Bilarni

15 June 2016

@ 19:30

- 22:00

Registrations for this event have closed.

Scripted from Harney’s many books, radio broadcasts and personal papers, as well as Jan’s research journeys, Bilarni tells of an ‘uneducated’ Northern Territory bushman who returned from World War One to live amongst the local Indigenous people: as a lover, husband and father who lost it all – and that’s only the beginning of a truly epic tale where Bill Harney became known around the world as the ‘Custodian of the Rock’ (Uluru).

Never a life of comfort, at times shocking, full of joy and suffering, and mirthful, erudite, sharp and ironic in the telling, Bilarni is theatre driven by a love of storytelling that puts black-white relationships at the heart of Australian identity.

Written and performed by Jan ‘Yarn’ Wositzky, who started his career in 1971 as the tea-chest bass player in the legendary Australian bush band The Bushwackers, and has gone on to become a master storyteller and performer – particularly telling stories about relationships between black and white Australians. Jan co-wrote the book Born Under the Paperbark Tree with Bill Harney’s publicly unacknowledged Wardaman son, Yidumduma Bill Harney, whose artworks are on display in the gallery at Godinymayin until 16 July 2016.

Directed by Paul Hampton.

Running time 80 minutes with no interval.

Image credit: University of Queensland.

“”Bilarni shows how one actor can take one thread of a story and weave something out of it that shimmers with its own life and power. Wositzky manages to do justice to each character he creates, with the lightest of touch and the easy familiarity of a born storyteller.” – Cate Kennedy, author

“Many thanks for an amazing performance. It had humour, sadness, intrigue, mystery – the lot! The narrative flowed beautifully. There was never a dull moment” – Kim Lockwood, Harney’s Godson and former sub-editor of Herald Sun

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