Jane Harrison (born 1960) is an Indigenous Australian

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, novelist, writer and researcher. A descendant of the

Muruwari The Muruwari, also spelt Murawari, Murawarri, Murrawarri and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of New South Wales and the southwestern area of Queensland. Language A monograph on and a dictionary of Muruwari have ...

people of New South Wales, from the area around Bourke and

Brewarrina Brewarrina (pronounced 'bree-warren-ah'; locally known as "Bre") is a town in north-west New South Wales, Australia on the banks of the Barwon River in Brewarrina Shire. The name Brewarrina is derived from 'burru waranha', a Weilwan name for a s ...

, Harrison grew up in the

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

Dandenongs The Dandenong Ranges (commonly just The Dandenongs) are a set of low mountain ranges, rising to 633 metres at Mount Dandenong, approximately east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The ranges consist mostly of rolling hills, steeply weathere ...

with her mother and sister. She began her career as an advertising

copywriter Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or ...

, before becoming a playwright, novelist, writer and researcher. Her best-known work is '' Stolen'', which received critical claim and has toured nationally and internationally. Jane Harrison (playwright)

Plays

''The Visitors''

Harrison's latest play, ''The Visitors'', premiered as a full production in January 2020 as part of the

Sydney Festival Sydney Festival is a major arts festival in Australia's largest city, Sydney that runs for three weeks every January, since it was established in 1977. The festival program features in excess of 100 events from local and international artists an ...

. It was awarded the prize for Best New Australian Work,

Sydney Theatre Awards The Sydney Theatre Awards are annual awards to recognise the strength, quality and diversity of professional theatre in Sydney, Australia. They were established in 2005 by a group of major Sydney theatre critics. The awards recognise mainstage and ...

2022, and was shortlisted for the

Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, th ...

at the 2021 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards. ''The Visitors'' re-imagines the arrival of the

First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...

from the perspective of seven elders meeting on the shores of the harbour.

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in The Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Thea ...

and Moogahlin Performing Arts produced a second production of ''The Visitors'' at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

in September / October 2023, directed by

Wesley Enoch Wesley James Enoch (born 1969) is an Australian playwright and artistic director. He is especially known for ''The 7 Stages of Grieving'', co-written with Deborah Mailman. He was artistic director of the Queensland Theatre Company from mid-2 ...

Victorian Opera (Melbourne) Victorian Opera is an opera company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The company was founded in 2005 by the Victorian Government as a replacement for the Victoria State Opera. It commenced operations in January 2006 with Richard Gill ...

commissioned Harrison to collaborate with composer Christopher Sainsbury to develop an operatic version of ''The Visitors'', staged at Arts Centre Melbourne in October 2023. The opera is on the Victorian Certificate of Education 2023 curriculum. ''The Visitors'' was initially developed as part of the Melbourne Theatre Company Cybec Electric series and the Melbourne Indigenous Festival in February 2014, directed by Leah Purcell, after being work-shopped at the Yellamundie Festival in 2013.

''Stolen''

''Stolen'' premièred in 1998 at Playbox (now Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne) followed by seven annual seasons in Melbourne, plus tours to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Adelaide, regional Victoria, Tasmania, the United Kingdom (twice), Hong Kong and Tokyo, with readings in Canada, New York City and Los Angeles. In Sydney, it was performed at the

, directed by Wayne Blair. ''Stolen'' is a play about the lives of five Aboriginal people from the " stolen generations".J. Harrison (2000) ''Stolen''. Strawberry Hills (NSW): Currency Press (Author’s biography on 1st page) For ''Stolen'' Harrison was awarded the

Australian Writers' Guild The Australian Writers' Guild (AWG) is the professional association for Australian performance writers for film, television, radio, theatre, video and new media. The AWG was established in 1962. The AWG is a member of the Australian Council of ...

