The Secret River Analysis
The Secret River demands that the audience know the context of the play from very early on. Once that can be represented the audience's prior knowledge of colonialism and the treatment of Indigenous Australians tells them all they need to know about the mindsets of the characters and creates foreshadowing for the climax of the show. Andrew Bovell uses his understating of the audiences prior knowledge and intricate details of each stage craft element to interpret the written playscript into a production that moves and makes the audience reflect on our history as a country. Bovell makes use of every single stage craft element to draw parallels not only between the settlers and indigenous population but also between the past events and the inequality
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They are singing songs from the country they come from, the fathers both anxious about what the new life they know is coming will bring. But we are also already seeing differences between the two cultures as well. While Yalamundi is singing, calling out to the country, Sal is singing a song of destruction, stealing and punishment that is so deeply imbedded in the settlers lifestyle. The audience can immediately see the differences between the two cultures and from how Dhirrumbin describes the arrival of the white settlers, and from the audiences prior knowledge of how the indigenous were treated we know that the two cultures are not going to live in harmony foreshadowing the deaths at the climax of the play.
Andrew Bovell’s interpretation of The Secret River skilfully applies all the stage craft elements to create a play that is both true to the original written playscript, but also conveys the deeper morals that are the backbone of the story. The Brechtian approach to the soundscape and the set enhance the effect of the moving story line and create an intimate relationship between the viewer and the actor. Andrew Bovell stayed true to the original values Kate Grenville had intend for the novel and utilising all of the stage craft element to their full potential has created a truly moving and principled
They are singing songs from the country they come from, the fathers both anxious about what the new life they know is coming will bring. But we are also already seeing differences between the two cultures as well. While Yalamundi is singing, calling out to the country, Sal is singing a song of destruction, stealing and punishment that is so deeply imbedded in the settlers lifestyle. The audience can immediately see the differences between the two cultures and from how Dhirrumbin describes the arrival of the white settlers, and from the audiences prior knowledge of how the indigenous were treated we know that the two cultures are not going to live in harmony foreshadowing the deaths at the climax of the play.
Andrew Bovell’s interpretation of The Secret River skilfully applies all the stage craft elements to create a play that is both true to the original written playscript, but also conveys the deeper morals that are the backbone of the story. The Brechtian approach to the soundscape and the set enhance the effect of the moving story line and create an intimate relationship between the viewer and the actor. Andrew Bovell stayed true to the original values Kate Grenville had intend for the novel and utilising all of the stage craft element to their full potential has created a truly moving and principled