Hipbone Sticking Out

This lengthy, somewhat multimedia work calls our attention to a range of historical injustices and to the manner in which massacre was dressed up as justice, and does so with admirable appeal to our better natures. Three years in development in the Pilbara community of Roebourne, Hipbone Sticking Out places the death in custody of 16-year-old Roebourne resident John Pat in a historical context of systematic oppression by bizarrely ignorant strangers—strangers unmotivated to step into the shoes of those they oppressed for two centuries—and of historically constant indifference of some police in such remote areas to the care of those in their custody.

The play's audience appeal arises from musical richness and the effort that its cast, largely deriving from Roebourne itself, has made in three years of development.  If the play itself receives as much development, it will tend to show rather than tell much of its story, and to offer variety in emotional intensity.  With little relief from the shouted narration of outrageous injustices, the play tends unnecessarily to wear.  As well, some scenes could be richer by the loss of repetitive iterations. That said, the story is a powerful one; it resonated strongly enough with the audience to lead nearly half to stay for a question-and-answer session after 140 minutes (including intermission).

Admirable in vision and relying on fine acting, the work lacks merely some finesse in structure, and a little further attention to the stage's potential richness of communication will draw its audiences further into its heart.

John P. Harvey

Image: Maverick Eaton and Trevor Jamieson, in Hipbone Sticking Out. Picture: Greer Versteeg.