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Analysis Of Tom Wright's Black Diggers

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Black Diggers is an epic theatre production produced by an Australian Queensland Theatre Company. Tom Wright, using his extensive knowledge on Australian History wrote the piece in 2014 and expresses clear themes of war, race and equality. Subsequently, the themes assist in creating the overall dramatic meaning. Black Diggers engages its audience through conveying a didactic message, it brings the realisation that Australian aborigines were brave honourable men who were ultimately rejected and their story lost, thus creating the dramatic meaning. Through employing dramatic languages of symbol, space and roles and relationships, Black Diggers successfully conveys the overall dramatic meaning to its audiences.
The story of Black Diggers shows …show more content…

These representations are essential in creating an entertaining performance to shape the overall dramatic meaning. An example found consecutively in the performance is Brechtian sign posting. Key words and dates are clearly painted on the walls by actors to express the play as educational by presenting historical facts. Later in the performance the walls are whitewashed therefore symbolising the indigenous involvement that had been lost. Contradicting this, a flame is positioned stage right to symbolise the Australian war memorial, the Eternal Flame. This represents those who acknowledge the indigenous involvement, although the flame is small to depict the underwhelming amount of people who are educated about the issue. Therefore, through the implication of symbolism the dramatic meaning is emphasized thus educating the audience of indigenous involvement in …show more content…

Space is used in theatre in order to clearly imply to the audience where the action is taking place. The minimal props on stage allow the audience to interpret the performance in their own way and gives the play a sense of originality. An example of space is identified when actors are switching between scenes in Gallipoli and scenes in Australia. To represent times at war a long black box positioned down stage is utilised by actors to jump over and sit in front of to resemble a trench; giving the notion that the scene is set in war. On the other hand, the actors perform up stage behind this box when presenting scenes in Australia to create a clear distinction between the two settings. Using up and down stage to symbolise these different settings assists in creating the tension and mood as the audience’s focus is not drawn to props but solely on the character’s dialogue. Thus, the use of space in Black Diggers creates the desired tension and mood to convey the overall dramatic meaning to the

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