Let’s Talk…The Arts with Callan Purcell
This week on Let’s Talk…The Arts, we take to the stage with the multi-talented Wiradjuri performer Callan Purcell to talk theatre, musicals, and what it’s like to play the villain in the smash-hit musical Hamilton. In this joyful and wide-ranging conversation, Rachael and Callan reflect on the specific power of theatre and music as modes of storytelling, and the resonance for First Nations traditions of storytelling and oral history with contemporary theatre arts.
And they think through the complexity and possibility of shows like “Hamilton”: what it means for Callan as a First Nations person to be part of telling a story like this; the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people taking on roles like this; and also the limits and challenges of progressive or race-blind casting while the stories being told remain the same.
A juicy and rich conversation that will have you itching to take yourself to the theatre. So sit back and enjoy this glimpse behind the curtains of the Broadway-hit musical, Hamilton.