It’s the late 1960s. Man can land on the moon but Australia is only just taking baby steps towards equality following the successful 1967 referendum that overwhelmingly voted to finally count Indigenous people in the Census and for the Commonwealth to make laws for Aboriginal people.
A young Indigenous woman, Molly Chubb, earnest in her activism, is heading from Perth to her small hometown in the West Australian north-west, in a new musical, Panawathi Girl, replete with fun, political satire and an eclectic live score.
Panawathi means ‘dream’ in the language of the Palyku people of the Pilbara, and Molly dreams of greater equality, but she has a lesson in tactfulness ahead of her.
Panawathi Girl’s playwright David Milroy, lead actor Lila McGuire and director Eva Grace Mullaley. Image © Dana Weeks.
The musical will premiere at Perth Festival with an entirely Western Australian cast and crew, a local focus the Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company aimed to achieve even before the pandemic forced state border closures.
“It’s about creating opportunities for Western Australian artists,” explains playwright David Milroy from his home in the Perth suburb...
Comments
Log in to join the conversation.