While it might not seem that a play about the English Civil Wars and the Putney Debates of 1640s England would have much resonance in 21st century Australia, Caryl Churchill’s framing, even some 45 years after the first staging, see our protests as rehashings of the same concerns of religious freedom, democracy, and social justice.
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This review comes from Night Writes guest reviewer Josephine Lee
Wayside Bride is a new Australian play that celebrates the heartaches and beauty of Wayside Chapel in Kings Cross. Around 2016, the playwright Alana Valentine put a call out for stories of people who were married there and, over the years of interviewing, listening and writing, she has created this play. With a mix of verbatim storytelling and time travel, she shines a spotlight on the importance of community and social work in preserving this remarkable piece of Australian history.
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There’s an old, insidious myth that there were no Aboriginal people in lutriwita (Tasmania) after British colonisation. It’s something Palawa have been fighting for decades to disprove and now they have the added difficulty of a rising popularity in reclaiming disowned Aboriginality, people uncovering buried ancestry or following family rumours and wanting recognition of their Palawa inheritance.
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