Winyanboga Yurringa

Overview

In 1981, SBS broadcast Women of the Sun, a historical production in more ways than one. Exploring the lives of four Aboriginal women from the 1820s to the 1980s, it earned acclaim for not just delving into female Indigenous experiences of the past, but for becoming the first television program ever to do so.

35 years later, Winyanboga Yurringa follows in the show's footsteps, this time bringing the female connection to country to the stage — and into the 21st century. Written and directed by playwright and recipient of the 2015 NSW Aboriginal Art Fellowship Andrea James, the performance draws on real-life stories to explore what's known in Aboriginal culture as women's business.

Cue contemplations of identity, appearance, belonging, finding partners and tackling prejudice. The play depicts a revelatory camping trip as the six main characters interrogate their links with their homeland, heritage and with each other, as guided by their auntie, sister and cousin Neecy. It's a complex and compelling theatre work starring Kylie Coolwell, Alexis Lane, Angeline Penrith, Tessa Rose, Pamela Young and Matilda Brown.

Presented by Carriageworks and Moogahlin Performing Arts. Image: Bindi Cole.