The acclaimed play The Visitors is making its international debut with a series of shows taking place in New York City.
From January 21 to February 1, The Visitors will be staged at Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC) as part of the renowned Under the Radar Festival.
The season marks the first time the award-winning production has been performed outside Australia.
Written by Muruwari playwright Jane Harrison and directed by Quandamooka man Wesley Enoch, The Visitors centres on a pivotal day in 1788, when First Nations leaders gather to debate how to respond to the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Harbour.
The play presents these events entirely from an Aboriginal perspective, blending deep cultural knowledge with sharp humour and a unique insight.
Harrison said the origins of the play were closely tied to ongoing conversations about Australia's national identity and the meaning of January 26.
"A few things coalesced," she told Native News Online.
"There was increased discussion about January 26 being Australia Day where we celebrate being Australian, a bit like 4th of July.
"But for Aboriginal Australians, January 26 represents the day the First Fleet arrived in Sydney Cove and the colonisation of our country began. I wanted to write about the event of January 26, but from the First Nations perspective."
Harrison said the themes explored in The Visitors speak to shared experiences of colonisation across continents, and she hopes Native and Indigenous audiences in the US see reflections of their own histories on stage.
"As First Peoples, we have a shared experience of colonisation even if the details are different," Harrison said.
"I hope you can recognise that sense of bewilderment, loss, anger hope, resilience and steadfastness that we have gone through as a result. I hope our story gladdens your heart."
Director Wesley Enoch said the creative process was grounded in memory and lived connection.
"We visited the sites where the play is set and elders took us around showing us where boats landed and water was taken, where shots were fired and where their ancestors watched," Enoch said.
"The oral histories are as powerful as the written histories."
For New York audiences, Enoch hopes the production encourages reflection on colonisation.
"The Visitors asks people to look into their own history and see there are other perspectives and points of view," he said.
"The saying goes that the victor writes the history but those who remain never really forget."
Despite the weight of its subject matter, Harrison believes the play also offers moments of connection and warmth.
"I hope they laugh, as even a story about colonisation can have laughs.
"I hope they are moved, because it is a very human story about being on the cusp of profound change."
PAC NYC has acknowledged the significance of hosting the production on Lenape land, recognising the shared experiences of Indigenous peoples across continents.
