The Secret River is a play by Australian playwright Andrew Bovell, based upon the 2005 novel of the same name by Kate Grenville. It premiered in Sydney on 8 August 2013.
Contents
Synopsis
Narrated by Dhirrumbin, the drama is about a man who is exiled from London in the eighteenth century, and is sent with his family to a penal colony in the Hawkesbury River, New South Wales, where he hopes to make a new start, but its Indigenous inhabitants, the Dharug people, are not willing to give up their land.
Production
The play was first produced by the Sydney Theatre Company (STC).
Choreographer and then artistic director for Bangarra Dance Theatre, Stephen Page, was artistic associate for the production.
Performances
2013
The STC production of The Secret River had its world premiere on 8 January 2013 at the Sydney Theatre as part of Sydney Festival. The cast included Nathaniel Dean, Trevor Jamieson, Daniel Henshall, Miranda Tapsell, and Ursula Yovich.
2016
A 2016 remount toured Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.
2017
In March 2017, a co-production of the State Theatre Company of South Australia and the Sydney Theatre Company, co-directed by Neil Armfield and Geordie Brookman, was staged at Anstey Hill Quarry as part of the Adelaide Festival. The show was a record-breaking success, selling out all performances over its 18 nights, with an audience of 800 each night.
2019
It was scheduled to tour to Edinburgh International Festival and the Royal National Theatre in London in 2019.
Original cast
The cast for the 2013 production included:
Nathaniel Dean - William Thornhill
Anita Hegh - Sal Thornhill
Jeremy Sims - Smasher Sullivan
Colin Moody - Thomas Blackwood
Ursula Yovich - Dhirrumbin/Dulla Djin
Miranda Tapsell - Gillyagan/Muruli
Bruce Spence - Loveday
Bailey Doomadgee and Kamil Ellis - Garraway
Lachlan Elliott and Callum McManis - Willie Thornhill
Rory Potter and Tom Usher - Dick Thornhill
Roy Gordon - Yalamundi
Daniel Henshall - Dan Oldfield
Ethel-Anne Gundy – Buryia
Trevor Jamieson - Ngalamalum
Rhimi Johnson Page - Wangarra/Branyimala
Judith McGrath - Mrs Herring
James Slee - Narabi
Matthew Sunderland - Sagitty Birtles/ Captain Suckling/Turnkey