No Sugar

JACK DAVIS was born in Perth in 1917 and brought up at Yarloop and the Moore River native settlements. He first began to learn the language and culture of his people, the Nyoongarah of South-West of Western Australia, while living on the Brookton Aboriginal Reserve. He later worked as a stockman in the North-West which brought him into contact with tribal society.

He became an activist on behalf of his people and from 1967–71 was director of the Aboriginal Centre in Perth. In 1971 he became the first chairman of the Aboriginal Trust in West Australia and from 1972–77 was managing editor of the Aboriginal Publications Foundation. He was a member of the Institute of Aboriginal Studies in Canberra and established a course for Aboriginal writers at Murdoch University. He was also a member of the Aboriginal Arts Board of the Australia Council.

His first full-length play,
Kullark
, a documentary on the history of Aboriginals in West Australia, was first presented in 1979. It was followed by
The Dreamers
(1983), which toured Australia under the auspices of the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust. Following the success of this tour, the Trust commissioned
No Sugar
for the 1985 Festival of Perth and
Honey Spot
, a children's play, for the 1985 Come Out Festival in Adelaide. In 1986
No Sugar
was re-mounted by the Trust for a season at the World Theatre Festival in Vancouver.

For services to his people Jack Davis received the British Empire Medal in 1977; in 1985 he became a member of the Order of Australia, received the Sydney Myer Performing Arts Award, an Hon. D.Litt from Murdoch University and was elected Citizen of the Year in West Australia. In 1986
No Sugar
was co-winner of the Australian Writers Guild award for the best stage play of the year.

The unique collaboration and friendship between Jack Davis and Andrew Ross dates back to 1979 when Andrew directed Jack's first play,
Kuflask
, which toured extensively in Western Australia for the Perth Playhouse Company. By 1982 the Swan River Stage Company had been formed and Jack Davis's second play
The Dreamers
was seen at that year's Festival of Perth.

The production was such an important step in the history of Aboriginal drama that the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust toured the Playhouse Company's re-production for seventeen weeks around Australia. For many of the cast of ten it was the first time out of their home State, but they adapted to venues as different as the Sydney Opera House and the historic Theatre Royal in Hobart.

It was important that more Australians, and indeed the world, had an opportunity to learn about Aboriginality through the words of this amazing storyteller; so in 1984 the AETT commissioned two more plays with the support of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and the Literature Board of the Australia Council. The result was
Honey Spot
, a play for children that deals with the issues of race relations and the conservation of our environment; and
No Sugar
.
No Sugar
tells the story of a family's fight for survival during the Depression years and was staged in a semi-promenade setting in which the audience followed the players on their journey through the action of the play.

The first season of
No Sugar
, directed by Andrew Ross and presented as the inaugural production of the newly-formed Western Australian Theatre Company in association with the Trust, was an exciting success at the 1985 Festival of Perth. The production was seen by the producer of the World Theatre Festival and this resulted in an invitation to represent Australia at Vancouver's Expo '86. Performing alongside the Beijing People's Art Theatre from China and the Kirov Ballet from the USSR,
No Sugar
proved a sell-out success and received a standing ovation from its audience. After a further season as guests of the National Arts Centre in Ottawa the Company returned to Melbourne to promenade with an equally responsive audience around the grand old Fitzroy Town Hall.

Wendy Blacklock

Director, Australian Content Department

Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust, Sydney

No Sugar
was first performed by the Playhouse Company in association with the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust at the Maltings, North Perth, for the Festival of Perth on 18 February 1985 with the following cast:

Directed by Andrew Ross

Designed by Steve Nolan

Choreography and music by Richard Walley

The play was then revised and remounted for participation in the Expo '86 World Theatre Festival in Vancouver. This version was first performed on 15 May 1986 at the West End Community Centre, Vancouver, with the following cast:

Directed by Andrew Ross

Designed by Steve Nolan

Choreography and music by Richard Walley

The play is designed for a dispersed setting on an open stage. On one side is the Avon Valley town of Northam, including the Police Station with two cells, a main street and the Government Well Aboriginal Reserve. Also on this side should be the office, in Murray Street, Perth, of the Chief Protector of Aborigines, with an entrance front and rear for whites and blacks respectively. The scene on the other side is the Moore River Native Settlement, near Mogumber in the Victoria Plains district. The areas include the Superintendent's office, the Millimurra tent and camp at Long Pool, a clearing in the pine plantation and a dais and flagpole. Other parts of the stage serve as an area by the railway line at Moolumbeenee and a meeting room of the Western Australian Historical Society.