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English Civil War, Indigenous Australia

Anne McElvoy hears how Caryl Churchill's Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, written during the political turmoil of the mid-1970s, might cast light on today's political landscape.

As Caryl Churchill's Light Shining in Buckinghamshire is revived at The National's Lyttelton Theatre, Anne McElvoy hears how it resonates with current historical research and how a post-English Civil War play which premiered during the political turmoil of the mid-1970s might cast light on today's political landscape with historians Justin Champion and Emma Wilkins.
Light Shining in Buckinghamshire at the National Theatre from April to June.

Anne McElvoy also visits the British Museum's exhibition Indigenous Australia: Enduring Culture in the company of curator Gaye Sculthorpe, herself of Tasmanian aboriginal descent, and hears from australian aboriginal scholar Christine Nicholls about her own experience of living in an aborginal desert community for ten years. Anne McElvoy is then joined in the studio by anthropologist Howard Morphy to discuss the difficulty of translating the concept of Dreamtime into english and the role its related art has played in shaping views of aboriginal history and contemporary frustrations.

Producer: Jacqueline Smith

Image: Nicholas Gleaves (Star) and the company, Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, National Theatre
Photo Credit: Marc Brenner.

Available now

45 minutes

Chapters

  • Indigenous Australia

    Anne visits the British Museum's exhibition in the company of curator Gaye Sculthorpe

    Duration: 12:10

  • Christine Nicholls

    Christine Nicholls talks about Yumari and the exhibition

    Duration: 06:38

  • Howard Morphy

    Howard Morphy discusses the difficulty of translating the concept of Dreamtime

    Duration: 09:41

  • Light Shining in Buckinghamshire

    Historians Justin Champion & Emma Wilkins discuss the play & today's political landscape

    Duration: 16:04

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Anne McElvoy
Interviewed Guest Justin Champion
Interviewed Guest Emma Wilkins
Interviewed Guest Gaye Sculthorpe
Interviewed Guest Christine Nicholls
Interviewed Guest Howard Morphy
Producer Jacqueline Smith

Broadcast

  • Thu 23 Apr 2015 22:00

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