A large block of ice is suspended by seven strong ropes. It is melting, dripping onto a freshly turned grave of red earth. The performance area is covered in a thin layer of black powder, framed by a scrape of white. Within the space there are projection surfaces. Initially unseen to the audience, a suitcase containing photographs is inside the grave.

Words and images are projected onto the performance space which enables context and adds depth and meaning, and helps the audience comprehend the play as it moves across time and place. A projection of ‘1788’, drawing on the historical and social context, takes us immediately to the arrival of the First Fleet, while projecting the letter ‘Z’ on the young girl is a clever, symbolic way to show the forceful imposition of English language on Indigenous culture. The projection of words throughout the play gives the audience an insight into the woman’s emotional state without explanation, showing not telling.

The play has few but effective props that are primarily symbolic. The ice, the suitcase and photographs, the wooden cross, red earth and the eucalyptus leaves are all laden with meaning and allegory but the meaning of these symbols alters throughout the performance. The melting ice is always there and at times resembles the tears of a people grieving for their land and culture or the melting of Indigenous people’s culture or the coldness of white Australia.

Family heritage and Indigenous culture is emblematised through the suitcase and photographs. A case of a people’s stories and grief is waiting for the time to express itself in a positive, caring environment, waiting for reconciliation. The wooden cross and earth work effectively to capture the loss and death as well as land ownership and Aboriginal land rights. The eucalyptus leaves are a connection to nature, earth and ritual.

The colours of the floor, reminiscent of tribal paint, black powder, red earth, and a scrape of white can be seen as a relentless infringement of the white settlers and white culture on the red land and black people who are the original inhabitants of the land.