When The Octoroon premiered in New York in 1859, the plantation-set effort brought politics to the theatre by tackling the topic of slavery. Clearly, playwright Dion Boucicault didn't have any Australian parallels in mind. Neither did fellow theatre scribe Branden Jacobs-Jenkins when he adapted the text into An Octoroon, which made its debut in 2014.
At Queensland Theatre, however, Nakkiah Lui does. In her first directorial effort, the indigenous Australian writer and actor helms a new version that doesn't just nod to local similarities — it makes them plain. Hitting the Bille Brown Studio's stage from September 16 to October 8, the Queensland exclusive finds the Aussie core of a global issue, pondering race in a provocative comedy.
Accordingly, the production blends everything from historical Louisiana to Far North Queensland, and the act of play-writing to the way culture is portrayed on stage into one satirical, statement-making package. The US version was described as "this decade's most eloquent theatrical statement on race in America today" by the New York Times, so expect something similar, but Australian.