The Visitors
It’s January 1788 and a mysterious fleet is amassing in the harbour. Seven clan leaders must make a momentous decision: to send these strangers on their way or welcome them?
A Moogahlin Performing Arts and Sydney Theatre Company Production
#Visitors leave. Right?
By Jane Harrison
Directed by Wesley Enoch
On a sweltering day in January 1788, seven clan leaders gather on a sandstone escarpment overlooking the harbour. The attendees, six of them Elders and one new initiate, catch-up, laugh together, share a meal and compare notes. But beyond the friendly banter, protocols, and hospitality, a momentous decision is waiting to be made.
A mysterious fleet of giant nawi is amassing in the harbour and as they creep closer, these seven representatives must choose unanimously: whether to send these strangers on their way or welcome them?
After its Sydney Theatre Award-winning premiere production at the 2020 Sydney Festival, Muruwari playwright Jane Harrison’s The Visitors embarks on a national tour, this time directed by one of Australia’s most celebrated directors, Quandamooka man Wesley Enoch.
Co-produced by Moogahlin Performing Arts and Sydney Theatre Company, The Visitors is at once a riveting, deeply researched insight into one of the most impactful and painful days in Australia’s history, and a hugely entertaining study of how communities respond to change and the unknown.
Warning: Content includes Infrequent coarse language, themes of racial violence, descriptions of violence, intergenerational trauma and haze.
Hero Image Credit: Rob Hookey. Featuring 2023 cast.
Rehearsal & Production Photography Credit: Daniel Boud. Featuring 2023 cast.
Saturday 31 August - 8:00pm
Theatre
75mins with no interval
#TAKE A SNEAK PEAK
#Meet The CAST
Beau Dean Riley
Sean Dow
John Blair
James Slee
Dion Williams
#Meet the CREATIVE TEAM
Playwright - Jane Harrison
Director - Wesley Enoch
Associate Director - Liza-Mare Syron
Cultural Liaison - Aunty Yvonne Simms
Set & Costume Design - Elizabeth Gadsby
Associate Designer - Shana O’Brien
Lighting Design - Karen Norris
Composer & Sound Design - Brendon Boney
Associate Sound Designer - Amy Flannery
Senior Dharug & Dharawal Language Teacher - Corina Norman
Dharug & Dharawal Language Teacher - Jordan Ryan-Hennessey
Voice Coach - Charmian Gradwel
Videographer - Stephen Wilson-Barker
Fight Director - Nigel Poulton