Up the Ladder

After a sell-out 2011 season of Stolen, by Jane Harrison, the Aboriginal Centre for Performance Art (ACPA) returns to the stage this year under the guidance of renowned playwright, director and Artistic Director of Queensland Theatre Company, Wesley Enoch to present Up the Ladder, by Roger Bennett.

Showing at the Cremorne Theatre from October 24 to 27, Up the Ladder is an inspiring story about one aboriginal man’s journey from the rough-and-tumble post war boxing tents to become a high profile, professional championship boxer and it is told with the humour and energy of more than fifty ACPA students with their own dynamic style of music, dance and acting.

Enoch has had a long association with the play that also tells the story of aboriginal people in the 1950’s and 60’s – a time when they couldn’t move around the country without special permission and the boxing tents and carnivals gave them the opportunity to make a living and travel with some relative freedom; Roger Bennett’s own father was one of these boxers and a quite renown talent. Enoch contemplates that the boxing ring is, in a way, a metaphor for the struggle of indigenous peoples of that era and hopes audiences will not only enjoy the feel good love story on offer but will also connect with the not-too-distant history of the lives of aboriginal people.

In a recent ABC Radio interview Enoch spoke of his joy in working with the young people of ACPA. The school began at the Metro Arts in the mid-nineties, and describes Up the Ladder as ‘A real showcase for ACPA as a school’. The young people you will see in Up the Ladder represent the next generation of emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait performance artists.

Production:             Up The Ladder
Presented by:         Aboriginal Centre for Performing Arts & Queensland Theatre Company
Venue:                    Cremorne Theatre, QPAC, South Bank, Brisbane
Dates:                     24 Oct – 27 Oct 2012
Booking Website:    www.qpac.com.au
Booking Number:    1800 355 528