Australian cricket is full of characters and stories, from unsavoury ball tampering and sledging through to the amazing feats of our women cricketers and their extraordinary international successes.
But, few would know about the first-ever Australian team to tour to England.
Black Cockatoo – to be performed at the Cessnock Performing Arts Centre on Saturday 7 May – is a new Australian play written by iconic screenwriter Geoffrey Atherden (Mother and Son, Babakiueria), and directed by award-winning director, playwright and former Sydney Festival artistic Director Wesley Enoch.
It tells the story of Johnny Mullagh, a Jadawadjali man from Western Victoria, and his unique experience representing Australia as a member of the first Australian International Test cricket team.
This inaugural side was made up of 13 Aboriginal men from Victoria and toured England in 1868.
They amazed the English crowds with astonishing talent, personality and grit.
The first team to travel to England at the height of the Empire, they should have come home to celebration and acclaim – but they did not.
While a key moment in the nation’s sporting history, it remains largely unacknowledged and unknown by the greater Australian community.
However, this is not just a tale about cricket.
This is a story of strength, resistance, hope and possibility, an epic of personal triumph against a background of betrayal and tragedy.
When a group of young present-day activists sneak into the Wimmera Discovery Centre to expose the truth of what happened to Johnny and his team-mates, a hidden legend of triumph and tragedy unfolds.
Director Wesley Enoch says the decision to have an all-Indigenous cast, where the actors are playing all the roles including white English characters, is a way of owning the whole story and providing a commentary on the race politics.
“The actors switch seamlessly from being actors today, Aboriginal characters in 2018 and a range of characters in 1868,” he said.
“Time and place are fluid as we connect the past, present and future to tell this story.”
Black Cockatoo comes to the Cessnock Performing Arts Centre for one night only on Saturday 7 May at 8pm.
Tickets are on sale at the CPAC Box Office, by phone on 4993 4266 or online at www.cessnockperformingartscentre.com.au
SEASON DETAILS
BLACK COCKATOO
- WHEN: Saturday 7 May – 8pm
- WHERE: Cessnock Performing Arts Centre
- Bookings: www.cessnockperformingartscentre.com.au or phone 4993 4266
- For more information on the production, visit www.cessnockperformingartscentre.com.au/shows
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