Winner of the SA Tour Ready Award, Matriarch is an original and dynamic one woman show celebrating the strength and resilience of four Indigenous women, spanning over 100 years of Australian history – currently playing at the Tandanya Aboriginal Cultural Institute as part of the 2019 Adelaide Fringe until 3 March.
Written and performed by award winning Gumbaynggirr artist, Sandy Greenwood and directed by Award winner, Oliver V. Cowley, the hit show of the 2018 Melbourne Fringe Festival brings the matriarchs of Greenwood’s own family to vivid life.
Through a combination of drama, dance and music, Matriarch explores cultural identity, the effects of intergenerational trauma and what it means to be a fair skin black woman in modern Australia.
Sandy Greenwood is an Indigenous artist from the Dunghutti, Gumbaynggirr and Bundjalung clans/nations of NSW. Raised on Bowraville mission by her single mum, a survivor of the stolen generations, Sandy has performed for Australia’s leading theatre companies including ILLBIJERRI Theatre Company, Queensland Theatre and Sydney Theatre Company (STC).
Sandy has worked with some of Australia’s greatest actors including Jacki Weaver and Ben Mendelsohn. Her performance in Killer Elite (starring Robert De Niro and Clive Owen) earned Sandy a Deadly Awards nomination for Outstanding Actress. Sandy is the founder and Creative Director of Jinda productions – an Indigenous production company that produces stories from a female Indigenous experience.
“Matriarch was a testament to the extraordinary power of storytelling and song.” – Australian Arts Review.
Matriarch
Tandanya Aboriginal Cultural institute, 253 Grenfell Street, Adelaide
Season: 23 February – 3 March 2019
Information and Bookings: www.adelaidefringe.com.au
Image: Sandy Greenwood (supplied)