Queensland Theatre Company 2014 Season
Black Diggers
by Tom Wright
Playing at Qpac 24 Sept, 2014 – 12 Oct, 2014
One hundred years ago, in 1914, a bullet from an assassin’s gun in Sarajevo sparked a war that ignited the globe. Patriotic young men all over the world lined up to join the fight – including hundreds of Indigenous Australians. Shunned and downtrodden in their own country – and in fact banned by their own government from serving in the military – Aboriginal men stepped up to enlist. Undaunted, these bold souls took up arms to defend the free world in its time of greatest need. For them, facing the horror of war on a Gallipoli beach was an escape from the shackles of racism at home, at a time when Aboriginal people stood by, segregated, unable to vote, unable to act as their children were ripped from them. When the survivors came back from the war, there was no heroes’ welcome – just a shrug, and a return to drudgery and oppression. Black Diggers is the story of these men – a story of honour and sacrifice that has been covered up and almost forgotten. Directed by Wesley Enoch and written by Tom Wright, Black Diggers is the culmination of painstaking research into the lives and deaths of the thousand or so Indigenous soldiers who fought for the British Commonwealth in World War I. Grand in scale and scope, it draws from in-depth interviews with the families of black Diggers who heard the call to arms from all over Australia, as well as conversations with veterans, historians and academics. Young men will step from the blank pages of history to share their compelling stories – and after the curtain falls, we will finally remember them.
Looking for Tickets – Queensland Theatre Company
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Cast Includes:
George Bostock, Luke Carroll, David Page, Hunter Page-Lochard, Guy Simon, Colin Smith, Eliah Watego, Tibian Wyles.
Director: Wesley Enoch Set Designer: Stephen Curtis Costume Designer: Ruby Langton-Batty Lighting Designer: Ben Hughes Composer/Sound Designer: Tony Brumpton Dramaturg: Louise Gough Cultural Consultant: George Bostock Researcher: David Williams
Black Diggers Regional Live Simulcast
Wednesday 8 October, 6:00PM
One hundred years ago, in 1914, a bullet from an assassin’s gun in Sarajevo sparked a war that ignited the globe. Patriotic young men all over the world lined up to join the fight – including hundreds of Indigenous Australians. Shunned and downtrodden in their own country – and in fact banned by their own government from serving in the military – Aboriginal men stepped up to enlist.
Black Diggers is the story of these men – a story of honour and sacrifice that has been covered up and almost forgotten.
Filmed live from The Playhouse QPAC on Wednesday 8 October and streamed direct to nine venues across Queensland, audiences will simultaneously experience the powerful and compelling story of Black Diggers.
Burdekin Theatre
Book at the theatre or visit burdekintheatre.com.au
BUNDABERG
Moncrieff Entertainment Centre
Book at the Box Office or visit moncrieff-bundaberg.com.au
CAIRNS
Cairns Civic Theatre
Book at the ticketLiNK counter, phone 1300 855 835 or visit cairnscivictheatre.com.au
GLADSTONE
Gladstone Entertainment Convention Centre
Book at the Box Office, phone 07 4972 2822 or visit gladecc.com.au
MACKAY
Mackay Entertainment and Convention Centre
Book at the Box Office, phone 07 4961 9777 or visit mackayecc.com.au
MOUNT ISA
Mount Isa Civic Centre
Book at Outback at Isa or phone 07 4749 1555
ROCKHAMPTON
Pilbeam Theatre
Book at the Box Office in person, phone 07 4927 4111 or visit seeitlive.com.au
TOOWOOMBA
Empire Theatre – Heritage Bank Auditorium
Book at the Box Office in person, phone 1300 655 299 or visit empiretheatre.com.au
TOWNSVILLE
The Amphitheatre, Jezzine Barracks
Bookings not required. For more details visit townsville.qld.gov.au
This event is proudly supported by the Queensland Government.
Gasp!
by Ben Elton
Playing At QPAC 17 Nov, 2014 – 7 Dec, 2014
![gaspQLD1[1]](https://s3.amazonaws.com/theatregold.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/gaspQLD11.jpg)
Imagine a world in which the air we breathe is just another commodity like food and fuel. Something that can be bought and sold according to market forces. How much do you think you’d have to breathe? This was the darkly comic premise on which Ben Elton based his first play, the hilarious and critically acclaimed satirical comedy Gasping. First performed in London in 1990, starring Hugh Laurie; it has been revisited by Elton and reimagined for a new century and a new country. This major rewrite Gasp! relocates the story to an Australia grown giddy on the resources boom. Corporate powerhouse Lockheart Industries is already making a mint, but too much money is never enough. Their genius plan to privatise the air we breathe, with the ‘Suck and Blow’ filtering machine is an instant hit and sales soar. But it splits the planet into the haves and the have-nots – and if you can’t pay, you don’t breathe. Infused with the sarcastic, sharp wit that made Elton a household name (The Young Ones, Blackadder), the play is a breathtaking, biting, brilliantly funny satire on the heartlessness of big business and the ruthlessness of the advertising industry. And it’s as relevant and hil‘air’ious as ever. Continuing Queensland Theatre Company’s fertile collaboration with Western Australia’s Black Swan State Theatre Company, Gasp! draws cast members from Brisbane and Perth.
Tickets at Queensland Theatre Company
Cast Includes:
Lucy Goleby, Damon Lockwood, Steven Rooke.
Writer: Ben Elton
Director: Wesley Enoch
Designer: Christina Smith
Lighting Designer: Trent Suidgeest
