First Nations-led play The Box set to premiere across Tasmania

Callan Morse Published July 2, 2024 at 4.35pm (AWST)

culture

Directed by Palawa man Nathan Maynard, The Box is set to show at theatres across Tasmania in July and August. (Image: Performing Lines)

Launceston's Mudlark Theatre Company is set to present the premiere of a new Tasmanian Theatre production by two Indigenous artists.

Curated by award winning Palawa artist, Nathan Maynard, and Murri-born, Hobart-raised Wakka Wakka artist, Rob Braslin, The Box is described as a relentlessly real, daringly comic and profoundly moving theatre experience, uncovering the painful truths and actions that define one family's existence inside a government experiment.

Set in a fictional housing commission suburb of Bowendale, the story of The Box draws viewers into the home and family of a single mother Mandy and her two hardened 'Bowey boy' sons.

A complex and compelling family drama, The Box rages at the fragility of lives balanced on a knife's edge, revealing the courage it takes for many to persist and survive, let alone 'dream outside the box'.

The story is portrayed as a relentlessly real, daringly comic and profoundly moving theatre experience, uncovering the painful truths and actions that define one family's existence inside a government experiment.

Co-writer and director Maynard said The Box challenges the notion of people from disadvantaged backgrounds featuring on the theatre stage.

"This story needs to be told because theatre is not a safe space for people from housing commission areas. It's never going to be a safe space until we see ourselves onstage," he said.

Based in Launceston on the banks of Tamar River, Mudlark is an artist-led theatre company committed to the production of authentic new Australian theatre, aiming to inspire and challenge audiences and the next generation of regional theatre-makers.

The Box is co-written by Rob Braslin (pictured) Nathan Maynard. (Image: Tasmanian Times)

Mudlark artistic director Jane Johnson, said creating new work is at the heartbeat of Mudlark Theatre.

"The Box has been three years in the making and is a deeply collaborative theatre work," Ms Johnson said.

"Over this time, we've had the privilege of working with the exceptional talent and vision of Nathan Maynard and Rob Braslin, alongside a remarkable creative team, to realise the production."

The Box is described as a deeply personal and complex story of one Australian family, written with care, compassion and humour and a real love and knowledge of them.

"Nathan and Rob have created a bold contemporary Australian theatre work, a story not currently being seen on our stages, featuring an incredible team of Tasmanian artists. It is surprising, compelling, 'must-see theatre,'" Ms Johnson said.

Mudlark says The Box is relentlessly real and achingly human and with that comes some very confronting content but it is also a theatre experience filled with love, humour and hope.

They say narratives such as The Box have been marginalised from Tasmania's mainstream theatre experience and that the project seeks to address this profound imbalance of voices and galvanise action.

The Box and will premiere at the Earl Arts Centre, Launceston before touring to Burnie and Hobart. The show is presented by Theatre North, Theatre Royal and Burnie Arts, and is a landmark theatre event in Tasmania.

The Box show details

Launceston

Earl Arts Centre

24-27 July

Tickets via theatrenorth.com.au

Burnie

Town Hall, Burnie Arts Centre

31 July – 1 August

Tickets via burniearts.net

Hobart

Studio Theatre, The Hedberg, Theatre Royal

7-8 August