Jane Harrison is an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

playwright,

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

literary festival A literary festival, also known as a book festival or writers' festival, is a regular gathering of writers and readers, typically on an annual basis in a particular city. A literary festival usually features a variety of presentations and readings ...

director, and researcher. She is known for her 1998 play '' Stolen'', which received critical claim and has toured nationally and internationally, and ''The Visitors'', first produced in 2020. ''The Visitors'' has been developed as an opera and as a novel. Jane Harrison 2025

Early life and education

Jane Harrison is 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 langua ...

people of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, 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. It is east of Bourke and west of Walgett on the Kamilaroi Highway, a ...

. She grew up in the

Dandenong Ranges The Dandenong Ranges (commonly just the Dandenongs) are a set of low mountain ranges in Victoria, Australia, approximately east of the state capital Melbourne. A minor branch of the Great Dividing Range, the Dandenongs consist mostly of rol ...

in Victoria with her mother and sister, and 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. Copywriting is aimed at selling products or services. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to incre ...

Plays

''Stolen''

''Stolen'' premièred in 1998 at Playbox (now

Malthouse Theatre Malthouse Theatre is the resident theatre company of The Malthouse building in Southbank, part of the Melbourne Arts Precinct. In the 1980s it was known as the Playbox Theatre Company and was housed in the Playbox Theatre in Melbourne's CBD ...

) in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, directed by Wesley Enoch. It was followed by seven annual seasons in Melbourne, plus tours to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, regional Victoria,

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, the United Kingdom (twice),

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, with readings in Canada,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. In

, it was performed at the

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 Theatre ...

, directed by Wayne Blair. ''Stolen'' is a play about the lives of five

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

people from the

Stolen Generations The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Aboriginal Australians, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Gover ...

.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, and has conferred the AWGIE Awards since 1968, ...

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 Certificate of Education The Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) is the credential available to secondary school students who successfully complete year 10, 11 and 12 in the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria as well as in some international schools i ...

and New South Wales Higher School Certificate English and drama syllabi. ''

Australian Book Review ''Australian Book Review'' is an Australian arts and literary review. Created in 1961, ''ABR'' is an independent non-profit organisation that publishes articles, reviews, commentaries, essays, and new writing. The aims of the magazine are " ...

'' called the play "a contemporary classic". Sydney Theatre Company staged a new production of ''Stolen'' in its 2024 season, directed by Ian Michael.

''Rainbow's End''

''Rainbow's End'' premiered in 2005, and toured

, regional

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in 2007, and has had numerous subsequent productions. Harrison was awarded 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 Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical theatre ...

nomination for Best Regional Touring Production. It has been studied on the New South Wales Higher School Certificate and is currently on the

English syllabus. ''Rainbow's End'' tells the simple, yet convoluted story of three generations of First Nations 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 The Goulburn River, a major inland perennial river of the Goulburn Broken catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the Alpine, Northern Country/North Central, and Southern Riverina regions of the Australian state of Victor ...

in 1950s regional Victoria. The play was initially directed by Wesley Enoch.

''On a Park Bench''

''On a Park Bench'' was created through workshops at Playbox and the Banff playRites Colony in 2002. The play was a finalist in the Lake Macquarie Drama Prize.

''Blakvelvet''

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

''The Visitors''

''The Visitors'' was initially workshopped at the Yellamundie Festival in 2013, before a development at the

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre com ...

Cybec Electric series / Melbourne Indigenous Festival in 2014, directed by

Leah Purcell Leah Maree Purcell (born 14 August 1970) is an Aboriginal Australian stage and film actress, playwright, film director, and novelist. She made her film debut in 1999, appearing in Paul Fenech's ''Somewhere in the Darkness'', which led to rol ...

. ''The Visitors'' re-imagines the arrival of the

First Fleet The First Fleet were eleven British ships which transported a group of settlers to mainland Australia, marking the beginning of the History of Australia (1788–1850), European colonisation of Australia. It consisted of two Royal Navy vessel ...

Gadigal The Gadigal, also spelled as Cadigal and Caddiegal, are a group of Aboriginal people whose traditional lands are located in Gadi, on Eora country, the location of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. However, since the colonisation of Australia ...

country from the perspective of seven elders meeting on the shores of the

harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...

. ''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 over 100 events from local and international artists and inclu ...

. It was awarded the prize for Best New Australian Work, 2022 Sydney Theatre Awards, and was shortlisted for the Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting at the 2021

New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards 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 ...

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 center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

in September / October 2023, directed by Wesley Enoch. This production won the 2023 Sydney Theatre Awards for Best Mainstage Production, and Best Ensemble, and went on to tour regional Australia in 2024.

