Black Diggers draws on the real experiences of more than 100 Indigenous soldiers, combined into nine characters, and told by Indigenous actors including one Vietnam War veteran, George Bostock.
"It’s really nice to see these young men, these young actors who had come in first and they knew nothing…as they got into the show you could see the change. They had more respect of what they were doing, and who they’re representing.’ Mr Bostock said.
Black Diggers draws on new scholarly research on the Indigenous contribution to World War I.
Director, Wesley Enoch, says the production plays on the way in which the ANZAC story has been stereotyped in recent years.
"We sometimes think of World War I and Gallipoli in particular, or the Western Front or the Somme, as a kind of blanket white experience and I love the idea of saying, no, there were lots of different people there,’ Mr Enoch said.
About 450,000 Australians enlisted and fought during World War I, and about 1000 were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
There was no universal experience for Indigenous diggers, but for many, serving in the war was the first time they were recognised by the wider Australian community.
For many, the real challenge was coming home. After four years of service, many did not cope well with the transition back to civilian life.
‘They couldn’t get soldier settlements, they weren’t paid, the protectors still took their pay, you still needed written permission to travel. All that history was still there," Mr Enoch said.
"But World War I is this little moment where those freedoms were awarded to Indigenous men, in a way that they still had to wait another 50, 60 years for those freedoms to comeback.’
Black Diggers is showing at the Sydney Opera House January 18 – 26 and at the Brisbane festival in September.
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