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John Harvey speaking in panel discussion The Return of stolen First Nation people and culture with Surafel Abebe, Matthew Lutton and Jason Tamiru at March Meeting. Sharjah Art Foundation, 2023.
Overview
The Return is a play about the theft of First Nation Australian bodily remains and culture in the past, and the importance of returning and repatriating cultural artefacts and Indigenous bodily remains to their spiritual home in Australia. Creators of The Return, including cultural custodian and director Jason Tamiru, writer John Harvey, and co-director Matthew Lutton, discuss the culture and ceremony of Indigenous Australians that is the foundation of the play, the five-year writing and research process that was undertaken, and how the story was brought to life onstage through a collaboration with a major theatre company in Australia. Presentations will feature music, image, storytelling, and discussion.