The Secret River (play)


The Secret River is a play by Australian playwright Andrew Bovell, based upon the 2005 novel of the same name by Kate Grenville. It premiered in Sydney on 8 August 2013.

Synopsis

Narrated by Dhirrumbin, the drama is about a man who is exiled from London in the eighteenth century, and is sent with his family to a penal colony in the Hawkesbury River, New South Wales, where he hopes to make a new start, but its Indigenous inhabitants, the Dharug people, are not willing to give up their land.

Production

The play was first produced by the Sydney Theatre Company.
Choreographer and then artistic director for Bangarra Dance Theatre, Stephen Page, was artistic associate for the production.

Performances

2013

The STC production of The Secret River had its world premiere on 8 January 2013 at the Sydney Theatre as part of Sydney Festival. The cast included Nathaniel Dean, Trevor Jamieson, Daniel Henshall, Miranda Tapsell, and Ursula Yovich.

2016

A 2016 remount toured Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.

2017

In March 2017, a co-production of the State Theatre Company of South Australia and the Sydney Theatre Company, co-directed by Neil Armfield and Geordie Brookman, was staged at Anstey Hill Quarry as part of the Adelaide Festival. The show was a record-breaking success, selling out all performances over its 18 nights, with an audience of 800 each night.

2019

It was scheduled to tour to Edinburgh International Festival and the Royal National Theatre in London in 2019.

Characters

English settlers

  • William Thornhill,
  • Sal Thornhill, William’s wife
  • Willie Thornhill, William and Sal's eldest son
  • Dick Thornhill, William and Sal's second son
  • Smasher Sullivan, a settler on the Hawkesbury River
  • Thomas Blackwood, an ex-convict and tradesmen
  • Loveday, a settler on the Hawkesbury River
  • Dan Oldfield, Williams childhood friend
  • Mrs Herring, a mid-wife and nurse
  • Sagitty Birtles, Smasher Sullivan's crony
  • Captain Suckling, alcoholic and landowner

Dharug people

  • Dhirrumbin, a guide
  • Dulla Djin
  • Gillyagan
  • Muruli
  • Garraway, friend of Dick
  • Yalamundi, elder of the tribe
  • Buryia, female tribe elder
  • Ngalamalum
  • Wangarra, tribal warrior
  • Branyimala, tribal warrior
  • Narabi, friend of Dick
  • Turnkey

Original cast

The cast for the 2013 production included: