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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'This is a proud milestone in Australian theatre history; a contemporary Indigenous performance text from the highly acclaimed Kooemba Jdarra. Appropriating western forms whilst using traditional storytelling, it gives emotional insight into Murri life. This one-woman show follows the journey of an Aboriginal ‘Everywoman’ as she tells poignant and humorous stories of grief and reconciliation. A powerful, demanding and culturally profound text, The 7 Stages of Grieving is a celebration of Indigenous survival, an invitation to grieve publicly, a time to exorcize pain. It has a universal theme told through the personal experiences of one incredible character.'
Source: Publisher's blurb (Playlab).
Reading Australia
This work has Reading Australia teaching resources.
Unit Suitable For
AC: Year 10 (NSW Stage 5)
Themes
family, grief, History, Indigenous rights, the past
General Capabilities
Critical and creative thinking, Ethical understanding, Intercultural understanding, Literacy
Cross-curriculum Priorities
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures
Production Details
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First produced by Kooemba Jdarra at the Metro Arts Theatre, Brisbane, 1 September 1995.
Director: Wesley Enoch.
New production by the Sydney Theatre Company at the Wharf Theatre from February to March 2008. Later presented at Wagga and Albury, NSW.
Produced by the State Theatre Company of South Australia at The Space, Adelaide Festival Centre, 22-29 May 2010 and then on tour in regional South Australia until 17 June 2010.
Presented by the Queensland Theatre Company. A Grin & Tonic Theatre Troupe production. Performed 17-28 March 2015 at Bille Brown Studio, QTC.
Director: Wesley Enoch.
Cast: Chenoa Deemal.
Also at QUT Gardens Theatre in May, 2017 as a part of a national tour. The productions then travels to London as a part of the 2017 Origins Festival (http://originsfestival.bordercrossings.org.uk/).
Set to be presented by Sydney Theatre Company at the Roslyn Packer Theatre, 23 May to 13 June 2020.
Director: Shari Sebbens.
Designer: Elizabeth Gadsby.
Associate Designer: Tyler Ray Hawkins.
Lighting Designer: Mark Pennington.
Composer & Sound Designer: Steve Francis.
Cast includes Elaine Crombie.
This production then presented by State Theatre Company of South Australia, Space Theatre, 25 June to 4 July 2020.
Sydney Theatre Company production cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
State Theatre Company of South Australia production cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sydney Theatre Company production rescheduled for 21 May - 19 June 2021.
Director: Shari Sebbens.
Set & Costume Designer: Elizabeth Gadsby.
Lighting & AV Designer: Verity Hampson.
Composer & Sound Designer: Steve Francis.
Cast: Elaine Crombie.
Presented by the State Theatre Company of South Australia, 28 July - 7 August 2021, at the Space Theatre.
Director: Shari Sebbens.
Set & Costume Designer: Elizabeth Gadsby.
Lighting & AV Designer: Verity Hampson.
Composer & Sound Designer: Steve Francis.
Cast: Elaine Crombie.
See also the entry in the AusStage database for more production information.
Contents
- Memories and the Paini"You came ashore, pale like spirit people", single work poetry (p. 10)
- Why Do We Applaud?, single work column (p. 13-16)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Deep Sense of History at Every Stage of Grieving
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian , 20 March 2015; (p. 15)
— Review of The Seven Stages of Grieving 1995 single work drama -
Talkin’ Blak : Humour in Indigenous Australian Theatre, 1970−2000
2015
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Philament , February no. 20 2015; (p. 129-164) 'This paper looks at the renaissance of Indigenous Australian theatrical performance, from the early 1970s to its prominence in the lead-up to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. It focuses on the specific ways that humour has been used by Indigenous Australian performing artists to highlight unpleasant social issues in their communities, such as poverty, alcohol abuse, and the removal/stealing of children from their families. In conjunction with witty repartee, visual comedy both in movement and mimicry is often used by Indigenous performers. Philosopher Henri Bergson, well-known for his contributions to humour studies, claims that the physical humour in inflexible, repetitive, or exaggerated movements is inherently funny. Bergson argues that rigidity of movements or “something mechanical encrusted on the living” makes comedians appear inhuman and, as a consequence, this makes people laugh. Contemporary philosopher and humour theorist Simon Critchley notes that the opposite is also true: We often find it funny when people give the impression of being all too human. For Critchley, the recognition of predictable behaviours is just as funny as any automated actions.' (129-130) -
Performative Lives – Transformative Practices : Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman, The 7 Stages of Grieving, and Richard Franklin, Conversations with the Dead
2014
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Decolonizing the Landscape : Indigenous Cultures in Australia 2014; (p. 275-292)'In the following, I would like to focus on Wesley Enoch's and Deborah Mailman's The 7 Stages of Grieving (1995) and Richard Frankland's Conversations with the Dead (2002), plays which address and simultaneously perform a transformative process involving actors and spectators, with specific ethical and political implications. While both plays engage in this transformative endeavour, The 7 Stages of Grieving explores the possibilities of connecting across boundaries towards the horizon, while Conversations with the Dead centres on its boundaries, foregrounding questions of difference.'
Source: p.280
-
y
The Challenge of Humour in Contemporary Australian Indigenous Theatre : Examining the Relationship between Performer and Audience in 'The 7 Stages of Grieving', 'Stolen' and 'Namatjira'
Adelaide
:
2013
9293207
2013
single work
thesis
-
The Evolution of Telling Stories from Their Evolutionary Roots
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 14 November 2013; (p. 34)
-
Hope Turns to Disappointment as Inconvenient Truths Revisited
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian , 24 May 2010; (p. 17)
— Review of The Seven Stages of Grieving 1995 single work dramaReview of The Seven Stages of Grieving produced by the State Theatre Company of South Australia at The Space, Adelaide Festival Centre, 22-29 May 2010 and then on tour in regional South Australia until June 17 2010.
Review of Daniel Keene's The Share produced by five.point.one, The Bakehouse, Adelaide from 20 May to 5 June 2010
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Lamentations
1997
single work
review
— Appears in: The Adelaide Review , June no. 165 1997; (p. 23)
— Review of The Seven Stages of Grieving 1995 single work drama -
Untitled
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 30 May 1996;
— Review of The Seven Stages of Grieving 1995 single work drama -
Untitled
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Herald Sun , 31 May 1996;
— Review of The Seven Stages of Grieving 1995 single work drama -
Untitled
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Telegraph , 10 March 1996;
— Review of The Seven Stages of Grieving 1995 single work drama -
Aboriginal Encounters : Cross-Cultural Perspectives on First Nation Drama
2003
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Transgressive Itineraries : Postcolonial Hybridizations of Dramatic Realism 2003; (p. 147-231) Section II of this chapter is entitled 'Staging Australian Aboriginality.' -
Windshuttling the Right : Some Australian Literary and Historical Adaptations for the Stage
2004
single work
criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 3 no. 2004; (p. 133-142) Focusing on the disjunction between versions of national history in white and black narratives of shared history, the article provides an overview of theatrical adaptations of cultural narratives that deal with Aboriginal experience in Australia's post-contact history. -
y
A Compelling Force : Indigenous Women Playwrights
2007
St Lucia
:
AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource
,
2007
Z1271301
2007
single work
criticism
-
Sydney Theatre Company
2008
single work
column
— Appears in: Lowdown , February/March vol. 30 no. 1 2008; (p. 25) -
Presenting the Past : Historiography in Aboriginal Theatre of the 80s and 90s
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 70 no. 3 2010; (p. 144-162)