AWGIE Nomination, was co-winner of the Kate Challis RAKA Award, and received an Honourable Mention in the CACS National Awards Individual Category for "An Outstanding Contribution to Australian Culture". Stolen has been studied on the Victorian VCE and NSW HSC English and drama syllabi.

''Rainbow’s End''

''Rainbow’s End'' premièred in 2005, and toured Melbourne, Sydney, regional Australia, and Japan in 2007, and has had numerous subsequent productions. Harrison was awarded for ''Rainbow’s End'' the Drover Award (Tour of the Year) and a

Helpmann Awards The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical t ...

nomination for Best Regional Touring Production. It was studied on the NSW HSC and from 2013 has been on the Victorian VCE English syllabus. ''Rainbow's End'' tells the simple, yet convoluted story of three generations of Aboriginal women; young Dolly, her mother the happy-go-lucky Gladys, and the wise and stern Nan Dear, living in their shanty perched on the flats of the Goulburn River in 1950s regional Victoria. The play was initially directed by

''On a Park Bench''

''On a Park Bench'' was created through workshops at Playbox and the Banff Playrites Colony. The play was a finalist in the Lake Macquarie Drama Prize.

''Blakvelvet''

''Blakvelvet'' won the 2006 Theatrelab Indigenous Award.

Novels and short stories

''Becoming Kirrali Lewis''

Harrison's novel, ''Becoming Kirrali Lewis'', won the

State Library of Queensland The State Library of Queensland is the main reference and research library provided to the people of the State of Queensland, Australia, by the state government. Its legislative basis is provided by the Queensland Libraries Act 1988. It contai ...

2014 black&write! Indigenous Writing Fellowship, was shortlisted in the Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2016, and was Highly Commended in the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2016. ''Becoming Kirrali Lewis'' is a coming-of-age teen fiction novel about the search by Stolen Generations member Kirrali Lewis for her biological parents, which turns stereotypes on their heads. ''Becoming Kirrali Lewis'' was published by

Magabala Books Magabala Books is an Indigenous publishing house based in Broome, Western Australia. It started in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The name ''Magabala'' is a Yawuru, Karrajari and Nyulnyul word for the bush banana. In 1990, Magabala Books be ...

in 2015.

''Born, Still''

Short story, ''Born, Still'', was published by the

in ''Writing Black: New Indigenous Writing from Australia'', launched in May 2014, and in the anthology Flock published by University of Queensland Press in 2021. ''Born, Still'' is a gentle reflection on the death of a daughter before birth. ''Born, Still'' was subsequently re-worked as a play, premiered at the Melbourne Writers Festival in 2018.

Other writing

''Healing our communities, healing ourselves'' was published in the Medical Journal of Australia and won the Dr Ross Ingram Essay Prize in 2010.Medical Journal of Australia 2010; 192 (10): 556-557. ''Indig-curious; Who can play Aboriginal roles?'' published by

Currency House Currency House Incorporated is an independent not-for-profit organisation based in New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 2000 by Katharine Brisbane, the organisation seeks to advocate for and support the performing arts in Australia. In addition ...

explores the issues raised by Aboriginal identity in theatre. Harrison also contributed a chapter to ''Many Voices, Reflections on experiences of Indigenous child separation'', which was published by the National Library of Australia,

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. This work was also related to the theme of the stolen generations. Harrison has been Festival Director of ''Blak & Bright - First Nations Literary Festival'' in Melbourne since 2015.

References

External links

''Stolen''

Contemporary Indigenous Plays ''Rainbow’s End''

Medical Journal of Australia ''Healing our communities, healing ourselves''

Currency House ''Indig-curious; Who can play Aboriginal roles?''

La Trobe University ''Not one size fits all: Understanding the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal children''

National Library of Australia ''Many Voices: Reflections on Experiences of Indigenous Child Separation'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Jane 1960 births Australian non-fiction writers 20th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights Indigenous Australian writers Living people Australian women dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Australian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Australian women writers 20th-century Australian women writers