Female Transport delivers fascinating insight into Australia’s convict past

The Old Mill Theatre is taking a trip back to 1807 at the end of April with a play set aboard a convict ship on its way to Australia. Female Transport, directed by Hywel Williams, follows the story of six women convicts on their six-month journey aboard the Sydney Cove and their determination to survive the conditions below the decks. Actor Phil Barnett, playing Sarge in the play, said that while Female Transport is classified as a drama there are plenty of lighter moments and earthy humour as the six women try to get the better of their captors. “While the women are treated with indifference and brutality, which was considered appropriate in the early 19th century, they survive by their wits, determination and sheer cunning,” he said. “My character is determined to make them obey, contrasted with the surgeon who tries to ensure the women are treated reasonably. “The women are all strong individuals forced by circumstances to confront their dire situation and, in doing so, come to a realisation they are more likely to survive the trip and penal colony if they face everything together. “Over the course of the ship’s journey, the women become ready to tackle the unknown land of Australia and make it a more just place than the England they left behind.” Written by Steve Gooch in 1973, Hwyel Williams has taken on the job of directing Female Transport for the Old Mill Theatre, five years after he originally directed it for Phoenix Theatre. “Hywel enjoy the production so much in 2005 he’s been itching to do it again ever since,” Barnett said. Playwright Gooch is an experienced dramatist Steve and author of more than 40 scripts. His career as a writer and teacher includes stage plays, adaptations, radio and screenplays, as well as the popular series The Cut Shakespeare. More than 500 productions of Female Transport have been staged around the world since it was written and was described by The Guardian as “a tough, realistic and detailed account of the hardships endured by six female convicts transported to Australia in the early 19th century”. Joining Barnett in the cast are Kirstie Francis, Kyla Jones, Melissa Kiiveri, Jocelyn O’Neil, Kate O’Sullivan, Ariel Simone, Damien Nott, Adam Dear and Tim Prosser. Female Transport plays at 8pm, April 23, 24, 28, 29, May 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8 with a 2pm matinee on May 2. Tickets are $20, $15 concession – book on 9367 8719. The heritage-listed Old Mill Theatre is on Mends Street, South Perth, opposite the Windsor Hotel.