Writer’s Note: A LETTER FOR MOLLY
It is often not until adulthood that our perspective of our parents matures into one of understanding. As children, we perceive them as providers, before they reveal to us their fallibility during our teenage years. Adulthood, however, brings with it a more balanced awareness. For me, this transition occurred on Mother’s Day 2020, when mum and I got lost out bush in the Blue Mountains. We talked and, for the first time, I felt like I had heard her story. The next day, I sat down and wrote A LETTER FOR MOLLY. The story wrote itself: rooted in my Gumbaynggirr ancestry and the stories of four (and-a-half) generations of Aboriginal women, it mapped the loss of culture against a backdrop of highly effective assimilation policies. It was here that the protagonist Renee would reconnect with her mother and the culture that was stolen so many generations ago. May this story signify a hopeful reclamation of culture; may we Dream into the future with both wonder and understanding.
– Brittanie Shipway
On stage 9 May – 4 Jun, don’t miss this beautiful celebration of culture.