Bran Nue Dae

Bran Nue Dae is a musical written in 1990 by Jimmy Chi. It follows the lives of a few young aboriginal people. The musical is based in 1969, and involves many of the issues surrounding that era. Some things discussed in the play are aboriginal dispossession and the stolen generation, references to colonialism, and self identity. Obviously the impact that these events have had on Australia have been huge, and It's nothing to laugh about. However, in Bran Nue Dae, the writers have used humour to provoke laughter, or at least a relative emotional response from the audience while talking about these subjects.
The play is more about the lives of certain individuals, and is not directly related to Dispossession and the Stolen generation, however, everything in the play has some relevance or references towards it.
One of the first times Chi uses humour in the play is when the kids meet Benedictus. He speaks in a very heavy german accent to which the kids mock him secretly. This is intended to make the audience laugh, the audience is supposed to find it funny that the kids are mocking the priest. They seem to slightly respect Benedictus, however they don't like him.
Benedictus has spawned out of a cloud of smoke, he is a very powerful character. He shows interest in Willie, and he isn't the type of figure you would speak informally to. Willie is responding to Benedictus's questions or statements in a formal manner. "Yes Father", or "No Father" is all he uses to respond. This could either show that Willie doesn't want to talk to Benedictus, or It could show that Benedictus has much authority over Willie. Should Willie ever disrespect Benedictus, the consequences could be huge. I assume that both the Former and the Latter apply to Willie.
After Benedictus talks to Willie, Willie breaks in to the fridge in the tuckshop which contains cherry ripes and coke. Willie talks to his friends, in a fake german accent, clearly mocking Benedictus. It is humourous as it shows the