Written as a response to the Howard Government’s refusal to offer an apology, Luck of the Draw is a hard-hitting play that deals with the tragic consequences of the forced removal of Indigenous children from their families. It focuses on the impact this policy had on both the parents who lost their children and the children who lost their identity. It confronts the issue of identity from the perspective of a fair-skinned woman, raised in a middle-class white family, who discovers she is Indigenous.
Luck of the Draw is based on Ned Manning’s experiences at the EORA Centre in Redfern in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It also draws on his own children’s experiences in being accepted as Indigenous on the strength of their heritage and identification rather than their skin colour.
'A mesmerising piece of theatre.' — The Australian
NED MANNING is a writer, actor and teacher. His debut play, Us or Them, marked the Griffin Theatre Company’s transition from a co-op to a professional company. Other plays include Milo, Kenny’s Coming Home and Tsunami. Alice Dreaming, his large cast play for young people, is regularly performed by schools and youth theatre groups in Australia and overseas. Close to the Bone, developed with students at the EORA Centre in Redfern, is the first play written about the Stolen Generation. Luck of the Draw, a play on the same subject, was performed by Kooemba Jdarra and the Darwin Theatre Companies. He wrote ten plays for Bell Shakespeare’s Actors at Work program. As an actor, Ned starred in the cult classic, Dead End Drive-In as well as appearing in many Australian film and tv productions including Looking for Alibrandi, Mr Inbetween, The Shiralee, Bodyline and many more. His teaching memoir, Playground Duty, has become required reading for anyone embarking on a teaching career. His latest novel is Painting the Light.
| Cast Info | 4F, 5M, (doubling available) |
| Genres | Australian History, Drama |
| Themes | Political/Social themes, Significant female roles, First Nations |
| Audiences | - |
| Extent | 99 |
| Edition | CTS |
| Size | 137 x 210 mm |
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