This play discusses strong themes such as genocide and trauma and mentions the names of Indigenous people who have died. The production also contains adult themes, a brief moment of nudity, suicide and the use of strong language, haze and natural fibres on stage.
Set in putalina (Oyster Cove) in lutriuwita (Tasmania), At What Cost? is a hard-hitter of a play that tackles the tragedy of intergenerational trauma and displacement amongst Tasmania's Aboriginal population.
Directed by Isaac Drandic, the play opens with the news that the remains of William Lanne, a palawa ancestor, are being returned from a British museum to be properly cremated by his descendants. Boyd (played by Luke Carroll) is a respected member of the palawa community and, for years, has been doing a balancing act of making a living with his responsibilities to the land and people.
When he is chosen by the Land Council to be the one to light the fire and return Lanne to his ancestors, Boyd finds that more and more folk – or ‘tick-a-boxers’ – are claiming to be palawa. To bring everyone forward, Boyd has to go back and delve into the island’s knotty past. And they might not like what they find.
Shared with humour and generosity by the award-winning pakana playwright Nathan Maynard, At What Cost? is an ambitious conversation that enlightens audiences about the effects of intergenerational trauma and the nuanced debate surrounding Aboriginal identity.
Running at the Billie Brown Theatre between May 25 until June 10, get tickets to see this production on the Queensland Theater website here.
Or, spend 'A Night with the Artists' on June 5, which includes a viewing and a chance to learn about the audition process, how a character was developed and why the music was chosen.
