AustLit logo
person or book cover
Wesley Enoch Wesley Enoch i(A31691 works by)
Born: Established: 1969 Stradbroke Island, Moreton Bay, Brisbane - South East, Brisbane, Queensland, ;
Gender: Male
Heritage: Aboriginal ; Aboriginal Nunukul / Noonuccal ; Aboriginal Nguri
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

Works By

Preview all
1 To Stop from Losing Hope, I Focus on the Positive Stories of Change in My Own Family Wesley Enoch , 2021 single work column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 26 May 2021;

'Saying sorry is the easy bit. For many Indigenous Australians like me, education has been the key to unlocking real acts of reconciliation' 

1 Wesley Enoch : The 2021 Budget Must Think Big and Reinvest in the Social Capital of Ideas Wesley Enoch , 2021 single work column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 10 May 2021;

'Big thinking has been unfashionable for too long. Over the past decade, successive leaders have overseen cuts to universities, the arts and public broadcasting. There has also been a rejection of First Nations attempts to wrestle back dignity and create lasting change for the whole country.' (Introduction)

1 After the Virus : Radical Optimism for the Arts Wesley Enoch , 2020 single work column
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 24-30 October 2020;

'This Christmas, I’ll be asking for a hard hat and high-vis. It’s not that I need them for the work I do, although I have been known to wear high-vis for onsite visits and major set builds. It’s more that this guise may be the only way artists will get recognised in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.' (Publication summary)

1 Australia Day: Past, Present and Future Wesley Enoch , 2018 single work essay
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 22 December - 25 January 2018-2019;

'Noel Pearson says there are three narratives that make Australia – the story of the longest continuous living culture on Earth; the tale of the British colonial project and the institutions that have helped shaped our society; and the narrative of the most successful multi-ethnic, multicultural nation on the planet.' (Introduction)

1 Patricia Cornelius Is a Courageous Australian Playwright – Why Is She so Neglected? Wesley Enoch , 2017 single work column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 3 January 2017;
1 Chaos in the Arts Wesley Enoch , 2016 single work essay
— Appears in: The Monthly , July no. 125 2016; (p. 11-12)
'The author focuses on the differences of the life of the Australians between Generation X, baby boomers, and between-wars generation. Topics discussed include the difference brought by good policy to economic development, employment, and education, the issue concerning the National Program for Excellence in the Arts, and the growth of the arts and culture industry.' (Publication abstract)
1 The Dark Side of the Anzac Legend Wesley Enoch , 2015 single work column
— Appears in: The Australian , 17 April 2015; (p. 14)
Indigenous soldiers have only belatedly won recognition
1 1 y separately published work icon Take Me to Your Leader : The Dilemma of Cultural Leadership Wesley Enoch , Strawberry Hills : Currency Press , 2014 7908307 2014 single work criticism

'To celebrate ten years of Platform Papers, tracking the cultural thinking of the nation, we have invited Wesley Enoch, a theate artist and Nunuccal Nuugi man from Stradbroke Island, to define what we mean by cultural leadership; and to ruminate on where to find it. With the growth of governmentled cultural patronage, have we obscured the core reasons why the arts exist? Have the voices of the mob, the dissenters and the rambunctious opposition been corralled into an official culture? ‘I am sick of hearing we’re not good enough, we don’t do enough for artists, we need more money. Where are the visionaries? Artists are amongst the best qualified people to imagine a future, the ones who can carry the creative dreams of a nation. But where are you? Government champions the arts more than artists do, he says.

'Enoch finds the arts community ridden with mistrust, and fearful of those who speak out. Australia, he concludes, is in great need of cultural leadership; of a fresh force to challenge thinking and gather confidence, to speak out as citizens in the national interest. But where to look? He finds the answer close to home.' (Publication summary)

1 1 y separately published work icon 20 Questions Wesley Enoch , Wesley Enoch (interviewer), 2014 7212099 2014 single work musical theatre interview

'Every blackfella has a story.

'20 Questions is a cabaret and a talkshow rolled into one. It works like this: each night a new mystery guest from the exemplary roll-call of Indigenous performers is asked 20 questions. The questions are the same every night, but the answers will be very different. The idea is that out of this simple set-up comes a big, rich modern dreaming of story and song – and a better understanding of how much more there is still to tell.

'That great professional asker-of-good-questions Wesley Enoch hosts an extraordinary line-up of guests including Jada Alberts, Casey Donovan, Lisa Maza, Rachael Maza, David Page, Leah Purcell, Miranda Tapsell and Ursula Yovich.' (Source: Belvoir website)

1 12 y separately published work icon Mother Courage & Her Children Wesley Enoch (translator), Paula Nazarski (translator), 2013 6557893 2013 single work drama

'Bertolt Brecht's epic morality tale about the ravages of war is given a unique twist by Queensland Theatre Company Artistic Director Wesley Enoch and Paula Nazarski in a dazzling new translation.

