Whitefella Yella Tree

In the 1800s a relationship between two men would have been a dangerous affair in almost all cultures.

Indigenous teenagers  Ty (Joseph Althouse) and Neddy (Danny Howard) are able to fall in love in secret, as they meet in a secluded bush to relay information about the new white settlers to their different mobs.

The real danger to them is from the invaders. At first they can decipher a few words and make fun of their curious habits.

The teenagers are wary about the white man’s devices – a long stick with an ear -  that blows a fire which can leave a hole in a man.

First staged at the Griffin Theatre to great acclaim, the creative team (designer Mason Browne, lighting designers Kelsey Lee and Katie Sfetkidis, sound designer/composer Steve Toulmin) have given the production a thrilling make-over.

The Yella Tree which they meet under is a character of its own. It shakes, lights, smokes and trembles.  The wonderous sound of the Australian bush crackles in the background and you can feel the horses’ hoofs when they gallop nearby.

The boy’s banter is funny and revealing. Their love is uninhibited.

The contamination of homophobia only arrives when Neddy joins the white settlers and dons a uniform.

If you compare the play to other famous gay romances such as Brokeback Mountain then the gap in the narrative is laid bare. In the movie the cowboys are forced to keep their relationship secret when they returned from the mountain.

Dylan Van Den Berg said he wrote the play in response to a comment from an Aboriginal political identity who remarked that homosexuality did not exist in his community.

Left unexplored was what would have happened the two young men if they had come out to their tribes?

That aside Whitefella Yella Tree is a fascinating and enduring piece of theatre.

David Spicer

Photographer: Prudence Upton