Jack Charles V The Crown

An extraordinary tale told by one of Australia’s living treasures, Uncle Jack Charles

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Jack Charles V The Crown made its world premiere on our Fairfax Studio stage as part of Melbourne Festival 2010, and then enthralled audiences once again on the same stage in 2016. You can now watch this incredible production as part of our Vic NAIDOC Week 2020 digital program.

Uncle Jack Charles is an Australian legend: veteran actor, musician, Koori elder and activist, but for a good portion of his 74 years he has also been an addict, a thief and a regular in Victoria’s prisons.

From Stolen Generation to Koori theatre in the 70s, from film sets to Her Majesty’s prisons, Jack Charles V The Crown runs the gamut of a life lived to its utmost. Charles’ unswerving optimism transforms this tale of addiction, crime and doing time into a kind of vagabond’s progress – a map of the traps of dispossession and a guide to reaching the age of grey-haired wisdom.

Accompanied by a three-piece band, this one man show is a theatrical delight brought to us by Australia’s longest running First Nations theatre company.

Available to stream until Friday 24 July, 7pm AEST
Recommended for ages 15+. Contains strong language and adult themes.
Filmed at Belvoir Theatre, 2011

Post-show Q&A

In this post-show panel Rachel Maza, Dr Lou Bennett AM, Rhoda Roberts AO and Edwina Lunn discuss ‘what is the future of First Nations performing arts’. Filmed after Jack Charles V The Crown in 2016 at Arts Centre Melbourne.

Presented by the ILBIJERRI Theatre Company and the Arts Centre Melbourne

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