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 MATHINNA is named for a young Aboriginal girl torn between two cultures but, as SEANNA VAN HELTEN discovers, this new work from BANGARRA DANCE THEATRE is an inspired blend of choreographic and cultural influences.
Under the artistic direction of dancer and choreographer Stephen Page, Bangarra Dance Theatre has grown into one of Australia’s flagship companies for contemporary dance, exploring the lives and attitudes of Indigenous Australians. In this new full-length work, Mathinna, choreographed by Page with music composed by his brother, David Page, the dual aesthetic influences of Aboriginal culture and modern dance suits perfectly the nuanced story of a ‘stolen’ Aboriginal child adopted into white colonial society.
The production casts Mathinna’s story as archetypal, representative of the generation of Aboriginal children fallen through the gaps between two cultures. Following the swift ambush of her family and community, Mathinna (Elma Kris) is taken into the home of Tasmanian Governor John Franklin (Sidney Salter) and his wife (Yolande Brown). Mathinna is treated, and soon discarded, as a plaything, ‘scrubbed up’ by Lady Franklin but eventually rejected. Later sent to a girls’ school, then a remote Tasmanian outpost, her innocent absorption of an unforgiving world leads to her poignant demise.
Page’s scenes are mostly literal, directing the progression of Mathinna’s sad narrative. But each moment is infused with the second story of the young girl’s fragmented memories of her people, and by her confused doubling of cultural experiences. There are some memorable scenes, supported by an impressive dance ensemble: Mathinna’s nursery at the Governor’s house coming to life with dancers representing her longing for home, for example, and the cleverly choreographed round of schoolgirls scribbling, scratching, and chattering at their desks.
The beauty, and power, of Page’s choreography is drawn primarily from his sensitive use of details: clothing, props, natural objects, and light are all charged with energetic symbolism. That, for example, Page uses the dressing of a little girl in shoes and socks by her adoptive guardian to illustrate her cultural assimilation reflects a poet’s sensibility and appreciation for simple yet striking theatrical imagery.
The story of Mathinna’s maturation in a white household also, perhaps inevitably, comments on historical codes of femininity. As a female shipped between posts in a colonial world, there are conventions she must uphold: she must tame her unruly curls; she must learn the rules of dances and social occasions; she must behave herself in the classroom. Ultimately, too, the matter of her sex attracts the threats of sexual violence and oppression, the staging of which is graphic, but both chilling and controlled.
David Page’s composition and soundscape are excellent, pitched perfectly to Stephen Page’s direction, with allusions to nineteenth-century classical melodies, schoolyard rhythms and chatter, and the overarching beat of the Australian landscape. The lighting, designed by Damien Cooper, is also ingenious: the opening scene of the night-time ambush lit by single spears of torchlight was particularly arresting.
There is no easy resolution to Mathinna’s story; the repercussions of this archetypal ‘stolen’ child’s history are still felt, the scope of which extends far beyond Bangarra’s stage. And yet this mature and engaging production is all the more powerful for exploring the complex interaction between Indigenous and colonial cultures that has shaped contemporary Australia.
MATHINNA plays at the Playhouse, QPAC, until June 7. For tickets phone 136 246 or visit www.qtix.com.au
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