At What Cost?

At What Cost? by Nathan Maynard on every level is challenging, which is as any theatre experience should be. The issues being grappled with are so relevant and confronting as Australia faces the Voice referendum this year. For this reviewer it was uncomfortable to see the wounds that First Nations people in Australia carry with them and the burden of sheer frustration and sadness. But this is how we wake up!

The horrors of the genocide of Tasmanian Aboriginal people resurface in this confronting writing. From the moment the play begins with Palawa elder Boyd Mansell (Luke Carroll) and his pregnant wife Nala (Sandy Greenwood) playfully enjoying time together in their hut, we have an impending sense of unease. Something brews beneath the surface. There is non-visible hurt - generations of bubbling tension and sadness, which we know is, like in the real world, about to explode.

All people want to belong, and for our First Nations people this has been a constant struggle.  What does it mean to be aboriginal (in this case- Palawa)? The Australian Assimilation policies in place right up until the 1970’s made it incredibly hard for people to “be” Aboriginal. Director Isaac Drandic cleverly showcases the mirror Maynard has created to show today’s ongoing issues and draw attention to unconscious biases.

Maynard himself is a Trawlwoolway, Pakana/Palawa man and this piece showcases his deep understanding and empathy for his fellow First Nations peoples.

The play is set in Tasmania in recently reclaimed Putalina land. Boyd has moved there with Nala, appointed by the Aboriginal Land Council as gatekeeper to the lands. In this capacity we meet him just as he has been chosen by the same to protect and ultimately cremate the remains of William Lanne, a Palawa ancestor, the partner of famed Truganini. History records them as the last full blooded aboriginal people on the island. Lanne’s skull has been returned to his ancestral lands after being taken by William Crowther years ago for curation at the British Museum. Boyd is joyful at this prospect - Lanne is back where he belongs!  In contrast to this joy, he has strong feelings which grow explosively throughout the play about HAT people (Hidden Aboriginals of Tasmania) now claiming descendancy without evidence. His naming them “tick a boxes” or “claimers” derives from the government allowing people who tick ‘indigenous’ in the census to have access to specific rights and grants. This is lamented by Boyd as the Government legally “owning our identity” - that they can determine who is and who isn’t aboriginal.

We also meet Daniel (Ari Maza Long), his cousin, recently arrived from Melbourne. Daniel represents the conflict in viewpoints - he is young and uncertain about the ‘claimers’ and whether this is really an issue - he is the ‘half way between’ viewpoint of Australia’s growing moral conflict and is therefore a problem for Boyd who is so dogmatic in his opinions.

Enter non-Indigenous woman Gracie (Alex Malone) who has erected a tent just outside Boyd’s land, claiming she is doing research into William Crowther. Boyd is wary of her as she builds a connection with Daniel and as an old friend of Nala’s, creates a divide between them all. A white, red headed, blue eyed woman, Gracie later claims to be a direct descendant of Lanne’s and therefore wishes to be part of the ceremony on “her land”. Her character represents all the ways non indigenous people are almost a parody in using language like “culturally safe” and “connection to land”. There is so much tension on stage as Boyd roils against her claim, Nala grapples with her friendship connection and Daniel his romantic feelings towards Gracie.

Boyd’s anger towards people who claim to be Aboriginal, with no apparent ties to country, language or culture, boil and eventually explode in a tumultuous climax borne of frustration anger and hurt. Along the journey we see softer moments where Boyd speaks with great love for his role in sending Lanne to the ancestors in the sky and his deep connection to country.

Each actor is extremely effective in their role, but it is Luke Carroll who deserves accolades for his powerful performance and ultimate sacrifice as a tortured man. Standing with Lanne’s skull in his hand in a very “Hamlet-like” moment whilst talking of the ancestors was an incredibly powerful scene.  Sandy Greenwood is the epitome of the loving wife but also proudly protective of her culture and her husband. Ari Maza Long  and Alex Maione as Grace bring gravitas and colour to the performance.

Jacob Nash is to be congratulated for his effectively beautiful but simple set- we have a real sense of the rustic bush through painted walls and strewn timber. It is this timber which cleverly throughout the piece is used to build Lanne’s funeral pyre. The use of underfloor lighting with indigenous design is very clever.

Chloe Ogilvie’s lighting highlights the colours of the land and is subtle, cleverly moving between dream-like sequences and reality. The star clusters lighting the back cyclorama are incredibly moving and apt.

Keerthi Subramanyam’s costuming is rustic and earthy and the use of a beautiful Kangaroo pelt cape truly gave authenticity to the play. The soundscape by David Bergman of natural sounds and the music by Kelsey Lees likewise, beautifully transport us to the bush.

This play very effectively confronts the concepts of belonging and identity. Who decides Aboriginality? We watch anger swell and we are forced to confront the uncomfortable.

Boyd represents all First Nations people who fight to be heard; to be acknowledged in a changing country. They have certainly come a long way but there is still much work to do. As a non-indigenous person, I can only imagine the suffering First Nations people have been though and the discrimination and frustration which they feel. The Voice referendum is certainly very timely.

Shelley Hampton

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Photographer: Jessica Zeng