Something to shake the establishment

The Custodians
By Eric Earley
Directed by Carol Woodrow
With Gary Cooper, Lillian Crombie, Christopher Baz, Ron Hill, Boris Kelly, Melissa King, Dennis Mckay
To September 18 at the Canberra Theatre
Phone 257 1077 for bookings
Reviewed by Lara Pullin

This is a play to wake up the complacent and shake up the establishment. Director Carol Woodrow has put together a magnificent cast for this professional production of a play previously produced for radio by the ABC in 1988.

Described by the Australian National Playwrights Centre as “a very powerful indictment of police corruption and misunderstanding of tribal rites/rites and requests”, The Custodians is a powerful antidote to the patronising blow-ins such as Keating, Tickner and their apologists who dribble platitudes about treaties, reconciliation and “crimes of the past”, but ignore the crimes of today.

It is about struggles -- both personal and collective -- against powerlessness.

The play is peopled with strong and complex characters, well suited to their setting in redneck Australia. It is situated in the year of Australia's bicentennial anniversary of invasion.

Constable Maria Giotto voluntarily transfers from the city to a small outback town with a large Aboriginal population. She meets Paddy, his son Paul and partner Tricia. Conflict exists between Senior Constable Joe Smith, Paul and the mission community, a conflict which results in Paul's death in custody.

Actor Gary Cooper brings a powerful dimension to the character Paul. Dealing with the death in custody of a black brother, he says, “I've got to get it right”.

It is the way in which The Custodians gets it right that provides its impact.

The NSW police force's refusal to loan uniforms for the play on the grounds of the script's “inaccurate” portrayal of cops is one of the best recommendations I've heard.

Within the settings of police station, mission, hotel and bush, the tragedy unfolds to reveal a personal and cultural conflict and their impact upon people under duress. It is a gripping story, well told, that makes the audience squirm, laugh, feel sympathy and horror, and, most importantly, to know where justice lies.

Writer Eric Earley has addressed the issues in the play with the same compassion and conviction he shows in his earlier works. From his working-class origins in Belfast to his teaching in PNG and in remote Aboriginal communities, and his visits to Central America, Earley makes full use of his experiences.

Earley writes in his notes to the play that: “it's time ... [to] effect a reconciliation that is more than the politicians' sanctimonious platitudes or the greed of property owners and mining magnates”. A play not to be missed.

This article was posted on the Green Left Weekly Home Page.
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