On a sweltering day, 26 January, 1788, on a bluff high above Sydney Cove, seven Aboriginal men stand looking out to sea. Moored off-shore is a huge nowee (boat) … then there are two, then more. Who are these visitors? Where are they from? What do they want? Should they be turned away—by force—or welcomed to country?
In the playscript The Visitors, Muruwari playwright Jane Harrison (Stolen, Rainbow's End) reimagines the arrival of the First Fleet from a First Nations' perspective. These senior men, carrying the weight of cultural responsibility in their very human hearts, must decide what action they'll take toward these unwanted arrivals. A decision, under pressure, that will have repercussions—unforeseeably and forever. Told with wit, charm, and a fierce intelligence, Harrison's playscript upends the dominant point of view of this pivotal event.
Annotated and with an introduction by Wesley Enoch.
'I do not doubt that The Visitors will take its place alongside Stolen as a touchstone of Australian theatre, and as an essential part of the continuing struggle to make sense of colonisation and multigenerational trauma' —Harriet Cunningham, Sydney Morning Herald
JANE HARRISON is descended from the Muruwari people of NSW. Her plays include Stolen, Rainbow’s End and The Visitors, the latter winning the Sydney Critics Award for Best New Australian Work in 2021, and Best Production and Best Ensemble in 2024. The opera The Visitors premiered in 2023. Her novels include Becoming Kirrali Lewis and The Visitors. She received the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award in 2023 and was the Festival Director of Blak & Bright First Nations Literary Festival (2016 - 2024).
| Cast Info | 7M |
| Genres | Australian History, Drama |
| Themes | Political/Social themes, First Nations |
| Audiences | Adult, Secondary: Years 7-9, Secondary: Years 10-12 |
| Extent | 80 |
| Edition | First |
| Size | 137 x 210 mm |
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