The Sapphires (play)

This article is about the play. For the film adaptation of the play, see The Sapphires (film).

The Sapphires is an Australian play written by Tony Briggs and directed by Wesley Enoch.[1] It is set in 1968 (a year after the referendum, which symbolically expanded the rights of Aboriginal people) and it tells the story of The Sapphires, a singing group of four Yorta Yorta women who tour Vietnam during the war.[2][3]

It was inspired by the true story of Briggs's mother, Laurel Robinson, and aunt, Lois Peeler, who toured Vietnam as singers.[4] The pair slept on the stage, as Robinson recalled: "It was so scary – one night a bomb went off, the bed fell down and the place shook."[5]

Though set at the time of increasing calls for Aboriginal rights, the play takes these issues seriously but in a way that does not detract from its fun and humour and adds to its entertainment value.[4]

  1. ^ Thomson, Helen (19 November 2004), "Black sisters singing up a storm", The Age, archived from the original on 3 October 2009, retrieved 4 December 2008
  2. ^ Doyle, Brendan (9 February 2005), "Black sisters singing up a storm", Green Left Weekly, no. 614, archived from the original on 3 August 2012, retrieved 4 December 2008
  3. ^ Hallett, Bryce (11 January 2005), "The Sapphires, Company B", The Sydney Morning Herald, archived from the original on 3 November 2012, retrieved 4 December 2008
  4. ^ a b Usher, Robin (15 November 2004), "Sparkle, in any colour", The Age, archived from the original on 30 March 2015, retrieved 4 December 2008
  5. ^ Dow, Steve (23 May 2010), "Shining through", The Sydney Morning Herald, archived from the original on 16 February 2011, retrieved 25 May 2010