''Stolen'' is a play by Australian playwright Jane Harrison. It is based upon the lives of five indigenous people who dealt with the issues of forceful removal by the Australian government.

Plot

''Stolen'' tells the story of five

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

children, who go by the names of Sandy, Ruby, Jimmy, Anne, and Shirley. Sandy has spent his entire life on the run, never having a set home to live in. ''Stolen'' tracks his quest for a place to be, a place where he doesn’t have to keep hiding from the government (even though they are no longer after him), and a place he can call home. Ruby was forced to work as a domestic from a young age and was driven insane by the abuse of her white masters. In the latter part of the play, she spends a lot of her time mumbling to herself, whilst her family desperately try to help her. Jimmy was separated from his mother at a very young age, and she spent her entire life looking for him. He spent a lot of time in prison, and on the day he finally got out, he was told about his mother’s search. As he went to meet her, she died, and he committed suicide. Jimmy was led to believe that his mother was deceased as any letters written to him were taken away by the institution. Anne was removed from her family and placed in a

Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Anthropology *Anything from the Caucasus region ** ** ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region * * * Languages * Northwest Caucasian l ...

family’s home. She was materially happy in this home, a lot happier than many of the other characters. Shirley was removed from her parents and had her children removed from her. She only felt, safety, and comfort when her granddaughter was born, and not removed.

Writing style

The play is split between the stories of the five characters, both as children and as adults. It leaps backwards and forwards through time without warning, and changes location quite dramatically. In one scene, the five children may be in a schoolyard, and in the next scene, one adult may be alone in their room, or taking care of their unstable brother. This is due to creating an almost 'memory like' form of a sequence, with each scene being connected by a stray thought instead of being connected in a chronological order. Because of these elements, which aren’t found in many plays, Stolen is a favourite on Australian

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

syllabi. * aboriginal children language * native: yurringa= sun * wrong pronunciation: pitcha=picture * double negation * monologues intermixed with dialogues * alienation effects: rapid scene changes, projections, sound-effects * Ironic elements (Welfare, Sandy)

Original cast and crew

Stolen was performed at The C.U.B. Malthouse,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

, on 21 October 1998, with the following cast and crew: * Anne - Tammy Anderson * Ruby -

Kylie Belling Kylie Belling is an Australian stage, film and television actress and voice artist, who has also worked in other occupations. she works as Senior Manager, First Peoples, for ''Creative Victoria''. Biography Belling was born in Melbourne and ...

* Jimmy -

Tony Briggs Tony Briggs (born 3 July 1967) is an Australian actor, writer and producer. He is a former track and field athlete. He is best known for creating the stage play '' The Sapphires'' (later a 2012 film) telling the true story of an Aboriginal si ...

* Shirley - Pauline Whyman * Sandy - Stan Yarramunua * Director -

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 ...

* Designer - Richard Roberts * Lighting Designer - Matt Scott * Composer - David Chesworth All of the other parts in the play (mainly offstage voices) were played by one of the five actors/actresses mentioned above.

Touring

''Stolen'' toured extensively throughout Australia. On top of its seven years in Melbourne (starting in 1998), it was also performed in Sydney,

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

, regional Victoria,

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, the UK,

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, and

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. Furthermore, readings were performed in

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and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

.J. Harrison (2000) ''Stolen''. Strawberry Hills (NSW): Currency Press (Author’s biography on 1st page)

Reception

''Stolen'' won (along with '' Aliwa!'' by Dallas Winmar) the Kate Challis RAKA Award in 1998, on the back of largely successful first season.School of Historical Studies The Australian Centre, The Kate Challis RAKA Award: Past winners
accessed 17 October 2010 ''Stolen'' is being studied on the

Victorian Certificate of Education The Victorian Certificate of Education (often abbreviated VCE) is one credential available to secondary school students who successfully complete year 11 and 12 in the Australian state of Victoria. The VCE is the predominant choice for student ...

English syllabus, and the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Higher School Certificate syllabus. Many other schools throughout Australia have also placed ''Stolen'' on their English

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; plural, : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to ...

References