Funny and incredibly moving, Black Cockatoo is a new artistic collaboration between iconic Australian writer Geoffrey Atherden (Mother and Son, Babakiueria) and recent Sydney Festival Artistic Director Wesley Enoch (Black Diggers, The 7 Stages of Grieving).

More than 150 years ago, 13 brave Aboriginal men in Western Victoria picked up their cricket bats and embarked on a treacherous voyage to England and into the unknown – all in the name of sport. Risking illness and persecution, Australia’s first international cricket team – including Australia’s first Indigenous sporting hero, Johnny Mullagh – amazed the English crowds with astonishing talent, personality and grit. They should have returned to Australia as celebrated heroes. Instead, they came back to find the world they once knew was no longer there.

This is not just a story about cricket – this is a story of strength, resistance, hope and possibility. When a group of young present-day activists sneak into the Wimmera Discovery Centre to expose the truth of what happened to Johnny and his teammates, a hidden legend of triumph and tragedy unfolds.

Playwright: Geoffrey Atherden 
Director: Wesley Enoch ( Noonuccal Nuugi)
Associate Director: Yolande Brown (Bidjara Clan of Kunja Nation)
Cultural Consultant: Uncle Richard Kennedy (Wotjobaluk Traditional Owner and Descendant of First XI Team Member Dick - a - Dick)
Set and Costume Designer: Richard Roberts 
Lighting Designer: Trent Suidgeet
Composer and Sound Designer: Steve Francis 
Dramaturg: Jane Fitzgerald
Assistant Stage Manager: Vanessa Martin
Costume Supervisor: Sara Kolijn 
Associate Lighting Designer: Shiloh Jarrett (Gumbyngirr/Anmatjere)
Sound Design Intern: Tim Gray 
Image credit: Christian Trinder 
Cast: Joseph Althouse (Wunujaka), Phoebe Grainer (Djungan), Mark Nannup (Yamaji/Noongar), Colin Smith (Jagera), Kyle Shilling, Mema Munro (Marriamu)