First Seen: Milk by Dylan Van Den Berg

If you’re going to hide something, you need to be smart about it. 

Spanning two centuries, Milk tracks a conversation between three Aboriginal ancestors on the verge of life-changing moments: an old woman is dying, clutching the stone that should have killed her sealer husband; a middle-aged woman curls her hair in preparation for another date; a young man grapples with the past before plunging headfirst into an uncertain future. Stranded together on an metaphysial Flinders Island off the coast of Tasmania, they attempt to reconcile what came before the onslaught of colonisation with what’s yet to come. Do we own the stories of our ancestors? And does the passage of time undermine a connection to Country? Milk is a story of longing, connection and the ghosts of the past.
Be part of the creative development process and give us your feedback at this work-in-progress showing.

THE PLAYWRIGHT
Dylan Van Den Berg
Dylan is a Palawa writer/performer with family connections to the Bass Strait Islands and the northeast of Tasmania. Recently, his play Way Back When won the Griffin Award (2020), was highly commended for the Max Afford Award, and was shortlisted for the Patrick White Playwrights Award and the QLD Premier’s Drama Award. Currently, it is being developed through Darlinghurst Theatre Company’s Next in Line program. Other writing for performance includes Milk (The Street Theatre, 2020), which was shortlisted for the Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Prize, The Camel (Fringe at the Edge, 2020),  and Blue: a misery play (The Street Theatre, 2017). In 2019, he was selected to participate in Playwriting Australia’s masterclass with Patricia Cornelius. He is currently adapting a new Australian musical, Dot and the Kangaroo, with Liz Hobart and Bryce Halliday. 

Cast Lincoln Elliott, Roxanne McDonald, Laila Thaker
Director Gin Savage
Sound Designer Peter Bailey

Cultural Consultant  Gaye Doolan

Lend an Ear: Living Arts Canberra

Street Talk: Getting to know: Peter Bailey

Learn More: Canberra Weekly | Canberra Times

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About First Seen
Ever wondered about the steps a writer takes to develop works for the theatre? Or how new plays and performance works are chosen for upcoming seasons?
The ever popular FIRST SEEN: new works-in-progress offers Canberra audiences the opportunity to be part of our creative process helping The Street  progress performance works to production-ready stage. First Seen offers a unique insight into development and is a vital part of our planning for future years as we seek to bring original and diverse Canberra stories to the stage.
Each writer has a dedicated workshop offering time, space, support, and expertise.  Canberra audiences (that's you) are given the opportunity to participate in the development process through the public showings where we open up the floor for a conversation with playwright, director, dramaturg and the actors. By sharing your thoughts with the creative teams you help assist us progress the works to production and get a sneak peek into Canberra’s ingenious artistic community.
FIRST SEEN is a major investment in new ACT work and is supported by the ACT Government through artsACT.

ONLINE | LIMITED PLACES | DURATION: 100 MINUTES