Seven Stages of Grieving comes to Newcastle for Reconciliation Week

In acknowledgment of Reconciliation Week 2017, Newcastle City Council is bringing The Seven Stages of Grieving to Civic Playhouse from 30 May to 3 June as part of the Civic Season 2017.
 
Remaining a vital masterwork 20 years after it was penned by Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman, this new adaption of The 7 Stages of Grieving is a wise and powerful play about the grief of Aboriginal people and the hope of reconciliation.

Perhaps most importantly, it opens a dialogue about the issues that separate and unite Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Council will have a special Welcome to Country at the opening night performance.
 
"Council wanted to find a unique way to acknowledge and commemorate Reconciliation Week 2017," said Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes. "This play is a perfect way to do that. It is an opportunity for the community to come together to hear stories and better understand what reconciliation means for Aboriginal people. Creating these opportunities is part of becoming the strong, diverse and inclusive city that we want Newcastle to be."
 
In this one-woman show, Chenoa Deemal (Queensland Theatre Company's Mother Courage and Her Children) spins poignant stories of different people from different mobs – tear-streaked tales of tragedy go hand-in-hand with jubilant celebrations of simple survival. Funny, devastatingly sad, politically relevant and culturally profound as it traverses the phases of Aboriginal history, The 7 Stages of Grieving is an invitation to face hard truths, to join hands and grieve. It shares true and personal stories that need to keep being told.
 
This new adaption of The 7 Stages of Grieving is a Grin & Tonic Theatre Troupe and Queensland Theatre co-production. The original script has been skillfully updated to reflect the contemporary political climate, including the addition of current political references making it relevant to a contemporary audience. The refreshed version of the play also reflects the changing attitudes of Australian people. The work is directed by Jason Klarwein, and showcases the immense talents of emerging Indigenous performer, Chenoa Deemal.
 
The 7 Stages of Grieving by Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman
VENUE: Civic Playhouse, Newcastle
DATES: Tuesday 30 May, 8pm
Wednesday 31 May, 8pm
Thursday 1 June, 11am, 8pm
Friday 2 June, 8pm
Saturday 3 June, 2pm, 8pm
 
DURATION: 55 mins, no interval
NOTE: Recommended for audiences 14 years (grade 9) and over
 
Cast: Chenoa Deemal
Director: Jason Klarwein
Designer: Jessica Ross
Lighting Designer: Daniel Anderson
Sound & Projection Designer: Justin Harrison
 
A Grin & Tonic Theatre Troupe (Grin & Tonic) and Queensland Theatre Company (QTC) co-production