Whitefella Yella Tree | La Boite Theatre

Image: Prudence Upton

Whitefella Yella Tree is the Romeo & Juliet of our times. Ty is River Mob, and Neddy is Mountain Mob. Representing their different communities, to exchange information about the visitors, they meet at the full moon, under the exotic lemon tree. Youithful banter moves on to a heavy and passionate romance; they fall in love, and want to be together. But this is a time of great change; a beautiful future is not for them as it’s the early 19th century, and their Country is about to be declared ‘Australia’.

Image: Prudence Upton

The La Boite debut of award-winning Palawa playwright Dylan Van Den Berg deserves a sold-out close to its short run. Whitefella Yella Tree is co-directed by Griffin Theatre Company’s Artistic Director Declan Greene with Wiradjuri and Worimi theatremaker Amy Sole—and benefits from the skills and support of  Andrea James (Dramaturg) and Baylee Turner (Intimacy coordinator). This is a clever, and sometimes funny, piece of writing that addresses big issues through a sensitively told story.

As the promotional material notes, Whitefella Yella Tree is ‘a heart-warming and heartbreaking story about love, Country, and Blak queerness.’  It’s a special production because of the work of the two actors: Pertame and Tiwi actor Joseph Althouse (Ty), and Danny Howard (Neddy), who has Barrd, Yamatji, Noongar, Bunuba and Ngadju ties.

Althouse establishes Ty as a sensitive nephew who feels the increasing pressure of learning story in a time when Elders are dying, and the community is having to move away from sacred sites. Howards’ Neddy is an enthusiastic warrior and caring brother, who is trying to survive as well as protect those he loves, while also struggling to reconcile his experiences in the whitefella world with his family ties and feelings for Ty. Their meetings are all too brief, and the actors impressively portray the youthful relationship-building and young love, through to the lover’s fragmented contact, and the aging effect of their individual experiences over the following years. Together they share the highs and incredible lows of a world that is turned upside down, at a time when they just want to enjoy their relationship and perhaps have the chance to grow old together.

Image: Prudence Upton

This production of Whitefella Yella Tree has a strong creative team. I was intrigued by the set, and love the design that creates a space that works so well as the meeting place, as well as reflecting the story of the lovers across each side of the river. For me, the inverted presentation of the tree, where the young lovers are often looking up into tree roots that also double as an occasional canopy, reinforces the sense of a world turning upside down (Mason Browne, Design). The leaping into the space also suggests the shifting between the whitefella world of Christianity, contrasting it with the Dreamtime story and knowledge of the indigenous residents.

Steve Toulmin’s composition and sound design sensitively reflects the spoken word, contrasting the ominous presence of the visitors with the natural world and running river. Kelsey Lee and Katie Sfetkidis’ lighting design is an interesting contrast between the red-light flashes, and delineation of space for the sleepless nights apart and moments of intimacy together. Finally, the use of contemporary costumes for the young people is a great choice, although I was surprised that the ‘red coat’ uniform was not perhaps substituted with more contemporary garments such as worn by members of the army or police. A question to raise at the 31 October artist talk, perhaps.

Apologies… but this may be a spoiler… so I suggest only reading my final lines after you have seen this show. The closing scene is a very special moment of theatre, cleverly allowing the audience to realise the messages that are embedded within the story that Ty is so anxious to recall, and which Neddy can now tell. I wonder if the final holding of the axe suggests that the lovers’ log, on which they float away on the river, might finally be ready for their last journey. Another question for that artist talk.

Whitefella Yella Tree played at La Boite Theatre from 23 October-8 November 2025. 90 minutes, no interval. The reviewer attended the Tuesday 28th October performance (6:30pm).

Image: Prudence Upton