ANTHONY NEWCASTLE

Anthony has worked as a freelance artist with Kooemba Jdarra for the past three years. During this time, Anthony has devised and presented a number of workshops and performances for the company and in 1999 Kooemba approached Anthony with a view to developing and producing his play Picannini Dreaming. Picannini Dreaming introduces young children to aspects of Aboriginal culture by employing a lively and entertaining narrative in which the central character is a kookaburra. Following the play's success with local schoolchildren, Queensland Arts Council took the decision to include Kooemba's production as part of its school program and the play toured to venues throughout Queensland in 2002 and 2003. Yarnin' Up is Anthony's first major play for adult audiences.