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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
What do They Call Me? raises questions regarding both lesbian and Aboriginal identity. The three monologues which comprise the play are intricately interwoven and each presents a different view on the impact of legislation from the 1940s through to the 1970s.
Although thrown into jail, Connie Brumbie is at least allowed her Aboriginality. On the other hand, Connie's daughter Regina has been denied knowledge of her true racial background. Having uncovered the fiction of her Eurasian heritage, Regina spends ten years trying to come to terms with her blackness. Regina's sister Alison points out, based on the insights gained through her engagement with radical feminism, finding an identity is not so simple.
The play makes it painfully obvious that we live in a culture subject to the extremes of stereotyping and name-calling. Source: Australian Gay and Lesbian Plays (1996)
Notes
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A verse monologue of three separate characters played by the one actor.
Production Details
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First performed as part of the Lesbian Festival, Guild Theatre, University of Melbourne 1990. Also performed at Adelaide Fringe Festival, Wetpack Theatre, 1990.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
y
Belonging : Australian Playwriting in the 20th Century
Strawberry Hills
:
Currency Press
,
2009
Z1576280
2009
multi chapter work
criticism
'John McCallum's new history explores the relationship between 20th century Australian drama and a developing concept of nation. The book focuses on the creative tension sparked by dueling impulses between nationalism and cosmopolitanism; and between artistic seriousness and larrikin populism. It explores issues such as the domineering influence of European high culture, the ongoing popularity of representational realism, the influence of popular theatrical forms, the ambivalence (between affection and aggression) of much Australian humour and satire, and the interaction between the personal and the political in drama.
'The strength of Belonging is its comprehensiveness. Anyone studying an Australian play will find it here in the context of the other works by its author or the time and place in which it was written. As well as a rundown of the major writers and their works, the book also investigates a number of lesser known plays and writers.
This authoritative study of Australian drama gives an account of the relationship between our theatre and our sense of self while taking into account a broad range of influences that helped to shape both.' (Publisher's blurb)
-
Reconciliation? Aboriginality and Australian Theatre in the 1990s
1998
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Our Australian Theatre in the 1990s 1998; (p. 71-88) Australian Studies Now : An Introductory Reader in Australian Studies 2007; (p. 85-108) Helen Gilbert considers a wide range of Aboriginal theatre produced in the 1990s, tracing the various articulations of Aboriginality in these performances and how, in spite of difficulties and frustrations, they opened up a space for 'productive dialogue' between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. -
Cry of Pain for the Lost Lives
1998
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 26 January 1998; (p. 5)
— Review of What Do They Call Me? 1991 single work drama -
Eva Johnson : A Profile
1994
single work
biography
— Appears in: Australia for Women : Travel and Culture 1994; (p. 136-141) -
Aboriginality and Feminism : An Interview with Aboriginal Playwright, Eva Johnson
Vicki Crowley
(interviewer),
1993
single work
interview
— Appears in: Social Alternatives , April vol. 12 no. 1 1993; (p. 13-15)
-
Cry of Pain for the Lost Lives
1998
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 26 January 1998; (p. 5)
— Review of What Do They Call Me? 1991 single work drama -
Reconciliation? Aboriginality and Australian Theatre in the 1990s
1998
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Our Australian Theatre in the 1990s 1998; (p. 71-88) Australian Studies Now : An Introductory Reader in Australian Studies 2007; (p. 85-108) Helen Gilbert considers a wide range of Aboriginal theatre produced in the 1990s, tracing the various articulations of Aboriginality in these performances and how, in spite of difficulties and frustrations, they opened up a space for 'productive dialogue' between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. -
Eva Johnson : A Profile
1994
single work
biography
— Appears in: Australia for Women : Travel and Culture 1994; (p. 136-141) -
Aboriginality and Feminism : An Interview with Aboriginal Playwright, Eva Johnson
Vicki Crowley
(interviewer),
1993
single work
interview
— Appears in: Social Alternatives , April vol. 12 no. 1 1993; (p. 13-15) -
y
Belonging : Australian Playwriting in the 20th Century
Strawberry Hills
:
Currency Press
,
2009
Z1576280
2009
multi chapter work
criticism
'John McCallum's new history explores the relationship between 20th century Australian drama and a developing concept of nation. The book focuses on the creative tension sparked by dueling impulses between nationalism and cosmopolitanism; and between artistic seriousness and larrikin populism. It explores issues such as the domineering influence of European high culture, the ongoing popularity of representational realism, the influence of popular theatrical forms, the ambivalence (between affection and aggression) of much Australian humour and satire, and the interaction between the personal and the political in drama.
'The strength of Belonging is its comprehensiveness. Anyone studying an Australian play will find it here in the context of the other works by its author or the time and place in which it was written. As well as a rundown of the major writers and their works, the book also investigates a number of lesser known plays and writers.
This authoritative study of Australian drama gives an account of the relationship between our theatre and our sense of self while taking into account a broad range of influences that helped to shape both.' (Publisher's blurb)