Victorian Opera 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 a ...

commissioned Harrison to collaborate with composer Christopher Sainsbury to develop an operatic version of ''The Visitors'', staged at

Arts Centre Melbourne Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central M ...

in October 2023. The opera was listed on the

2023 curriculum.

Novels and short stories

''The Visitors''

The narrative arc presented in Harrison's play ''The Visitors'' is reconceptualized as a literary novel, also called ''The Visitors'', published by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

in 2023. The novel was named Debut Fiction book of the year in the 2024 Indie Book Awards.

''Becoming Kirrali Lewis''

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

State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...

2014 black&write! Indigenous Writing Fellowship, was shortlisted in the

Prime Minister's Literary Awards The Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards (PMLA) were announced at the end of 2007 by the incoming First Rudd ministry following the 2007 election. They are administered by the Minister for the Arts.Victorian Premier's Literary Awards The Victorian Premier's Literary Awards were created by the Victorian Government with the aim of raising the profile of contemporary creative writing and Australia's publishing industry. As of 2013, it is reportedly Australia's richest literary ...

2016. ''Becoming Kirrali Lewis'' is a coming-of-age teen fiction novel about the search by

member Kirrali Lewis for her biological parents, which turns stereotypes on their heads. ''Becoming Kirrali Lewis'' was published by Magabala Books 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 University of Queensland Press (UQP) is an Australian publishing house based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in 1948 as a traditional university press, UQP now publishes books for general readers across fiction, non-fiction, poetry, children's ...

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, workshopped at the National Play Conference in 2018 with a reading at the

Melbourne Writers Festival Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) is an annual literary festival held in the Australian city of Melbourne, a UNESCO City of Literature. The Festival runs during early September each year. Melbourne Writers Festival is part of the Word Alliance, a ...

also in 2018.

''First Nations Monologues''

''First Nations Monologues'' (edited by Harrison) is an anthology of 30 contemporary First Nations playwrights’ most notable theatrical monologues. Published by

Currency Press Currency Press is a leading performing arts publisher and its oldest independent publisher still active. Their list includes plays and screenplays, professional handbooks, biographies, cultural histories, critical studies and reference works. H ...

in 2023, it pays homage to the diverse perspectives that resonate throughout Australia.

''Little J & Big Cuz''

Harrison has written for '' Little J & Big Cuz'', an Australian First Nations animated television series first screened on the

NITV National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the six-day-a-week ''NITV News Updat ...

network and subsequently on

ABC television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

. The series won the 2018

Logie Award for Most Outstanding Children's Program The Silver Logie for Most Outstanding Children's Program is an award presented annually at the Australian TV Week Logie Awards. It was first awarded at the Logie Awards of 2000, 42nd Annual TV Week Logie Awards in 2000, and is given to honour an ...

''Healing our communities, healing ourselves''

Harrison confessed in 2010 to her own struggles with

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

in an essay published in the ''

Medical Journal of Australia The ''Medical Journal of Australia'' (MJA) is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 22 times a year. It is the official journal of the Australian Medical Association, published by Wiley (publisher), Wiley on behalf of the Australasian Medical ...

''. At a time when

was a career-ending stigma, she did so as a platform for talking about First Nations' mental health more broadly. Harrison's essay ''Healing Our Communities, Healing Ourselves'' argued that First Nations people faced the dual challenge of

transgenerational trauma Transgenerational trauma is the psychological and physiological effects that the trauma experienced by people has on subsequent generations in that group. The primary mode of transmission is the shared family environment of the infant causing psy ...

and its associated impact on

, in parallel with the more widely acknowledged structural barriers. She argued "a healthy

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

person and community represents best practice" but that "we First Nations workers travel a parallel journey, working to improve our community's wellbeing, while sometimes struggling with our own". In recognition of her contribution to mental health awareness the ''Medical Journal of Australia'' awarded Harrison the ''Dr Ross Ingram Essay Prize''.

Other works

Harrison created and led ''Blak & Bright - First Nations Literary Festival'' in Naarm (Melbourne) from its inception in 2015 in the role of artistic director / CEO until August 2024. ''Blak & Bright'' is a bi-annual four-day festival celebrating the diverse expressions of

story-tellers, the only major First Nations literary festival in Australia. "Indig-curious; Who can play Aboriginal roles?" (2012) explores the issues raised by Aboriginal identity in theatre. The essay was derived from Harrison's

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

Masters Exegesis. Harrison contributed a chapter to ''Many Voices, Reflections on experiences of Indigenous child separation'', which was published in 2002 by the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. This work was also related to the theme of the

Awards

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