Bennelong In London at Sydney Theatre Company tickets

“History is a tricky thing. We usually only get one side of the story.”

A tenacious young actor (Guy Simon – The Tempest, The Visitors) is preparing for the role of a lifetime in his tiny apartment. Well, at the moment, it’s just an audition, but he’s hopeful! As he readies himself to become one of Australian history’s most iconic figures, his imagination conjures to life Bennelong himself (Googoorewon Knox – Hamilton, Big Name, No Blankets): a man forced to navigate his way through two cultures colliding at breakneck speed.

Both travel back to the 1780s where Bennelong, now a young Wangal man, is abducted by Governor Phillip. Bennelong becomes his go-between with the Eora people and later, the first Aboriginal man to visit Europe and return. And the eventual husband of a woman called Barangaroo.

Jane Harrison, the singular voice behind the award-winning The Visitors and Stolen reunites with “the most exciting new director of this generation” (Limelight), Ian Michael, to depict this time-bending conversation and burgeoning friendship between two First Nations men seeking to understand each other, themselves and the art of auditioning along the way.