Kelton Pell is an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Isl ...

(

Noongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the so ...

) stage, TV and film actor, best known for his role as the court liaison officer, Sam Wallan, in the SBS legal drama '' The Circuit'' set in north-western Australia. Pell is from

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

Career

Pell has been a stage presence in the theatre since 1985, performing for the Yirra Yaakin Noongar Theatre, the

Black Swan Theatre Company Black Swan State Theatre Company (formerly The Black Swan Theatre Company) is Western Australia's state theatre company. It runs an annual subscription season in Perth at the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia, tours its productions reg ...

and the Sydney Theatre Company. Many of these performances were of plays which grew from

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

themes. In 2000 Pell, along with Ningali Lawford and Phil Thomson, wrote a show for the Yirra Yaakin Noongar Theatre called ''Solid'', whose premiere performance was at the Perth International Arts Festival. Because of its sensitive Indigenous subject matter, before the premiere the play was performed for, and to the approval of, 2000 Indigenous Australians. Pell performed in several productions of ''Bloodland'', a play directed by the

Stephen Page Stephen George Page (born 1965) is an Australian choreographer, film director and former dancer. He is the current artistic director of the Bangarra Dance Theatre, an Indigenous Australian dance company. Page is descended from the Nunukul peopl ...

with a '' Romeo and Juliet''-type of story. The play features traditional Aboriginal languages and

Pidgin English Pidgin English is a non-specific name used to refer to any of the many pidgin languages derived from English. Pidgins that are spoken as first languages become creoles. English-based pidgins that became stable contact languages, and which have ...

, as well as song and dance. He has also acted in performances of ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vi ...

'' and '' A Midsummer Night's Dream''. Pell is a familiar face on Australian television, having been seen in the young TV show '' The Adventures of the Bush Patrol'' and the SBS series, ''The Circuit'', a legal drama set in the Kimberley. In 2012 he starred in an episode of the highly regarded TV series, ''

Redfern Now ''Redfern Now'' is an Australian drama television series, that first aired on ABC1 in 2012. The program follows the lives of 6 Aboriginal Australian families living in the urban hub of Redfern, Sydney. The series provides insight into contempo ...

'', as a well-to-do Aboriginal Australian man living in Redfern, Sydney, whose life seems to be exemplary, though he has been receiving government benefit money fraudulently.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards

Pell has won the following awards: * In 1991 WA Aboriginal Artist of the Year Award. * In 1994 Swan Gold Award for Best West Australian Actor. * In 1996 Contemporary Performing Arts Award for Best Collaboration. * In 2019 he was also recognised for his outstanding contribution to the Australian film industry and named the CinefestOZ 2019 Screen Legend.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pell, Kelton Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century Australian male actors 21st-century Australian male actors Australian male film actors Australian male stage actors Australian male television actors Indigenous Australian male actors Indigenous Australians from Western Australia