''The Secret River'' is a play by Australian playwright

Andrew Bovell Andrew Bovell (born 23 November 1962) is an Australian writer for theatre, film and television. Life Bovell was born on 23 November 1962 in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia and completed his secondary school education in Perth. He graduated from t ...

, based upon the novel of the same name by

Kate Grenville Catherine Elizabeth Grenville (born 1950) is an Australian author. She has published fifteen books, including fiction, non-fiction, biography, and books about the writing process. In 2001, she won the Orange Prize for '' The Idea of Perfectio ...

Synopsis

Narrated by Dhirrumbin (originally played by Ursula Yovich), the drama is about a man who is exiled from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in the eighteenth century, and is sent with his family to a

penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer to ...

in the

Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River, is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle the metropolitan region of Sydney. ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, where he hopes to make a new start, but its

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

inhabitants, the

Dharug people The Dharug or Darug people, formerly known as the Broken Bay tribe, are an Aboriginal Australian people, who share strong ties of kinship and, in pre-colonial times, lived as skilled hunters in family groups or clans, scattered throughout much ...

, are not willing to give up their land.

Performances

Produced by the Sydney Theatre Company, the play was first performed on 8 January 2013 at the Sydney Theatre. A 2016 remount toured Sydney,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, and

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. In March 2017, a co-production of the

State Theatre Company of South Australia The State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA), branded State Theatre Company South Australia, formerly the South Australian Theatre Company (SATC), is South Australia's leading professional theatre company, and a statutory corporation. I ...

and the Sydney Theatre Company, co-directed by Neil Armfield and

Geordie Brookman Geordie () is a nickname for a person from the Tyneside area of North East England, and the dialect used by its inhabitants, also known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English. There are different definitions of what constitute ...

, was staged at Anstey Hill Quarry as 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 ...

. The show was a record-breaking success, selling out all performances over its 18 nights, with an audience of 800 each night.

Characters

English settlers

*William Thornhill, *Sal Thornhill, William’s wife *Willie Thornhill, William and Sal's eldest son *Dick Thornhill, William and Sal's second son *Smasher Sullivan, a settler on the Hawkesbury River *Thomas Blackwood, an ex-convict and tradesmen *Loveday, a settler on the Hawkesbury River *Dan Oldfield, Williams childhood friend *Mrs Herring, a mid-wife and nurse *Sagitty Birtles, Smasher Sullivan's crony *Captain Suckling, alcoholic and landowner

Dharug people

*Dhirrumbin, a guide *Dulla Djin *Gillyagan *Muruli *Garraway, friend of Dick *Yalamundi, elder of the tribe *Buryia, female tribe elder *Ngalamalum *Wangarra, tribal warrior *Branyimala, tribal warrior *Narabi, friend of Dick *Turnkey

Original cast

* Nathaniel Dean - William Thornhill * Anita Hegh - Sal Thornhill *

Jeremy Sims Jeremy Hartley Sims (born 10 January 1966) is an Australian actor and director. Career Jeremy Sims was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1966, and was educated at Wesley College 1977–83. His first appearance on the big screen was as 'boy on ...

- Smasher Sullivan * Colin Moody - Thomas Blackwood * Ursula Yovich - Dhirrumbin/Dulla Djin *

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 ...

- Gillyagan/Muruli *

Bruce Spence Bruce Spence (born 17 September 1945) is a New Zealand–Australian actor. Spence has amassed over 100 film and television credits and has also acted in theatre. Biography Spence won an AFI Award for Best Actor for his role in the 1971 comedy ...

- Loveday *Bailey Doomadgee and

Kamil Ellis Kamil Ellis is an Australian actor. He has appeared on TV in ''Cleverman'', ''Nowhere Boys,'' '' Bushwhacked!'', and ''SeaChange''. He was an original cast member of the stage play ''The Secret River''. He is of Wiradjuri Aboriginal descent. To ...

- Garraway *Lachlan Elliott and Callum McManis - Willie Thornhill *Rory Potter and Tom Usher - Dick Thornhill *Roy Gordon - Yalamundi * Daniel Henshall - Dan Oldfield *Ethel-Anne Gundy – Buryia * Trevor Jamieson - Ngalamalum *Rhimi Johnson Page - Wangarra/Branyimala *

Judith McGrath Judith McGrath (21 April 1947 – 20 October 2017) was an Australian actress. McGrath was known for her television roles, including soap opera's ''Prisoner'' (1979–84), as Deputy Governor/Officer Colleen "Poface" Powell, '' A Country Prac ...

- Mrs Herring *James Slee - Narabi * Matthew Sunderland - Sagitty Birtles/ Captain Suckling/Turnkey *Source:

Awards and nominations

Helpmann awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Secret River, The 2013 plays Plays about race and ethnicity Plays based on books Plays set in the 18th century Plays set in Australia Works about racism Plays by Andrew Bovell