Instead of the 'Thirty Years' War of 1600s Europe, this near-future incarnation of the age-old story is set against the bleak backdrop of a post-apocalyptic desert where Mad Max might be at home - an Australia ravaged by devastating conflict, where life is cheap but business is still business. Ursula Yovich is the titular canteen-wagon mistress, shrewdly driving hard bargains as she shepherds her brood of three through this unforgiving, harsh wilderness. With an all-Indigenous cast, this fresh spin on Brecht's play delicately folds in themes of land ownership, the impact of mining and the stolen generation.' (Source: QPAC website www.qpac.com.au)

1 Between Theatre's Blurred Lines Wesley Enoch , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Australian , 10 December 2013; (p. 13)
1 12 I Am Eora Wesley Enoch , Anita Heiss , 2012 single work musical theatre 'Thirty Aboriginal musicians, performers and creative artists from across the country come together for one of the most thrilling collaborations ever commissioned by Sydney Festival. Director Wesley Enoch and his team have created a dynamic fusion of dance, performance, film, art and literature with an array of musical styles. At the centre of the work are three heroes of Aboriginal Sydney whose enduring spirits still inspire: the protest and resistance of the warrior Pemulwuy; the female embodiment of resilience with Barangaroo; and her controversial husband Bennelong, the gifted interpreter who sought reconciliation. I Am Eora (I am of this place) breaks new ground in contemporary Indigenous performance, telling the stories of Sydney's Aboriginal continuity in a celebration of its heroes. With a cast of performers ranging from the emerging to the iconic, the project aspires to create a legacy for Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike.' (Source: Sydney Festival 2012 website)
1 y separately published work icon Trollop Maxine Mellor , David Morton , Wesley Enoch , Pete Foley , Ben Hughes , 2011 Brisbane : Playlab , 2013 6485116 2011 single work drama

'Clara lives with her partner, Erik, in a clean, modern home untouched by a flood that has ravaged many parts of their town. Recently unemployed and growing fat and slovenly, her days are spent in front of the television, awash with images of disasters and destruction and programs that flaunt versions of the woman Clara could be if she tried. She is overwhelmed to the point of apathy; immobilised. Feeling so numb, she toys with Erik'’s emotions, and sends him on excursions to fetch her obscure items for a book he has obligated her to make, as if to extract some new reaction from him. She is, perhaps, trying to sabotage their comfort.

'One stormy night, Eugenie comes to the door as a Jehovah'’s Witness to speak to them about the End Days. When she is invited in to take shelter, the evening soon drips with danger, violence, and ugly truths. And Clara’'s hideous troll skin will be revealed and burst open. ' (Publisher's blurb)

1 Indigenous Theatre a Global Catalyst Wesley Enoch , 2008 single work column
— Appears in: Arts Yarn Up , Summer 2008; (p. 9)
1 From Black Medea (Medea Speaks) Wesley Enoch , 2008 extract drama (Black Medea)
— Appears in: Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Literature 2008; (p. 213-216)
1 Bubble Wesley Enoch , Carl Polke (composer), 2008 single work musical theatre 'Bubble is a dark, comical piece about the barriers we put up between ourselves and the world. As their world comes crashing down around them the characters realise that life is smoke and mirrors, a journey that can only end in death. Bubble is a return to the high impact spectacle that Legs on the Wall is renowned for. It is a fusion of acrobatics, contemporary dance, contact improvisation and everyday movement. Performed with a live three piece band, the music for Bubble is reminiscent of a carnival somewhere between circus and an old Hollywood musical.' Source: Legs on the Wall e-newsletter 15/04/08.
1 17 y separately published work icon The Story of the Miracles at Cookie's Table Cookie's Table Wesley Enoch , 2006 Strawberry Hills : Currency Press , 2007 Z1238010 2006 single work drama

'In the 1870s a girl is born under a tree - her birth tree - chosen to give her strength and wisdom. When the tree is cut down she follows it into the white man's world, working as a cook for the big house on the island. Her tree has become a kitchen table, one she will pass down through successive generations as a legacy - a way of carving out her family stories. Now, generations later, a young man and his mother fight for ownership of the table.'

Source: back cover, Currency Press imprint (2007)

1 "Aunty Grace" Wesley Enoch , 2002 extract drama (The Seven Stages of Grieving)
— Appears in: Hot Iron Corrugated Sky : 100 Years of Queensland Writing 2002; (p. 221-223)
1 1 y separately published work icon Only Gammon: Three Plays From Kooemba Jdarra Yarnin' up, Binni's Backyard, Goin' to the Island Wesley Enoch , Jackie Huggins , Mike Dickinson , Anthony Newcastle , Nadine McDonald , Therese Collie , Kooemba Jdarra Indigenous Performing Arts Company , Fortitude Valley : Playlab , 2002 Z1371140 2002 anthology drama

The three texts collected in this volume are strong examples of this Indigenous theatre company's work with their exploration of self-determination, reconciliation, the land.

1 Excerpts from Black Medea Wesley Enoch , 2002 extract drama (Black Medea)
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 62 no. 2 2002; (p. 126-132)
X