Bogga - Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble

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Thu 09 Nov 2017 - Sat 18 Nov 2017

As a child I lived in Annerley and regularly drove past the Boggo Road Gaol. My grandmother always said as we drove past "... and there's the jail where they feed the men bread and water."

I was eager to see the show, 'Bogga' which is currently on at Geoffrey Rush Drama Studio at the University of Queensland which uses verbatim oral histories to explore Queensland's notorious Boggo Road Gaol in the 1970s and 1980s.



Bogga is the result of a partnership between the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble and the Boggo Road Gaol Historical Society, supported by the Brisbane City Council through their Community History grants.

Historian Chris Dawson recorded hundreds of pages of oral histories from a dozen former guards and prisoners, Rob Pensalfini then wove these into a lively theatre script. The script was then revised with the support of the Queensland Theatre Company. The show is now being performed by the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble directed by Rebecca Murphy.



The young actors did an outstanding job of bringing prison life to life. It was interesting chatting to fellow audience members at the premiere. Many lived near the gaol. One former Princess Alexandra hospital nurse remembered prisoners coming to the hospital after swallowing razor blades. Another remembered hearing sirens during the riots. Interesting, most of us had never visited it. Something I must remedy.

PERFORMANCES
Season: 9 - 11 Nov 2017 (Thu-Sat); and 15 - 18 Nov 2017 (Wed-Sat)

Q&A: Thu 16 Nov 2017 (20min Question and Answer session after the show)
Venue: Geoffrey Rush Drama Studio, University of Queensland, Saint Lucia
Times: Evening shows at 7:30pm, Matinée at 2pm

#performing_arts
#theatre
#november
!date 09/11/2017 -- 18/11/2017
%wnbrisbane