Three Dresses
Based on book by Wanda Gibson. Adapted by JUTE Theatre Company
“We only got two weeks off mission life each year. When we packed to go away, mum would say, "Don't forget to pack your clothes. Take three dresses and three undies. You know, one to wash, one to wear and one spare.”
Description
When Wanda Gibson was a little girl, her mum would tell her this as they packed to go on holidays. Wanda grew up on Hope Vale Mission in Far North Queensland, and her family were allowed only one short break away from work each year. At their special spot at the beach, they camped in the sandhills, cooked fresh fish on the fire and swam in the ocean.
Beautifully illustrated with Wanda’s paintings, this heart-warming true story celebrates family time, connection to place and finding joy in the simple things, like your favourite three dresses.
The stage adaptation of the multi-award winning Three Dresses book will transform Wanda Gibson’s work into a large-scale, multi-artform theatre experience for family audiences across Australia. Combining acting, singing in Guugu Yimithirr and English, dance, puppetry and video design, it will bring to life Wanda’s joyful family holidays to the coast and her enduring connection to Country and kin. The play will expand upon the book’s historical and political context, sensitively portraying Wanda’s parents’ experiences as members of the Stolen Generations and the realities of mission life, while remaining accessible and uplifting for intergenerational audiences.
The truthtelling element will build on 5 years of archival and oral history research undertaken by Chris Kohn and Guugu Yimithirr researchers Caden Pearson and Teneille Nuggins through the Milbi Nganthanun project (2021-25).
Wanda Gibson – Author and Artist
Raymond Blanco – Director
Phoebe Grainer – Writer and Performer
Tristan Barton – Composer
Tamara Rewse (Things of Foam and Wood) – Puppetry Director and Designer
Lia Pa’apa’a – Early Childhood Arts Engagement Consultant
Liam Maza – Set Design / Scenic Construction Associate
Caden Pearson – Researcher and Dramaturg
Chris Kohn – Executive Artistic Director, JUTE Theatre Company
Monica Stevens – Creative Producer, JUTE Theatre Company
Autism Queensland – Access and Inclusion Partner
Contains references to and and depictions of people are deceased.
Accessibility and inclusion are central to the Three Dresses development. To this end, JUTE is working with Autism Queensland as Access and Inclusion Partner to co-design a plan ensuring the process is inclusive for all arts workers.
Autism Queensland will support JUTE to ensure that all working spaces – including online – will be designed with universal design principles. This includes removing barriers associated with mobility, sensory needs,
psycho-social factors, invisible disabilities and neurodiversity.
Sufficient lead times, reasonable deadlines, predictable routines, and flexible participation options will ensure that all can engage equitably in the process.
All rehearsal and showing venues in Cairns and Hope Vale have been confirmed to provide universal access.
All creatives and personnel will be presented with the opportunity to provide their access needs prior to engagement, with budgets allocated for supports such as sensory adjustments, Quiet Spaces, Welcome
Stories and physical modifications.
Access and Inclusion will be approached through an intersectional lens, with particular focus on First Nations experience, with a majority of the artists identifying as such.
Video containing background information on the Three Dresses
