Presented in August/September 2022 by Griffin Theatre Company, and later winning the 2023 NSW Premier’s Literary Award for Playwriting, this new Australian play is well-deserving of a permanent position in the national canon.
Once in a blue moon, in the middle of nowhere, two teenage boys meet under a lemon tree. After a rough start, a fragile friendship fruits into a heady romance. Ty and Neddy fall madly in love, as teenagers are wont to do. If history would just unfurl a little differently, the boys might have a beautiful future ahead of them. But without knowing it, Ty and Neddy are poised on the brink of a world that is about to change forever. It’s the early 19th century. Ty is River Mob. Neddy is Mountain Mob. And the earth they stand together on is about to be declared ‘Australia’.
“Everything one could possibly ask of a playwright, Van Den Berg delivers, through the greatest of acuity and sophistication.” ★★★★★ — Suzy Wrong, Suzy Goes See
“It is the best of theatre writing where you feel you ‘have learned’ but did not experience ‘being taught’. Subtle, clever and straight to the heart.” ★★★★.5 — Dennis Clements, ArtsHub
“The actors create something impossibly tender that still bites with gloriously lived-in detail. As they fall in love with each other, we fall in love with them.” ★★★★ — Cassie Tongue, SMH
In his young career, Dylan Van Den Berg has won the Griffin Award, the Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award, and the Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting at the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. In Whitefella Yella Tree he has penned a heart-warming and heartbreaking story about love, Country, and Blak queerness throughout history.
Starring Helpmann Award-winner Guy Simon, and nurtured through the Griffin Studio program, Whitefella Yella Tree is a force of nature and a tender first kiss. This capture is another exciting product of a long history of collaboration between ATL and Griffin, and one of six 2022/23 Griffin Theatre Company works debuting on the subscription platform in the next twelve months.
Whitefella Yella Tree and Kirsty Marillier’s Orange Thrower will soon be joined by Melissa Bubnic’s Ghosting The Party, Merlynn Tong’s Golden Blood, Eloise Snape’s Pony, and Nakkiah Lui’s Blaque Showgirls. Whitefella Yella Tree will be launched on ATL ON DEMAND Thursday 16th November, joining a diverse catalogue of 27 Australian digital live performances for just $7.99/month or $74.99/year, and available to education institutions on ATL ON DEMAND: EDUCATION.
Whitefella Yella Tree Cast & Creatives: Co-Directors: Declan Greene & Amy Sole; Designer: Mason Browne; Lighting Co-Designers: Kelsey Lee & Katie Sfetkidis; Composer & Sound Designer: Steve Toulmin; Dramaturg: Andrea James; Stage Manager: Isabella Kerdijk; Intimacy Coordinator: Akala Newman (courtesy of Key Intimate Scenes); Community Engagement Consultant: Neville Williams Boney; Elder-in-Residence: Uncle Graham Simms; With: Callan Purcell as Ty & Guy Simon as Neddy. Whitefella Yella Tree Content Warnings: Whitefella Yella Tree contains haze, loud noise, blinding lights, sex scenes and weapons. It contains descriptions and representations of colonial violence.
About Australian Theatre Live: Established as a Not-For-Profit organization and registered charity, Australian Theatre Live (ATL) records and distributes Australian live performance, prioritising accessibility, developing the local arts industry, and preserving an archive of its playwriting, performing and stage production heritage. ATL has now pioneered two groundbreaking subscription platforms, ATL ON DEMAND and ATL ON DEMAND: EDUCATION, bringing the best of Australian theatre to audiences around the world. Website: https://australiantheatre.live/ Public Streaming Platform (ATL ON DEMENAD): https://stream.australiantheatre.live/
Education Streaming Platform (ATL ON DEMAND: EDUCATION): https://education.australiantheatre.live/
