Redfern Renaissance

Redfern Renaissance returns to celebrate the revolutionary art and activism of the 1970s National Black Theatre in Redfern. Wiradjuri Yuin actor Angeline Penrith has curated a new and expanded series of performance readings and discussions to honour the trailblazers of Blak theatre in Australia.   

In pre-gentrification 1970s Redfern, artists including Bob Maza, Robert Merrit, Paul and Isabel Coe, Gary Foley and Gary Williams started the National Black Theatre, inspired by the Harlem, New York theatre of the same name.   

Redfern’s theatre grew out of street performances at protests and quickly became a focal point of Blak activism. Through 1972 to 1977, NBT helped kickstart a broader movement for First Nations rights and recognition. Redfern Renaissance pays tribute to those ground-breaking works and artists, keeping the flame of their memory burning bright.