1938: An Opera

Have the semi-regular outbreaks of racist violence and xenophobia in our society left you yearning for an alternative Australian history? Idly daydreaming that, say, an Aboriginal activist banded together with Italian anarchists and Chinese communists in the early-20^th Century to combat explicitly racist federal politics with acts of song, dance, and historical re-enactments?

Well this is a coincidence, because the writers of 1938: An Opera had the exact same idea.

Presented by Union House Theatre for the Melbourne Fringe, 1938 is a cross-cultural reimagining of a late-`30s Australia marred by the White Australia Policy and witnessing its first major aboriginal protest. An enormous musical theatre production, the show threads a remarkable number of thematic concerns, multi-lingual performers, and political issues together.

“Tapping your feet as you question your political assumptions.”… I don’t think I’ve ever heard a better tagline.

WHEN: Thursday 4 October – Saturday 13 October. All performances 7.30pm, with 11am matinee on Fri 12 Oct.
WHERE: The Open Stage, The University of Melbourne, 757 Swanston Street, Parkville
WEB: melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/1938-an-opera/