AustLit

'Feminism and issues of violence against women are at the forefront of the contemporary world. However, although women are speaking out for themselves, there are still minority groups whose voices remain unheard. With the recent Women’s Marches and International Women’s Day, it is important to place emphasis on the mistreatment of all women throughout Australian history, particularly that of Aboriginal women, who have often had issues which have been ignored by the government and media. The Riverside Theatre (Parramatta Girls 2014) acknowledges the voices of Aboriginal women in their production of Alana Valentine’s Parramatta Girls (2007), a verbatim-style play that tells the true stories of women who grew up in a training home for girls. Through the plot device of memory, an integral theme throughout the performance, eight women meet in the old Parramatta Girl’s Home at a reunion, reflecting on their experiences they each had with each other and their determination to escape and survive the psychological, physical and sexual abuse inflicted on them as young girls.'