Bennelong gestures to the facts of the man Bennelong’s history but has no intention to be an historical recreation and only loosely a chronology of the events of his life. Instead Bennelong is both a particular individual and a bold abstraction, a burden, a role model, a victor, a tragedy, a signpost to the future and an opportunity for contemporary ritual and ceremony.

This production features the First Nations language Sydney language (Sydney basin).

Sections of Bennelong

Sacred - Respecting the space
Birth of Bennelong - The birth of the man who carries five names
Wangal - Eora Nation people, living off the land on their Country, hunting and gathering
Native Vaccinate - Intuition tells the clan unsettling spirits are coming and they must vaccinate and protect themselves
Fleet - The arrival, of which sets a course of destruction for the next two centuries
Observation Smell - First Contact, with both cultures observing mind, body and spirit
Rewind 1788 - Spirit of the Land and Knowledge, consciously reflecting the spirit of Bennelong, the land and the people
Bait - Governor Phillip sends for the capture of Bennelong
Responding - First archetype of assimilation through the wearing of colonial clothing
Onslaught - Smallpox wipes out a whole clan; Bennelong survives
Resistance - Signs of resistance through the energy of Pemulwuy
Rejection - Spearing of Governor Phillip at Manly Cove in a men's initiation
Spirit of Barangaroo - One of Bennelong's wives, Barangarroo, dies
Crown - Bennelong and Yemmerawanye travel to London with Governor Phillip and are feted as a triumph of assimilation; Yemmerawanye dies in London
Repatriation - The ongoing battle for our bones and spirits to be returned from London|
Wives - Bennelong returns from London and does not belong in either world; the five strong female energies who influenced his life
1813/People of the Land - The year Bennelong dies; questioning what he has left, and mourning his own spirit

Duration: 75 minutes

Bennelong premiered in 2017.