Nindethana Theatre facts for kids
| Industry | Theatre |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1971 |
| Founders | Jack Charles & Bob Maza |
| Defunct | 1974 |
| Headquarters |
,
Australia
|
| Products | Theatre productions by Aboriginal people |
Nindethana Theatre was a very important group. It was Australia's first theatre company made by Aboriginal people. It started in Melbourne in 1971. Their last show was in Adelaide in 1974.
How Nindethana Theatre Started
The Australia Council for the Arts asked Jack Charles to start a group. He gathered seven young Aboriginal people. They were from hostels in Melbourne. Four of them had never acted before!
Jack Charles and Bob Maza created Nindethana. This happened at the Pram Factory in Melbourne in 1971. They also got help from John Smythe, a playwright and director. The group wanted to show and promote Aboriginal plays. They also wanted to share Aboriginal music, art, and films.
Amazing Theatre Shows
The first play they planned was Rocket Range. But it was not performed. This was due to problems and not enough trained people.
Their very first show was The Cherry Pickers. It was performed in August 1971. Kevin Gilbert wrote this play. It is known as the first play written by an Aboriginal person. In 1972, they put on a show called Jack Charles is up and fighting.
In November 1972, they staged Brumby Innes: A Play in Three Acts. Katharine Susannah Prichard wrote this play. It was so successful that they got money to film it! It was filmed at Channel 0 in Melbourne. The film was shown in June 1973. This helped some actors get more roles. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation made a sound recording in 1993. You can find it at Fryer Library in the University of Queensland Library.
In 1973, the theatre company received a special award. It was from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board. This award helped them visit Adelaide, South Australia. They performed at the Adelaide Festival of Arts. They also visited Horsham, Murray Bridge, and Yalata. These were Aboriginal communities. They performed Mission and Urban Identity in Melbourne in 1973. Then they took it to Adelaide in 1974.
See also
- National Black Theatre (Australia), a similar group in Sydney in the 1970s
