art, Forgotten Australians, Stolen Generations, theatre

The Fence – a portrait of love, belonging and dispossession

by Adele on 15 December, 2009

Coming up in January in Sydney – live theatre performance of The Fence, a story close to the hearts of Forgotten Australians and Stolen Generations. Here’s the announcement from Urban Theatre Projects:

Urban Theatre Projects and Sydney Festival 2010 present

THE FENCE

A portrait of love, belonging and dispossession.

The story takes place in the family home of Mel and Joy in Sydney’s western suburbs. It investigates the resilience and wisdom of five middle-aged Australians, four of whom grew up in care as part of the Forgotten Australians and Stolen Generations.

The audience will be seated in the backyard of a purpose-built house on-site in Parramatta, The Fence is the latest site-specific work from Urban Theatre Projects created in public dialogue with communities.

In developing The Fence, Urban Theatre Projects Artistic Director Alicia Talbot and cast spent have been working with 25 Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian men and women who, like the characters, have had experiences of growing up in orphanages, foster homes and welfare institutions. Alicia acknowledges the community consultants as experts and together they have engaged in open dialogue that has informed the development of The Fence.

Community partners include Alliance Forgotten Australians, Stolen Generations Alliance, Origins HARP, Mens Shed – Emerton, Parra Girls, CLAN & Link-Up.

The Fence season runs from 14 to 30 January 2010 at 8.30pm as part of the Sydney Festival.

For more information, see the Urban Theatre Projects page about The Fence.