ROAD TO RECONCILE

The 7 Stages of Grieving is a wise and powerful play that takes audiences on an emotional journey through the phases of aboriginal history. Humorous, devastatingly sad, culturally profound and politically relevant, this magnificent production opens a dialogue about the issues that separate and unite Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Although this dramatic monologue is not a continuous narrative, it presents the idea of grief and mourning not so much in seven different chronological stages, but from several different viewpoints of past events. An insightful invitation to the untold truths and harsh realities of the past that haunts us, The 7 Stages of Grieving gives us the opportunity to join hands and grieve in unity. In this one-woman show directed by Jason Klarwein, Chenoa Deemal depicts moving stories of different people from different mobs tear-streaked tales of tragedy go hand-in-hand with jubilant celebrations of simple survival. The play communicates that while the silenced voice of indigenous people are beginning to be heard, they are not yet understood, therefore society needs to remain on the path to reconciliation. Through the use of the Indigenous drama conventions such as Storytelling, Political and Social issues and Present as Continuation of the Past, Grin and Tonic were able to develop a chilling and thrilling version of Deborah Mailman and Wesley Enochs classic. This extravagant performance allows the audience to come to the cold realization that Australians need to acknowledge our historys in order to develop, coincide, grow and reconcile.

One of the most powerful and prominent conventions throughout the entirety of the play is the convention of Story-telling. Storytelling is especially important to the Indigenous peoples of Australia as this oral gift has passed down tales throughout the generations and has allowed the Aboriginal culture to thrive and flourish in their darkest times. In The Seven Stages of Grieving by Grin and Tonic, a contemporary form of storytelling was used to break the fourth wall and creates a strong connection between the actor and the audience through the use of eye contact and relaxed conversational delivery. All of skills paired with the elements such as symbolism, tension and mood, allow the audience to come to the realisation that reconciliation is a life long journey and cannot be obtained by simply saying sorry. The Seven Stages of Grieving explores the silenced voices of the past, retelling the stories of previous ancestors. In order for Australian society to understand our present, we must reflect on our past. One of the most influential segments that tugs on our heart strings is Sand Mound People, where the actor communicates directly with the viewers and explains how the people connect with the land, she tells the story of marriage and children symbolized as vibrant, glowing mounds that circle the center stage. Although the scene starts rather light-heartedly and childlike, the mood takes an unexpected plumage downhill when she destroys the mounds after removing a group of children from the circle. The element couples with storytelling as she whispers Are you with me? to the audience, questioning if the viewers are impacted and have come to the realisation that this, the destroyed cycle, is due to those tragic events of the past. The following mood is one of regret and emptiness, created by the actors voice, movement and forced silences. This sends a surge of emotions through the audience. Although the crowd was aware of the events, it is not until she destroys the mound that the audience understands the pain and suffering that resulted from Australias haunting history. It is evident that the Indigenous community are continuing to suffer from the hidden past, so these events can relate to the Indigenous theatre convention of Present as Continuation of the Past.

The Indigenous theatre convention of Present as Continuation of the Past portrays that there is still room for further improvement on the relationship between the Indigenous community and the Australian modern society. One of the most prominent scenes in the production that highlights the issue is Murri Gets a Dress. In a Stand-up-comedy matter, Chenoa Deemal acts as a woman who has obtained a beautiful dress who keeps running into complications. Although the segment is perceived as hilarious, there is some underlying truths that need to be addressed. Her charming over exaggeration and repetition of Stupid bloody Sniffer dog! is the Australian humour we all know and love. The mood in this segment is one of light-heartedness which is evident on how she presents herself to the audience. The mood couples magnificently with the convention of the Present as Continuation of the past by communicating that segregation of the past still exists in society today. Her casual approach to the issue of segregation and racial stereotypes can be directly linked to the Stolen Generation and how even since then, it is socially acceptable in certain settings to make jokes about such serious matters. Regardless of how far Australian society states they have come on the road to reconciliation, it is obvious that the past has been acknowledged but not understood.

No matter how much time passes, no matter what takes place in the interim, there are some things we can never assign to oblivion, memories we can never rub away.-Haruki Murakami

The Indigenous theatre convention of exploring Social and Political issues, perhaps the most authoritative convention, demonstrates the extent that the suppression has come to and highlights the effects that the government has on the Indigenous community in particular. The Social and Political convention tackles a range of particularly sensitive and emotional events such as The Stolen Generation and the racial stereotypes formed due to media evident in Murri gets a Dress. Two of the most influential scenes in terms of Social and Political issues are Invasion Poem and The Story Bridge. Both of these segments can be linked to The Stolen Generation. Invasion Poem, particularly terrifying, casts the actor on a dark stage enlightened with the single letter Z. She recites the invasion poem with obvious ache and pain in her voice which creates a chilling mood with an obvious presence of tension. This pairs perfectly with the convention, as the audience is able to understand how the victims of the obviously flawed government felt at the time. Respectively, The Story Bridge is societys most recent relation to The Stolen Generation. In this particular segment, she Story Bridge is being flooded with people when Kevin Rudd publically read his Sorry Speech. Momentarily, she recites the speech but does not complete it, and turns to exit as the word Reconciliation drips behind her. One of the most powerful symbols is when she does not complete the speech and exits. This leaves the crowd in suspense, whispering amongst each other. As the word reconciliation drips and bleeds on the back wall, the audience is left to stare and watch. This absence beautifully creates tension and focus. This symbolizes the loss in reconciliation and how easily the politics and government can manipulate a society into believing that all issues have been solved. The bleeding symbolizes the cruel fact that YES, we did say sorry, but what else have we done to strengthen the relationship between our Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities?

The play The Seven Stages of Grieving is evidently a piece of fine art that exploits the underlying truths of the past in a rather unique way and speaks for the voices that were silenced before. Mesmerizing the crowd with their vibrant colours and humorous segments, The Seven Stages of Grieving sent electric chills down the viewers spines and made the audience shed tears of mourning and joy. Critiqued as being flawless, there is no doubt that this production will change societys perspective on Australian history and acceptance. However, through the usage of Storytelling, Present as Continuation of the past and Political and Social issues, it is evident that even though Australia as a nation are aware of our suppressed pasts, we do not understand it. Without this powerful understanding, the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities will not be able to flourish, grow and develop into one of reconciliation and acceptance. It is a beautiful discovery that with the aid of theatrical drama and arts, the Indigenous community is able to share their stories with the world.We have now mastered the same language that was once used against us describing us as barbaric and savage and we have empowered ourselves to tell our stories, in our styles, for our people.- Unknown