Actor Della Rae Morrison returns home to Western Australia as part of the touring production of a play that has won many coveted awards since it first premiered in Tasmania.
The Season tells the stories of the Duncans, a family that returns to Big Dog Island off the northern coast of Tasmania for six weeks every year for the Mutton Bird Season, just as Tasmanian Aboriginal people have done for over 10,000 years.
The play was written by playwright Nathan Maynard, who drew upon his own families experiences, but actor Morrison says she also found common ground in the family experience.
“This is the most intriguing family I’ve been a part of to say the least!, it’s been a great insight into what it’s like to be part of a Tasmanian family.
“I’ve got a big family in Perth – the Morrison’s are a big family, my grandfather was one of twenty-two children, and we’re very similar to the Maynards – except for the colourful language they use.” the actor said.
“We’ve got five generations in my family from little babies up to my grandmother who is ninety one. When we all get together it’s packed in the house, packed outside, there’s lots of laughing and carrying on, talking over each other – but we definitely wouldn’t swear in front of our elders or talk about sex in front of our Nan!”
“It’s such a great show which gives an insight into other aboriginal cultures around Australia. It’s been an eye opener for me, learning about another culture that I never knew about before – the birding season.”
The show’s themes of cultural change and changing family dynamics is one that Morrison thinks is quite universal to all families and cultures.
“In the play the younger ones want to use a motor bike to collect the birds, but old-man Duncan he wants to do it the traditional way and carry the birds on a stick, and they look at changing traditions.
“I play Stella Duncan, she’s the matriarch of the family who oversees things, but she’s not well, she’s been given some bad news about her health – and that’s very subtle throughout the show.” Morrison says hinting at changing personal dynamics the family will also face.
The Season has been described as “a deadly funny portrait of a singular corner of our world”, and “this original acclaimed production is raucous and rowdy celebration of tradition and the bonds that unite us”.
The Season is playing at His Majesty’s Theatre from 24-25 August.
Graeme Watson
