Dear Son is a powerful piece of theatre that deserves full houses every night. It stars five Indigenous male actors who not only perform the work but embody the sentiments presented.
The play has its roots in the book of the same name by Thomas Mayo, in which 13 Indigenous men wrote letters to their sons or fathers and reflected on their lives and relationships. Authors included Stan Grant, Troy Cassar-Daley, Blak Douglas, Johnny Liddle and Daniel James.
The play is compact at 75 minutes with no interval and the set (by Kevin O’Brien) is a simple outdoor cookhouse, where five men gather to cook, sing, dance, laugh and talk. And they do actually talk in a way that men often don’t. Rather than sticking to ‘safe’ and often superficial topics like the footy or politics, the men reflect on their relationships with their own fathers, with their sons and families, and with other men.
The message here is that it’s powerful to show vulnerability. It’s good to be released from damaging notions of strength that the culture of toxic masculinity has, unfortunately, been successful at indoctrinating into many men.
Jimi Bani (Othello, My Name is Jimi) lights up the stage every time he speaks, as well as often garnering laughter, while the equally compelling Trevor Jamieson (Black Diggers, The Secret River) also takes on the role of singer and guitar player as he tells some of the stories in song.
Aaron Pederson (well-known from roles on TV including Mystery Road) has a powerful stage presence, as does Waangenga Blanco, who, during a short dance the men do, reveals graceful movements. He won several dance awards as a member of Bangarra Dance Theatre and serves as this play’s choreographer. Rounding out the ensemble is Kirk Page, who’s received a Logie nomination for Most Outstanding Actor in Redfern Now.
It’s an impressive cast, each member of which commands attention during his monologues, while also blending in well in the group scenes. The performers tell each other stories and share recollections about their lives – the high and lows that they’ve dealt with as Black men living in Australia.
A nice touch at the end is when the actors all come to the front of the stage to introduce themselves by their real names and to tell the audience who they are in their own lives with regard to their families. Behind them, photos of their families appear on a screen.
Dear Son began as a workshop, with director and co-adaptor Isaac Drandic and fellow co-adaptor John Harvey working with the actors, inviting them to share their own experiences outside the material in the book. The authenticity they have captured is evident. The result is uplifting.
Dear Son is on at Bille Brown Theatre until 19th July, 2025.
Vicki Englund
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- My Name is Jimi (QT) – theatre review
- My Name is Jimi (Belvoir) – theatre review
- Dear Brother (Qld Theatre) – theatre review
Vicki Englund is a film, TV and theatre reviewer, a credited TV screenwriter on shows including The Bureau of Magical Things and Home and Away, and a film screenwriter with several projects in development. She was the daily TV reviewer for The Courier Mail for 11 years and has reviewed films and TV for Rave Magazine, Time Off, The Courier Mail and Daily Review.
