The Sunshine Club

Heralded as a “brilliant new landmark in Australian musicals” (The Australian), The Sunshine Club is written and directed by proud Noonuccal Nuugi man Wesley Enoch AM, an acclaimed creative force in Australian Theatre.

Experience the breathtaking beauty of The Sunshine Club, a heart-wrenching musical that delves into the powerful emotions and challenges of interracial relationships in the tumultuous 1940s. Join us in Ballarat as we journey through a story of love, resilience, and the enduring power of the human spirit.

This energetic and engaging musical play has a variety of music styles, with 28 songs composed by the esteemed John Rodgers.

It tells the story of Frank Doyle, an Aboriginal serviceman who has come home from World War II to find that although the wider world may have changed, attitudes back home in Brisbane are just the same.

Filled with a defiant energy and ambition for a better life, Frank starts The Sunshine Club, a place where black and white can meet and, most importantly, dance. Here, he hopes for a future where he can dance in step with Rose, the girl next door, the girl of his dreams…who is white.

Inter-racial relationships in the 1940’s were highly problematic due to racism, mandated government attitudes toward Aboriginal people that saw the ‘legal’ enforcement of what is now known as the stolen generations and the fact that the Frank Doyle character, who had fought for his country in a world war, was not formally considered a citizen or able to vote until the 1960s.

It is a socially relevant work, at a time of heightened social discourse on Indigenous Affairs, as Australia looks towards ‘incorporating’ the Indigenous Voice to Parliament by 2024.

 

Friday 14th June, Civic Hall Ballarat