English - Stolen

Stolen

Dialogue reveals how spoken language expresses meaning not only at the spoken level but through the implied meaning. It can be said that what’s left out of a conversation is sometimes more important than what is put in. Jane Harrison’s Stolen is an honest and compassionate play that follows the lives of five aboriginal kids who have been stolen from their families as part of the governments’ assimilationist agenda. Harrison employs a range of theatrical and written techniques to highlight the notion of a traumatic environment. Dialogue is also evident in Jamie Oliver’s cooking special where on stage he uses up beat and joyful dialogue to interact with the audience. Edna’s hymn by Barry Humphries is a satirical hymn about an old lady who tells us how good Australia is.

Stolen is a powerful play that highlights the trauma and alienation felt by the children both as children and as adults. The opening scene ‘Arriving’ is particularly effective due mainly to the lack of dialogue. Harrison employs mime, pause, body language and facial expressions to convey meaning in the unintended dialogue. ‘Arriving’ begins with the children standing diagonally across a sparse stage with a didgeridoo droning ominously in the background. The characters stand diagonally with the whitest at the front to symbolise the categorisation and racist environment. In an optimistic tone Ruby says “My mums coming for me” but through the context of the play and Ruby’s body language we know that she won’t see her mum for a very long time, if ever. This dialogue and its simplicity reveal the nature of the Aboriginal experience.

Most scenes reveal the underlying themes of trauma, violence, abuse and racism. “Unspoken abuse 1, 2, and 3” highlights through repetition of the title the frequent abuse of these kids. In “Unspoken abuse 1 and 2” Ruby is confronted with the probing chants of the other kids “What did he do to ya”, Ruby responds literally refusing to give into their torments “I promised not to tell”. Childish language is used “What did he give to ya” to highlight the fact that even these young children know through her unintended dialogue that she has been abused, Ruby responds with “Gave me a doll”. The doll Ruby slings around is symbolic of the innocence she has lost. In “Unspoken abuse 3” Jimmy echoes the view of Ruby, but in even simpler dialogue as he doesn’t speak a word. Through these silences and pauses the suggestion of sexual abuse is strong despite being indirect.

Jamie Oliver’s on stage antics is full of colloquialisms “Ya’ll right” this enables him to interact with his audience. The dialogue reveals his intentions of persuasion as he wants people to like him because this is how he makes a living. Oliver’s personality comes through in his cooking as it is easy going, fun and interesting. “Do ya want some bubbly. Love” once again emphasises his audience interaction. Dialogue in Stolen highlights the repressed and limited world that they live in however Oliver’s dialogue reflects his essential optimism thus dialogue gives insights