, the network trains over 500,000 students in campus, workplace, online, or distance education methods of education. It was established as an independent statutory bod ...
(which was founded by Merritt) in Redfern to mark the 40th anniversary of the play.
The play was notably revived for performances in Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
and Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
in Belvoir and Yirra Yaakin co-production in 2013, with Luke Carroll
Luke Carroll is an Australian stage, television and film actor.
Education
Carroll attended Marcellin College Randwick and graduated in 1996.
Television and film
Carroll started out in guest roles in some Australian shows, including ''The Flyin ...
and Irma Woods as Sweet William and Ruby. George Shevtsov, who was in the original production of the play, while Kyle Morrison directed the new version. The Perth performance was the first time it had been staged in Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
.
Reception and significance
''The Cake Man'' was highly successful during its Australian runs, and was met with standing ovation
A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim. In Ancient Rome returning military commanders (such as Marcus Licinius Crassus a ...
s at its 1982 performance in Denver.[
Julian Meyrick, Professor of Creative Arts at ]Flinders University
Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...
, described it as being "about the mission experience for Indigenous Australians, and the indignity, injustice and often outright exploitation that came from being 'protected' by white Australians with little knowledge and less interest in the traditional culture their arrival had near-fatally disrupted", and the style as "a beautifully nuanced realism".
It was the first play written by an Indigenous Australian
Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
person to be presented by professional actors at a mainstream Australian venue,[ published, televised and to tour out of Australia, having toured abroad in 1982.]
Film
The 1977 production of ''The Cake Man'' at Bondi Pavilion was made into a film for television by ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to:
*ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or
*ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia
ABC Television or ABC ...
,[Murray, Scott (ed.). ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford University Press, 1996. p22] directed by Douglas Sharp, and a copy is held at the National Archives of Australia
The National Archives of Australia (NAA), formerly known as the Commonwealth Archives Office and Australian Archives, is an Australian Government agency that serves as the national archives of the nation. It collects, preserves and encourages ...
AIATSIS
The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), established as the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (AIAS) in 1964, is an independent Australian Government statutory authority. It is a collecting, ...
, and the University of Queensland
, mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work
, established =
, endowment = A$224.3 million
, budget = A$2.1 billion
, type = Public research university
, chancellor = Peter Varghese
, vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry
, city = B ...
library.[ Merritt co-produced the film, along with Sharp and two others, with Brian Syron and Justine Saunders as Sweet William and Ruby. Its release date is cited as 9 October 1977.]
This was first television production of a play by an Aboriginal playwright in Australia.[
]
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cake Man
Australian television films
1978 television films
1978 films
1975 plays
Australian plays
Indigenous Australian theatre
Films about Aboriginal Australians