''The Sapphires'' is an Australian

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

written by

Tony Briggs Tony Briggs (born 3 July 1967) is an Australian actor, writer and producer. He is a former track and field athlete. He is best known for creating the stage play '' The Sapphires'' (later a 2012 film) telling the true story of an Aboriginal s ...

and directed by

Wesley Enoch Wesley James Enoch (born 1969) is an Australian playwright and artistic director. He is especially known for ''The 7 Stages of Grieving'', co-written with Deborah Mailman. He was artistic director of the Queensland Theatre Company from mid-2 ...

. It is set in 1968 (a year after the

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

, which symbolically expanded the rights of

Aboriginal people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

) and it tells the story of The Sapphires, a singing group of four

Yorta Yorta The Yorta Yorta, also known as Jotijota, are an Aboriginal Australian people who have traditionally inhabited the area surrounding the junction of the Goulburn and Murray Rivers in present-day north-eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales ...

women who tour

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

during the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. It was inspired by the true story of Briggs's mother, Laurel Robinson, and aunt, Lois Peeler, who toured Vietnam as singers. The pair slept on the stage, as Robinson recalled: "It was so scary – one night a bomb went off, the bed fell down and the place shook." Though set at the time of increasing calls for Aboriginal rights, the play takes these issues seriously but in a way that does not detract from its fun and humour and adds to its entertainment value.

Productions

The play debuted with the

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre compa ...

in 2004 and continued at Sydney's Company B in 2005. The original cast included

Deborah Mailman Deborah Jane Mailman (born 14 July 1972) is an Australian television and film actress, and singer. Mailman played the character Kelly Lewis on the Australian television series ''The Secret Life of Us'' and Cherie Butterfield in the Australian c ...

Rachael Maza Rachael Zoa Maza is an Indigenous Australian television and film actress and stage director. Early life and education Maza is of Dutch, Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal Australian heritage, the daughter of Bob Maza, also an actor. She is ...

Ursula Yovich Ursula Yovich is an Aboriginal Australian actress and singer. Early life and education Yovich was born and grew up in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. Her father, Slobodan Jović, was a Serbian immigrant who anglicised his name to Stan ...

and

Lisa Flanagan Lisa Flanagan is an Aboriginal Australian actress, known for her roles on stage and in television and film. Film roles include her debut movie '' Australian Rules'' and '' Look Both Ways'', while on stage she performed in Wesley Enoch's ''The Sa ...

. It was revived by

Black Swan The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon c ...

and Company B in 2010, with

Christine Anu Christine Anu (born 15 March 1970) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She gained popularity with the cover song release of the Warumpi Band's song " My Island Home". Anu has been nominated for 17 ARIA Awards. Early life Anu was bo ...

, Casey Donovan,

Hollie Andrew Hollie Andrew is an Australian film, television and stage actress. Early life and education Andrew was born and raised in Adelaide. She graduated from Flinders University (SA) in 1999 with an Honours Degree in Drama. She then attended the Wes ...

and

Kylie Farmer Kylie Bracknell, formerly Kylie Farmer and also known as Kaarljilba Kaardn, is an Aboriginal Australian writer, director and actress. Career Farmer played Juliet in a run of '' Romeo and Juliet'' with the Australian Shakespeare Company, featured ...

playing the lead roles. The show ran at Daegu International Music Festival mid-2010 where Donovan won the award for Best Supporting Actress. This company also toured to Adelaide and was a part of the

Adelaide Festival The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

. In 2011 The lead cast was Donovan, Lisa Maza,

Ngaire Pigram Ngaire Pigram is an Australian actress. For her performance in the second series of '' Mystery Road'' she was nominated for the 2020 AACTA Award for Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama. Other screen performances include ...

and Megan Sarmardin. The show appeared at the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

in London for two weeks in March 2011. The four leading cast members were Donovan, Maza, Pigram and Sarmardin. The rest of the cast was

Aljin Abella Aljin Abella (born 27 July 1985), also known as Alin Abella, is an Australian actor of Filipino descent, who is best known for playing Theo Martin, the Blue Ranger, on ''Power Rangers Jungle Fury'', in all 32 episodes of the show, which aired in ...

Jimi Bani Jimi Bani is an Indigenous Australian actor, known for his portrayal of land rights activist Eddie Mabo in the 2012 tele-movie '' Mabo'', several television series, and theatre performances. Early life and education A Torres Strait Islander ( ...

, Markus Hamilton and Oliver Wenn.

Peter Farnan Peter Farnan is a composer, sound designer, musical director and guitarist from Melbourne, Australia. He is one of the founding members of the band Boom Crash Opera and the 1980s pop rock band Serious Young Insects. He currently produces music ...

of Boom Crash Opera fame was the musical director for the show.

Film version

Production of the movie version began in 2011. The leads have gone to Deborah Mailman (from the original production),

Jessica Mauboy Jessica Hilda Mauboy (born 4 August 1989) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. Born and raised in Darwin, Northern Territory, she rose to fame in 2006 on the fourth season of ''Australian Idol'', where she was runner-up and subseq ...

Shari Sebbens Shari Sebbens is an Aboriginal Australian actress and stage director, known for her debut film role in '' The Sapphires'' (2012), as well as many stage and television performances. After a two-year stint as resident director of the Sydney Thea ...

and

Miranda Tapsell Miranda Tapsell (born 11 December 1987) is an Aboriginal Australian actress of both stage and screen, best known for her role as Cynthia in the Wayne Blair film '' The Sapphires'' and her 2015 performance as Martha Tennant in the Nine Network d ...

. Although Donovan received strong reviews in the 2010 production, and auditioned for the movie version, she was ultimately not chosen to star.

Awards

* 2005

Helpmann Award The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical th ...

- Best Play * 2005

- Best New Australian Work

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sapphires Indigenous Australian theatre 2005 plays Australian plays adapted into films