The National Black Theatre company was established by a small group of Aboriginal people who wished to makes their voices heard. It was, in a sense, a style of political theatre; Rachael Maza, the daughter of one of the company’s most prominent actors, says that it was “born from politics, it was totally inseparable. It was one of the few forums where blackfellas could speak out unedited, unfiltered, and with absolute control and authorship over what we had to say.” The black theatre signified a new kind of revolution: a people which had spent the last 184 years being shunned was finally telling the nation its stories. Its first performance was from the dance group at the re-erection of the Aboriginal Embassy. They made $60. The aims of most of their performances in the 70s was to show the world the way they felt in society.
1970s
1973: Louis Nowra wrote his first play
Louis Nowra, well-known Australian playwright of Così, Spellbound and other works, wrote his first play, Kiss The One-Eyed Priest, at La Mama Theatre. Nowra later became resident playwright at the Sydney Theatre Company while he was married to composer Sarah de Jong.
1973: Sydney Opera House
On October 20 1973, the Sydney Opera House opened its doors for the first time and treated a massive audience to a production of War and Peace by Prokofiev. This play was chosen as the premiere play because it, like the House itself, is a 20th century work. The Opera House attracted worldwide interest, so worldwide, in fact, that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II attended the opening performance.
1973: Adelaide Festival Centre
Three months before the Sydney Opera House was opened, the Adelaide Festival Centre was established as Adelaide’s first multi-purpose arts centre. It changed from a single building into a complex over the next few years with the introduction of the Playhouse, the Space Theatre and the Amphitheatre. The Centre was built primarily to house some elements of the Adelaide Festival, as they were growing out of their old home and needed somewhere new to be performed.
Construction of the Adelaide Festival Centre
1979: Murray River Performing Group
The Murray River Performing Group started out with 9 Victorian College of the Arts graduates and a dream to perform in a range of venues across Victoria. The group “hit the ground running” – within 4 months they had written plays, performed street theatre and conducted many acting workshops. It was later in 1979 that they started one of their biggest projects ever – the Flying Fruit Fly Circus. The Flying Fruit Fly Circus aimed to give children a taste of performance. It was only meant to be a one-off event but the children, and the adults, loved it, and decided to keep it going.
Flying Fruit Fly Circus at Sydney Festival 1979
History of Australian Theatre since 1950 