We acknowledge and pay our respects to the Elders, Ancestors and leaders of the Kulin Nations on whose unceded lands ILBIJERRI Theatre Company is based.
We extend this respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, recognising their resilience and ongoing connection to land, water and culture, despite ongoing colonial interruption and genocide.
Always was, always will be, sacred Indigenous land.
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The Line - In Development
Development
THE LINE is a quintessential Lutruwita/Tasmanian story from the Black War of the 1800’s that shocked and continues to shape First Peoples today.
By 1830 the British created a military campaign involving a human chain of all able-bodied settlers that crossed the settled districts of Lutruwita. The Black Line, as it came to be known, involved 2,200 soldiers, settlers and convicts in a seven-week campaign designed to intimidate, capture, displace and relocate the remaining Aboriginal people. It remains to this day, the largest domestic military offensive in Australia's history, and it was a complete fiasco.
From 1832-1835 almost all of the remaining 220 Palawa survivors were removed from mainland Lutruwita, and relocated to Flinders Island. Despite the public representation of this offensive being unsuccessful, it has left a lasting legacy of destruction. The frequent mass killings and near-destruction of the Palawa People is regarded by many contemporary historians as attempted genocide by the colonists.
The Black Line is possibly the most pivotal event to occur on Lutrawita. It has shaped and distorted our relationship with settlers for the last 200 years. This work is timely, passionate and in great need of being told. It speaks to the truth of this country, celebrating the extraordinary resilience and strength of First Peoples.
Nathan’s reimagining of this formative event, carries us between times, and highlights the lingering effects the Black Line has had on the Palawa people. Despite the perception that the Black Line was unsuccessful, it has left scars that are still here today. We are trying to find a way forward with this play, to dismantle the structures that keep us in the past and to build a new way forward. It's not just a play about what happened then, it's about what happens now.
The Line is the latest play in development from Nathan Maynard. His plays have toured nationally featuring in Sydney Festival, 10 Days on the Island, Brisbane Festival, RISING Festival, Perth Festival, and Adelaide Festival.
