The Secret River Play Review
THE chilling topic that is exposed throughout the ominous performance of The Secret River, had myself and the thrilled audience stimulated throughout the show. With the original book written by Kate Grenville, and adapted for the stage by Andrew Bovell, their writing skill, and award winning brilliance, are intertwined to create the play that has
THEATRE
revealed Australia’s sordid history, revisiting the past to reinvent the future. The Secret River, directed by Neil Armfield with a cast headed by Nathaniel Dean, is the moving drama about Will Thornhill (Nathaniel Dean) the convict-made-good a man, exiled from London in the eighteenth century and sent to a penal colony on the Hawkesbury River, Australia. After toil and trouble Thornhill is freed, and becomes part of a new form of community. However problems occur, as Will and his family (Sal, Dick, Willie) settle down and ‘claim’ Aboriginal land. The Dharug clan are an Aboriginal tribe who play the role of the other half of the juxtaposition that is explored throughout the play. I thought the use of Dharug linguistics were excellently applied, as it gave the audience an enhanced connection with the civilization and provided us with a sense of mysteriousness as we were left fathoming about what they were saying. Ursula Yovich-to name one out of the many outstanding actors-delivered a superb performance playing Dhirrumbin, the Aboriginal narrator. Her description of the massacres that took place gave one goose bumps as her harrowing voice described the scene so well one felt as though they were there. Dhirrumbin, I felt, represented both sides of the cultures and sort of nudged our perspective away from Thornhill’s view and gave us a chance to see through Aboriginal eyes. This is one key topic that Andrew Bovell and Armfield excelled in, in that they broadened the perspectives of the book giving us two different views in the story, resulting in a much more sympathetic and sophisticated product.
THEATRE
revealed Australia’s sordid history, revisiting the past to reinvent the future. The Secret River, directed by Neil Armfield with a cast headed by Nathaniel Dean, is the moving drama about Will Thornhill (Nathaniel Dean) the convict-made-good a man, exiled from London in the eighteenth century and sent to a penal colony on the Hawkesbury River, Australia. After toil and trouble Thornhill is freed, and becomes part of a new form of community. However problems occur, as Will and his family (Sal, Dick, Willie) settle down and ‘claim’ Aboriginal land. The Dharug clan are an Aboriginal tribe who play the role of the other half of the juxtaposition that is explored throughout the play. I thought the use of Dharug linguistics were excellently applied, as it gave the audience an enhanced connection with the civilization and provided us with a sense of mysteriousness as we were left fathoming about what they were saying. Ursula Yovich-to name one out of the many outstanding actors-delivered a superb performance playing Dhirrumbin, the Aboriginal narrator. Her description of the massacres that took place gave one goose bumps as her harrowing voice described the scene so well one felt as though they were there. Dhirrumbin, I felt, represented both sides of the cultures and sort of nudged our perspective away from Thornhill’s view and gave us a chance to see through Aboriginal eyes. This is one key topic that Andrew Bovell and Armfield excelled in, in that they broadened the perspectives of the book giving us two different views in the story, resulting in a much more sympathetic and sophisticated product.