The Black Woman of Gippsland
Title: The Black Woman of Gippsland
Author: Andrea James
Publisher: Currency Press & Melbourne Theatre Company.
The Black Woman of Gippsland was commissioned and developed through Melbourne Theatre Company’s NEXT STAGE Writers’ Program, with the support of our Playwrights Giving Circle.
Shortlist: Drama
From Andrea James (Sunshine Super Girl) comes The Black Woman of Gippsland – a story of Victoria’s dark past that is in dire need of revisiting, told as a thrilling modern mystery that unfolds with beauty, tragedy and rebellion.
A woman is tossed ashore from the sea, bedraggled and lost. A century and a half later, another finds herself diving deep into the truth behind a lingering legend.
Jacinta’s family is driving her up the wall and her academic career is floundering, but amongst the books, something doesn’t feel right about the story history tells. The myths and half-truths that surround the figure of a ‘white woman’ said to have lived among the Gunaikurnai people of Gippsland in the 1840s are so abundant it seems the reality is out of reach. But Jacinta is determined to unearth the truth for herself and her Gunaikurnai family no matter the twists and turns the journey might take her on.
Based on real events and set on Andrea’s grandmother’s country, The Black Woman of Gippsland is a poetic, emotionally rich and clever embracing of First Nations stories that have long been silenced.
Judges’ Report
Dense and poetic, The Black Woman of Gippsland is uncompromising in its pursuit of its themes. History and who gets to tell the story, the archives vs. oral traditions, intergenerational loss, deaths in custody and disappeared Aboriginal women combine to make this an emotional and thought-provoking narrative. This play challenges audiences to think differently about the past and ultimately, the present.
Extract
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About the Author
Andrea James
VPLA book photography by Shannyn Higgins
The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards are proudly supported by the Victorian Government.
