Theatre’s role in distorting history will be discussed at a free UQ Ipswich public lecture this week.
Adjunct Professor Sue Rider’s lecture entitled ”Sandy Gallop Dances” to “The Belles of St Mary’s”: Community Theatre as a Tool for Exploring Social History, is part of the Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies’ (CCCS) 2002 seminar program and will take place on Thursday, August 15 at 7pm at UQ Ipswich’s Campus Café.
Professor Rider, from UQ’s School of English, Media Studies and Art History, will examine two different community theatre projects in an effort to ascertain whether theatre distorts history or provides a new appreciation of the past.
Sandy Gallop Dances with the Moon was a community theatre performance held last year and examined the history of The University of Queensland’s Ipswich campus via an imaginary character on a quest for self-knowledge.
The roving performance directed by Professor Rider was neither an historical re-enactment nor a chronology of events. However, it did provide theatregoers with an understanding and appreciation of the site’s history, which included its use as a racetrack, hospital for people with mental illness, a residence for people with intellectual disabilities, and an educational institution.
Professor Rider will also examine The Belles of St Mary’s, which is a Year 12 theatre production involving students from St Mary’s College in Ipswich.
The August performance will use theatre to draw together the students’ research into their school, which was founded in 1863 as the second Sisters of Mercy school in Queensland.
The students, with the assistance of Professor Rider, investigated historical records, interviewed past staff and pupils, and gathered photographs and artefacts in order to write the play’s script.
Professor Rider has been a director, actor and playwright for the past 30 years, with more than 100 productions to her credit.
From 1993-2000 she was Artistic Director of Brisbane’s La Boite Theatre and has won numerous accolades, including four individual Matilda Awards for direction and writing, and the Adelaide Fringe festival’s 2002 Advertiser Southwark Best of Fringe Award.
A free shuttle bus will depart from outside UQ St Lucia’s JD Story Building at 6pm returning at approximately 10pm.
People interested in booking a seat should contact Andrea Mitchell on telephone 07 3365 7182 or email: a.mitchell@uq.edu.au
Light refreshments will be served at the lecture, which will be chaired by UQ’s Professor Graeme Turner and is kindly supported by The University of Queensland Press.
Media: For further information, contact Professor Rider (telephone 07 3365 2338, mobile 0421 017 728), Andrea Mitchell (telephone 07 3365 7182, mobile 0412 474 978) or Joanne van Zeeland at UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 2619 or email: communications@uq.edu.au).
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