Press release
WORLD PREMIERE SEASON
Bangarra Dance Theatre continues to resonate world wide as an acclaimed contemporary dance company of unique style committed to the traditions of Indigenous culture.
In 2008 Bangarra Dance Theatre presents Mathinna, an exhilarating, brand new work by Stephen Page.
Young Mary was born on Flinders Island, Tasmania in 1835 to the Chief of the Lowreenne tribe, Towgerer, and his wife Wongerneep. As a young girl, Mary captured the hearts of Governor Sir John and Lady Jane Franklin and was adopted into their household at Government House in Hobart. Mary was renamed Mathinna. Somewhat an educational and charitable project, Mathinna was raised with the Governor's daughter Eleanor and was described as a ‘very nice, intelligent child’.
When Governor Sir John and Lady Jane Franklin returned to England, Mathinna was sent to the Queen’s Orphan School in Hobart where she struggled to adjust. When Mathinna was sixteen she left the School to rejoin her people at an Aboriginal station at Oyster Cove, south of Hobart. At this settlement Mathinna’s life came to a disheartening end.
Mathinna became the archetype of the ‘stolen child’ and, in this brand new work, Bangarra Dance Theatre recreates her powerful story of vulnerability and searching in an era of confusion and intolerance.
As a prominent Australian Indigenous arts leader and following his recent honour as NSW Australian of the Year, Bangarra Dance Theatre Artistic Director Stephen Page evokes the traditional Indigenous spirit in this latest full-length work.