UNE Theatre Study students will drive home an important message around consent and violence against women when their new annual production, Blackrock - an award-winning play by well-known Australian playwright Nick Enright - opens this week.
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"For those who like their theatre thought-provoking, cathartic and exploding with spectacle, this is a production not to be missed!" Lisa Goldzieher, director and lecturer in Theatre Studies, said.
Enright wrote the work in response to the brutal rape and murder of 14-year old student Leigh Leigh in Stockton Beach, Newcastle, in 1989.
"By choosing Blackrock for this year's production, we hope to generate positive conversation and engagement around issues of consent, sexual harassment and sexual assault," Lisa said.
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Enright closely worked with the Stockton community to create the play, fictionalising the events into drama. He chose not to enact the actual rape and murder scenes on stage, or to include a character who represents the victim.
"This is not a play about Tracy, the fictionalised Leigh Leigh," Lisa said. "In the tradition of Greek tragedy, it is about society facing itself, and taking a long, hard look at its prejudices, uses, and abuses of language, and its conflicts and anxieties surrounding gender."
The raw, gritty drama explores prejudice and discrimination, collective violence, and the construction of masculinity in Australian culture, Lisa explained. "It offers more than just a different perspective regarding the trauma associated with sexual assault and violence against women. It provides a platform to continue the conversation and ask questions about how and why these things happen."
The Universities Australia Respect.Now.Always campaign strives to ensure students and staff are safe from sexual harassment and assault, Lisa said. "It highlighted the imperative for UNE to foster a culture of respect and to challenge and confront poor behaviour,"
The University community has already shown great interest in the contemporary classic. Mary White College elected to use some of their Respect.Now.Always. funding to take their residents to the show.
"We're hoping the other colleges will do likewise," Lisa said. "It is a great opportunity to generate conversation about how we can make a difference."
Blackrock will feature original live music by Stephen Harris and local music teacher Dave Eddy.
Tickets are on sale from https://www.trybooking.com/book/event?eid=536007. The show will run in the UNE Arts Theatre from Wednesday October 2 to Saturday October 5, starting at 7.30pm. There will also be a matinee performance on Saturday at 11am. Members of the community are welcome to attend.