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Dylan Van Den Berg's 'The Chosen Vessel' adaptation to premiere at The Street Theatre

Phoebe Blogg - June 30, 2025

Promotional material for The Chosen Vessel by Dylan Van Den Berg. (Image: The Street Theatre)

Dylan Van Den Berg's adaptation of Barbara Baynton's gothic horror story The Chosen Vessel will open at The Street Theatre on August 9.

The award-winning Palawa playwright's vision is a bold re-imagining of the 1896 classic exploring the isolation and oppression experienced by women in the Australian bush in the 19th century.

Van Den Berg (Milk, Whitefella Yella Tree), is one of this country's most significant young playwrights, having won the Griffin Award, two AWGIES, the David Williamson Prize, the Victorian Premier's Literary Award, and two NSW Premier's Literary Awards.

*Dylan Van Den Berg. (Image: Alex Vaughan)*

A young Aboriginal woman lives in the bush with her young child. One day a white Swagman arrives, asking for food and water, and her fears about the 'white' ghosts who occupy the land begin to take hold.

Van Den Berg sets out to 're-truth' the past and carve out a meaningful place for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in his adaptation of Baynton's The Chosen Vessel, his 2022 Rodney Seaborn award-winning play commissioned by The Street.

Expanding the colonial world to show the various angles through which colonial violence was/is enacted, Berg aligns his adaptation with the original story in its portrayal of the reality isolated women faced at that time.

"I'm thrilled to be premiering The Chosen Vessel on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country. This story was incubated here, tested creatively here and it feels only right that it is fully realised here, too," he said.

Under the direction of Kalkadoon woman and Andrew Cameron Fellow Abbie-lee Lewis (An Ox Stand On My Tongue, Sappings), Torres Strait Islander (Meriam/Wagadagam) and Indian (Ratlamwali) actor Laila Thaker and award-winning Australian actor Craig Alexander bring to life multiple characters in this Aboriginal gothic horror drama that invites viewers to reflect on what we chose to see – and what we wilfully ignore.

With an imaginative creative team of Angie Matsinos (Set), Leah Ridley (Costume), Nathan Sciberras (Lighting) and Kyle Sheedy (Sound), the director and designers conjure the gothic genre space as the intimate Street 2 theatre is transformed back to the late 19th century.

The Chosen Vessel will be on from the 9th – 14th of August 2025 at The Street Theatre.

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