Bennelong in London

By Jane Harrison

'What is the measure of a man? He fishes, he fights, he takes a wife. After he dies, his countrymen mourn. That's what's important-not all the novelty of seeing a tiger roar and a thespian act. Fish, fight, wife. Be mourned. By that measure, I was a king.'

Two men, born centuries apart, meet in a living room in 2026.

An urban Blak actor, auditioning for a role. The Aboriginal warrior Bennelong, captured during the time of settlement. Both are attempting to faithfully represent their people and to truth-tell.

When the spirit of Woollarawarre Bennelong arrives in an actor's flat to critique his audition to play Bennelong onstage, the two clash over more than just the delivery of lines. Across one night, they banter and discuss Blak masculinity, courage, romance, and connection to culture, then and now. From award-winning Muruwari playwright Jane Harrison, Bennelong in London asks: what does a sovereign legacy mean, when your successors can only learn it through the accounts of the invader?

'A work of remarkable intellectual architecture-thoroughly researched, astutely considered-yet it never sacrifices emotional immediacy for scholarly rigour.' Suzy Goes See

'This is a play that gives you belly-laughs and tears ... Harrison proves that it is possible to resurrect Aboriginal lives from archival sources that are skewed against them.' Australian Book Review

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1761732838
• ISBN13: 9781761732836
• Release Date: October 2026
• Publisher: Currency Press
• Length: 56 Pages
• Weight: 0.21 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.1" x 5.4"