Review: LOGAN ST at The Space Theatre, Adelaide
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Review by Lisa Lanzi
Narungga and Kaurna performer/creator Jacob Boehme listened to his extended family talk about "Goolie with the gold tooth", a neighbour who befriended an Aboriginal family living on Logan Street in Adelaide after they left Point Pearce Mission. The setting and geographical location of Boehme’s latest play Logan St is a historic working-class, marginalized pocket in Adelaide’s South-West corner known as ‘Little Beirut’ where non-European migrants, Afghan cameleers, and Indigenous families lived side by side. From within this rich tapestry, writer director Boehme extracts a cross-generational narrative from his own, very personal heritage.
Adelaide in the 1940s was a staid and judgmental town. Aboriginal folk had to sign away their cultural identity to receive exemption certificates from the Aborigines Protection Board that allowed them to reside and work in the city. These ‘certificates’ were referred to as “dog licences” by Aboriginal folk, reflecting the humiliation and loss of identity they represented.
The migrant population was also treated harshly: socially isolated, inspected, and restricted socially and professionally. The Logan St timeline ranges from 1836 through to the 2nd World War and beyond, interweaving the remarkable tale of Munarto Nellie Raminyemmerin (Boehme’s great great great great great grandmother) with Dulcie’s and Goolie’s story. Munarto was stolen from Kaurna Yerta (Adelaide) at age 14 by seal hunter John Wilkins to be his 'wife' on Kangaroo Island, known then as Karta Pintingga 'island of the dead' where she bore seven children before the sealing industry ended. Now abandoned, Munarto made the decision to return home across some twenty kilometres of ocean. Boehme says: "As a Kaurna woman, she knew those waters between Kangaroo Island and Cape Jervis and she grabbed every one of her children and swam them back to the mainland, which is why we're here”.
As the Afghan cameleer Gool Mahomet (also known as Gul Muhammed, an Afghan cameleer who immigrated from Kabul to Australia in 1887) Ali Ammouchi is an inspired choice, the actor’s assurance, integrity, and pure presence elevating the whole. Ammouchi navigates the range of emotions with care and believability leaving a lasting impression of a kind and generous, though troubled human. I could happily watch this performer perhaps one day bring the same character to life in a solo performance exploring the extraordinary story of the cameleers.
Alexis West takes on the role of Dulcie Newchurch, a character based on Boehme's grandmother, who we meet at various ages and stages of life. West’s on-stage characterization exhibited some convincing moments but at other times was a little awkward, though Dulcie’s dignity always shone. Her on screen appearances as Munarto were compelling, though the filmed sequences themselves were an odd mix of realistic natural settings, 1840s landscape art, woodblock illustrations, and the inclusion of, for example, almost vaudevillian cut-outs to signify waves.
The interplay of these two characters traces a trajectory of friendship from when sixteen-year-old Dulcie attempts to steal from caretaker Goolie’s Mosque garden. Their delightful bond, including a shared love of cooking, is palpable and endearing yet beset with challenges that I won’t pre-empt here with spoilers.
Adelaide creative legends Nic Mollison (lighting design) and Kathryn Sproul (set and costume design) deliver their usual high-quality work beside a team of video and sound designers. The live performance is punctuated by filmed segments as the timeline shifts between these generational stories. I enjoyed the spare stage space and thoughtful lighting states where this very beautiful tale unfolded with three large, arched panels upstage suggesting the mosque surrounds and acting as projection screens. I feel Logan St could yet do with some script refining and a little less back and forth of the ‘kitchen’ set transitions. Even with our insanely good Festival Centre technicians these changes interrupted the flow somewhat.
Mention must be made of Aunty Lynette Crocker and Uncle Lewis O’Brien who deliver a hauntingly beautiful, filmed Welcome to Country where the audience are invited to ritualistically voice three times an intention that “we have not come with ill intent”. Additionally, the musical/song components were a delight and showcased the talents of Sonya Rankine (Music Collaborator & Vocalist) and Feroz Ansari (Music Collaborator & Cultural Consultant).
I applaud the sensitive telling of these stories and the care taken to present the work with respect and love. This is an important work and certainly a personal odyssey that Jacob Boehme generously shares with audiences.
