AustLit

'For perhaps the first time in novel form, Benevolence presents an important era in Australia’s history from an Aboriginal perspective.

'Benevolence is told from the perspective of Darug woman, Muraging (Mary James), born around 1813. Mary’s was one of the earliest Darug generations to experience the impact of British colonisation. At an early age Muraging is given over to the Parramatta Native School by her Darug father. From here she embarks on a journey of discovery and a search for a safe place to make her home.

'The novel spans the years 1816-35 and is set around the Hawkesbury River area, the home of the Darug people, Parramatta and Sydney. The author interweaves historical events and characters - she shatters stereotypes and puts a human face to this Aboriginal perspective.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The Crocodile Hotel is an epic story of a young Aboriginal single mother's awakening of identity and compassion in a remote Northern Territory community in 1976. This land holds a terrible secret of immense proportions, the earth is red with the memory. The old people are living witnesses to the past with all its misery and need for survival. Jane Reynolds is swept up in a year of wonders, as she negotiates her place between the black and white societies. She finds love with two charismatic men and meets traditional Aboriginal elders who change her life forever. Jane fights alongside the Lanniwah for land rights and finds respect and redemption for herself. The great granddaughter of a Darug Hawkesbury river Aboriginal woman, Jane takes a journey to recognise her identity and is drawn into the world of race relations in the face of 1970s prejudice and discrimination.' (Source: TROVE)

'The sights and sounds of Indigenous Australia and Indonesia are brought to life in a unique fusion of high-powered physical theatre, music, song and dance. This show tells the extraordinary story of a young Indigenous man's journey to Makassar at the turn of the 20th Century.'

Source: Sydney Opera House website, http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com
Sighted: 24/09/2007

''Venus In Eritrea' is a play about triumph amongst the ruins and tragedy of war. It tells us that love can be found even in the darkest of places, and that fighting for independence, whether it be personal or political, is what guides powerful souls into the light of peace.'

Source:

'Women in Shorts', Tharunka, 20 May 1997, p.32.

'Black Mary is a play telling the story of Aboriginal bushranger Mary Ann and her partner, Captain Thunderbolt, roaming northwestern New South Wales in the mid-nineteenth century. Dressed like the men, Mary Ann is one of the gang, managing to survive in the outback and to elude capture most of the time. She dreams of returning with Thunderbolt to live with her people but instead witnesses their massacre and plots revenge...'

'A contemporary play, Gunjies combines family life, young love, a football match and a debutante ball with political activism, racial discrimination and uneasy relations with police (the gunjies). Janson's characters are ordinary people-warm, funny, resilient-who are suddenly involved in tragedy...'

'An introduction provides interesting historical background on bushranger Mary Ann, and both plays are illustrated with photographs. The plays are recommended for Years 7 to 12 Australian history, Aboriginal studies drama and literature.' (Source: Publishers website)