| Co-production | HANDSPAN THEATRE & the KOORI HEALTH UNIT VICTORIA |
| Premiere | February, 1995 |
| Melbourne metropolitan community venue |
THE KANGAROO TALE was a theatre-in-education work devised for touring to Victorian indigenous communities.
In 1994 Handspan Theatre was approached by the Koori Health Unit and the Victorian Aboriginal Health Unit to create a production for children on the subject of sexual health, sexual activity, relationships and parenting.
Bronwyn Kaaden, Joanne Dwyer and Peter Walker from the Koorie Health Unit pitched their ideas to Michele Spooner, Rod Primrose and Mary Sutherland at Handspan. Inspired by Handspan's 1989 sex education production, We Repeat Ourselves, both with its success as a theatrical work, and its outcomes for young adolescent audiences. They proposed that the company:
help them realise a dream - to inspire the young with 'The Wonder of Birth' with a puppet show specifically tailored to the young and very young members of the Victorian Aboriginal community.
THE KANGAROO TALE (originally titled Bonkers) was devised for the younger 6 - 12 year old primary school age group. Its story combined Koori culture, history and beliefs with a holistic approach to sex education. Performed by actors from the Koori Health Unit and Handspan puppeteers, a story-teller/narrator invited the audience to join the wise owl, the boisterous cocky, the puppet children and an ancestral Rock - to go on an adventure of discovery and through Kangaroo, learn the ”magic” of conception and birth.
A story that takes us through a journey of loss, and through that loss, important things are revealed and old knowledge re-created, which, when embraced by the community, leads to a celebration of life.
The production was supported by the Commonwealth's Special Funding program for AIDS/STD initiatives in Victoria's Koori communities as well as the Victorian Aboriginal health Service which set up state-wide touring locations in indigenous communities.
The Kanga Tale is a modern, culturally sensitive and humorous play.
| Creative team | |
|---|---|
| Concept | Joanne Dwyer, Peter Walker, Michele Spooner, Rod Primrose & Mary Sutherland |
| Writer | Gilly Farrelly & Joanne Dwyer |
| Director | Annie Wylie |
| Designer | Rod Primrose |
| Performers | |
|---|---|
| Joanne Dwyer | |
| Peter Walker (original cast), Collin Mitchell (1996) | |
| Winston Appleyard | |
| Michele Spooner (original cast), Liss Gabb (1996) |
| Production team | |
|---|---|
| Puppet Maker | Rod Primrose. |
| Koorie Health Unit | Bronwyn Kaaden |
| Performances |
|---|
| 1995 | |
|---|---|
| 13 February - 3 March | Community venues Victoria: Dandenong, Fitzroy, Morwell, Bairnsdale, Lake Tyers, Mooroopna/Shepparton, Echuca, Swan Hill, Robinvale, Sunraysia region, Bendigo, Ballarat, Heywood, Warnambool, Melbourne University & Geelong. |
| 1996 | |
|---|---|
| 1 March | Preview performances (X 2) Handspan Theatre Studio, Jesse St, Richmond |
| March | Glenroy KODE Campus, Wathaurong Aboriginal Commmunity Geelong & Community venues Victoria: Fitzroy, Morwell, Bairnsdale, Bendigo, Echuca, Cummerangunja, Mooroopna, Wodonga, Swan Hill, Robinvale, Mildura, Horsham, Heywood |
| Total performances | 13 (1996 only) |
| Total audience | 650 (1996 only) |