Darwin Festival Review: The Cook, the Queen and the Kelly

With the festival well under way, there has been many a show that grinders have attended. One of these is the locally produced and written play, the Cook, the Queen and the Kelly. Ausdance Australia really put on a great show, with a combination of new and old dance styles and drama.

The play starts with the ‘Kelly’, Ken Lee, played by Kin Leong, who begins to set up a small Chinese Ceremony. However, he is interrupted by Marshall Cookson, a descendant of James Cook, who is following a trail across the top end of Australia that his descendant was alleged to have taken. The pair begins discussion of their ancestors, and the audience is treated to a showing of Ned Kelly himself, played by Nick Powers, and James Cook, played by Daniel Cunningham.

Before their discussion can get much further, Queen Elizabeth, played by Gail Evans, interrupts them. Initially thought of as crazy, the pair realise they are in fact dealing with royalty. Jess Devereux, playing the younger version of the queen, shows the audience the last time she was in the Northern Territory. As the play continues, each of the three main characters discuss their ancestors, or themselves, and what they have to do with the Territory. Meanwhile, dancers act out the past events the trio are discussing, resulting in a dynamic dance play, a show which few criticisms can be made of.

So, while the play has stopped showing, there are still a few events left in the festival calendar of similar calibre, and there will be future shows from Dance Tracks NT. Hope to see you there!