Stolen Play Essay

Me: We are back for a new session today with the amazing Indigenous Australian playwright Jane Harrison, who is here today to discuss with us her best-selling play Stolen, accompanied with the director of the play, Wesley Onech. Jane and Wesley, thank you for joining us here today, now this play Stolen it has had an amazing turnout! It is a play that helped to change the course of history. From the first standing ovation at its Melbourne premier in 1998 through its sold-out seasons across Australia and the world, Stolen has raised awareness and helped galvanise support for the plight of the Stolen Generation.
Jane: Thank you Kiana, I think I can say for both of us that we are ecstatic about the turnout and are happy to be here.
Me: That is great to hear, Now I must say, when I read the play, it really hit my heart. It is a powerful play that I believe highlights the trauma and alienation felt by the children both as children and as adults. This play exposed the social injustice that the stolen generation faced and raised some key issues such as racism and prejudice, abuse of power loss and innocence and authority and control.
Me: What I really like about this amazing play is that each individual character informs the audience of a different facet of the hardships faced by their forcible removal from their family and
In the scene ‘Am I black or White?’ she is initially claimed by both her families, then rejected by both. But what I found was very powerful is that Anne turns this sense of confusion and alienation back onto the audience, directly addressing its ‘blackfellas’ and ‘whitefella’ near the play’s end. Asking the audience rhetorical questions like “You whitefellas want my adopted parents too become loving and tolerant of my black family don’t you? Admit it”. Why did you add rhetorical questions like that in the scene, what was the purpose of