The Secret River

(The Secret River)

This is an unusual situation in which the Sydney Theatre Company is staging a return season of a play just three years after its earlier staging. And for good reason. The first staging was lauded and booked out.

'The Secret River' is a theatrical adaptation of the book of the same name by Kate Grenville. It tells the story of an English convict who earns his freedom in the young penal colony of New South Wales and who takes his family to an isolated riverside location to set up a farm. The land he and his family occupies is already the traditional home of local indigenous families, a fact they fail to recognise, and their occupation leads to clashes of will and culture and ultimately tragedy.

This is a sensational re-creation of the early days of the colony. The play is performed in English and the local indigenous language. There are no computerised or engineered special effects, just good old fashioned supremely effective theatrical performance.

Brilliant theatre. Do not miss it.

★★★★★