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An aboriginal man and women wearing a black suit with traditional face art.

The Visitors

11 September – 14 October 2023

In the Drama Theatre | Theatre

It’s January 1788 and a mysterious fleet is amassing in the harbour. Seven clan leaders must make a momentous decision: to send these strangers on their way or welcome them?

Visitors leave. Right?

On a sweltering day in January 1788, seven clan leaders gather on a sandstone escarpment overlooking the harbour. The attendees, six of them Elders and one a new initiate, catch-up, laugh together, share a meal, and compare notes. But beyond the friendly banter, protocols, and hospitality, a momentous decision is waiting to be made.

A mysterious fleet of giant nawi is amassing in the harbour and as they creep closer, these seven representatives must choose unanimously: whether to send these strangers on their way or welcome them?

After a Sydney Theatre Award-winning premiere production at the 2020 Sydney Festival, Muruwari playwright Jane Harrison’s new Australian play The Visitors will be reworked in a brand new production directed by one of Australia’s most celebrated directors, Quandamooka man Wesley Enoch, and starring Wiradjuri actor Luke Carroll, Wiradjuri and Gamilaraay actor Beau Dean Riley Smith, and Gumbaynggirr and Wiradjuri actor Dalara Williams.

As a key part of the Sydney Opera House’s 50th anniversary program, Sydney Theatre Company and Moogahlin Performing Arts are partnering for what is at once a riveting and deeply researched insight into one of the most impactful and painful days in Australia’s history, and a hugely entertaining study of the way communities respond to change and the unknown.

Presented by Sydney Theatre Company and Moogahlin Performing Arts

Proudly funded by

NSW Government
Australian Government Indigenous Languages and Arts

This production is proudly supported through the Australian Government's Indigenous Languages and Arts program and by the NSW Government through the Blockbusters Funding initiative. 

Artist Information

Writer 
Jane Harrison

Director 
Wesley Enoch

With
Luke Carroll
Beau Dean Riley Smith
Dalara Williams

Other information

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