For centuries, the legacy of Woollarawarre Bennelong has been caught in a polarizing tug-of-war. Was the Wangal man a tragic sellout who succumbed to colonial influences, or a brilliant, pioneering diplomat navigating the violent dawn of modern Australia? It is this very tension that award-winning Muruwari playwright Jane Harrison seeks to explore in her captivating new play, Bennelong in London, now showing at the Sydney Theatre Company (STC).

The historical significance of Bennelong is immense. In 1793, inside a London townhouse, he performed the first-ever Aboriginal song on English soil. He had traveled across the globe with Governor Arthur Phillip, not merely as a captive, but out of a self-determined mission to educate the British about his people. Yet, history has often painted him with a reductive brush. Harrison’s new work aims to shatter those simplistic narratives.

A Contemporary Encounter with History

Set in the present day, the production follows Sebastian (played by Guy Simon), a contemporary Indigenous actor struggling to record an audition tape for a one-man show about Bennelong. In his frustration, Sebastian inadvertently summons the spirit of Bennelong himself (played by Googoorewon Knox). What follows is a clever, funny, and deeply moving dialogue that bypasses the dry tone of a traditional historical drama to interrogate modern Black identity and cultural survival.

'It’s a play, so it’s playful,' Harrison explains. 'I certainly haven’t avoided some of the harder aspects of history... But I do it through the lens of the modern-day character interrogating him about his experience. Hopefully, it’s an interesting way to tell this story that has resonance now in terms of Aboriginal urban lives in the colony.'

Harrison, who recently won the prestigious $30,000 Mona Brand Award for Stage and Screen Writers, conceived the idea while researching her previous acclaimed play, The Visitors. She realized that Bennelong's lived experience was far more nuanced than what was preserved in official records.

Countering the 'White Eye' of History

To flesh out Bennelong as a three-dimensional figure, Harrison had to look past the biased colonial gaze. 'That is a tricky thing to do, to flesh out a full three-dimensional person from what has been recorded by the white eye,' she says. She drew inspiration from the strong Aboriginal men in her own life, imagining a man who strategically chose to learn everything he could about the colonizers to protect and inform his community.

During a writing residency in Rome in 2024, Harrison experienced living in a foreign country without knowing the language—a feeling she says mirrored Bennelong’s own isolation and bravery during his time in London.

For actor Googoorewon Knox, bringing Bennelong to life at the Wharf Theatre—just a stone's throw from where Bennelong lived on the Parramatta River and the point that now bears his name—is a profound experience. Knox notes that Bennelong’s intelligence was extraordinary, navigating a colonial society that actively debated whether Indigenous people were even human.

'Bennelong wasn't simple. He might have been opportunistic, but he wasn't a fool,' Knox says. 'It takes more than just a simple person to get there.'

A Story That Demands to Be Heard

Upon his return to Australia, Bennelong eventually rejected British customs, returned to his traditional lifestyle, and became a highly respected Elder among the Wallumedegal people. Yet colonial obituaries cruelly dismissed him as a 'thorough savage' who could not be civilized.

Directed by STC resident director Ian Michael, Bennelong in London serves as a vital reclamation of history. By staging this performance in the heart of Sydney, Harrison and her team hope to prompt audiences to reflect on the true, unfiltered roots of the nation.

'Australia is such a big country now,' Harrison says. 'There’s people from all over the world living here, but we need to know the roots of this country.'