“Picnic at Hanging Rock” is one of the most deeply entrenched stories in Australian culture, recounting the disappearance of three female students and a teacher from a prestigious college in the bush in 1900. This famous story – told by Joan Lindsay's 1967 novel, Peter Weir's 1975 film, and Tom Wright's 2016 play – has captivated the nation's imagination for decades. The story's enduring mystery and exploration of societal constraints contribute to its lasting appeal.
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02-22, 2025Iain Michael once worked at the Malthouse Theatre box office, selling tickets to Wright's adaptation, directed by Matthew Lutton, which premiered in 2016. Nine years later, Michael, a Wilman Noongar actor and director, is bringing the story to a new audience with a Sydney Theatre Company (STC) production. What drew Michael to a work that has been staged so many times already? His unique perspective promises a fresh interpretation of the classic tale.
Michael told ABC National's "The Stage Show," "Whenever I direct anything, I always ask myself, 'Why this play? Why this story now?'" In this case, it was an opportunity to apply an Indigenous perspective to a beloved post-colonial classic. He stated, "Theatre allows us to tell stories, but also to reinterpret stories, and to breathe life into familiar narratives." This approach aims to reveal new layers of meaning within the well-known narrative.
Michael's career began with performing in plays for children at local festivals in the Western Australian coastal town of Bunbury. Performing offered a way to escape a sometimes-traumatic childhood. At school, he joined the choir, played clarinet and piano, and appeared in local theatrical productions. He said that playing new characters and exploring their worlds "took me somewhere else." "That feeling never really went away." This early exposure to performance ignited a lifelong passion.
His grandmother fostered his love of storytelling from a young age. They would watch movies together, and when he stayed with her during school holidays, she would take him to the library. He said, "She would give me free rein, and I could pick out whatever books I wanted." His grandmother – who arrived in Australia alone from Scotland when she was 17 – encouraged the young Michael to pursue his dreams. He said, "(She taught me) that imagination can take you anywhere." Her unwavering support was instrumental in shaping his artistic path.
When Michael finished high school in the mining town of Collie, he moved to Perth to study journalism. There, a chance conversation with his aunty Lynette Narkle – a respected actor and director who served as the university's Indigenous education officer – set him on a different path. He told her he was having doubts about journalism, and she asked him why he didn't choose acting. For Michael, who had always considered an acting career to be out of reach, it was a revelatory moment, and he told her he would think about it. This conversation sparked a significant shift in his career aspirations.
He said, "Within a week, I'd dropped out of that course." The following year, he enrolled in the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts' (WAAPA) 12-month Aboriginal Performance course, whose alumni include "The Moogai" star Shari Sebbens and Meyne Wyatt. Michael said, "For me, that place was like Disneyland." "You were there every day, nine hours a day, learning the deep foundations of being a performer and a creator." The immersive program provided him with the essential skills and confidence to pursue his passion.
He went on to join Perth's Indigenous theatre company, Yirra Yaakin, and later, Melbourne's Ilbijerri Theatre Company. He made a living as an actor but hadn't yet secured roles on major stages like the Melbourne Theatre Company or the Malthouse. He said, "Those were the places I wanted to be (but) unfortunately, I wasn't seeing people like me on those stages at that time." This lack of representation fueled his desire to create opportunities for Indigenous performers.
In 2014, Michael and a friend discussed Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care. This was an issue that enraged Michael. "Those statistics just shocked me so much. In those moments you feel so helpless, and I thought, 'What can I do? ... How do we make sure that people don't forget about the Stolen Generations?'" he said. "Because it's not a past thing, it's very much a present thing that we're still dealing with, and it's still continuing." This injustice motivated him to use his art as a form of activism.
His response "as an actor, as a creator, (and) as an Aboriginal man" was to turn to theatre. He collaborated with She Said Theatre's theatre-makers Penny Harpham and Seanna van Helten to create "HART," a one-man show based on the testimonies of the Stolen Generations. The play premiered at the 20-seater Parlour Room at the Melbourne Fringe Festival in 2015 and became an instant hit. The play became a powerful platform for sharing the stories of those affected.
Michael said, "We sold out every night." "HART" won three Melbourne Fringe Festival awards – the Best Emerging Indigenous Artist Award and two tour-ready awards – which enabled Michael to take the play on a sold-out tour of Australia and New Zealand. Performing "HART" brought with it a huge sense of responsibility to the survivors of the Stolen Generations, whom Michael often met in the foyer after performances. The awards helped amplify the play's reach and impact.
He said, "I can't tell you how many times (people) would come up to me afterwards and tell me that I was the first person they'd told that they were stolen to, which is an incredible thing." "I always felt like that work was bigger than me." While creating the script for "HART," Michael discovered that his father was also a member of the Stolen Generations. He said, "I was 25 at the time, and it was the first time my dad had ever told me that he and his siblings were taken away from their father." "It was a turning point in my life." This personal connection deepened his commitment to telling these stories.
Michael was still touring "HART" when Claire Watson, then artistic director of Perth's Black Swan State Theatre Company, invited him to take on his first main stage role in the vampire love story, "Let the Right One In." For the next four years, he was an artist-in-residence at Black Swan. He said, "That was an incredible time because I learned so much, so quickly." "I spent a lot of time in the room watching directors work, and I think I got bitten by the directing bug." This experience provided him with invaluable insights into the art of directing.
Michael made his STC directorial debut in 2023 with a production of British playwright Nick Payne's "Constellations." Prior to that, he had served as assistant director on Kip Williams' critically acclaimed productions of "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." In "Picnic at Hanging Rock," Michael wants to explore the impact of a group of young white women entering a space they shouldn't be in. He aims to examine the themes of colonialism and cultural disruption.
Hanging Rock, a former volcano located 70 kilometers north of Melbourne, is a sacred site for the Dja Dja Wurrung, Woi Wurrung, and Taungurung people. Michael said, "It's a space of initiation and ... transformation. People would be sent to the rock as children and then come back as adults, particularly young men." "The first thing I said to (the creative team) was, 'I think the rock swallowed them.'" "The land took (these young girls) because they disrupted it." His interpretation emphasizes the spiritual significance of the land and the consequences of disrespecting it.
In the STC production, Olivia DeJonge, Kirsty Marillier, Lorinda May Merrypor, Masego Pitso, and Contessa Treffone play five contemporary female students who take turns narrating the story. As the plot unfolds, they begin to inhabit the characters and perform the narrative themselves. In Michael's telling, "Picnic at Hanging Rock" is a story about colonization. This innovative approach aims to engage the audience in a dynamic and thought-provoking way.
He said, "I knew straight away that I couldn't tell this story with five white bodies on stage..." Michael draws out the tensions inherent in a colonial narrative set on unceded land, primarily embodied in the character of Mrs. Appleyard, the school's headmistress. He said, "Mrs. Appleyard is the force of colonialism. She's suppressing the girls. She wants to tame them. She wants to control them." "That is the same thing that was happening to the land and to all the Black people and the Traditional Owners at that time; the land ... was being suppressed, and it wasn't being respected." He uses the play to highlight the ongoing impact of colonialism on Indigenous Australians.
Kuungkari and South Sea Islander actor Lorinda May Merrypor delivers a line that resonates with Michael every time he hears it: "Everything was colonial in 1900." "For me, that line says so much about the work." This simple yet powerful statement encapsulates the central theme of the production.
