The TV Pilot That Was Too Controversial for the ABC: Basically Black (1973)
Aussie Film Archive recognise the traditional owners of the country where we live and work. We advise that this article contains names, videos, and images of deceased Indigenous individuals.
Comedy is the flip side to tragedy in which Indigenous communities are often well experienced. What the white community doesn’t realise is how much humour is part of our culture...We have been laughing at ourselves for generations. - Kevin Kropinyeri, Aboriginal Comedian from the Ngarrindjeri Nation of the lower River Murray, Lakes and Coorong region in South Australia.
Through storytelling, Blak comedy has always been part of Australia’s history and humour. Although scholars find it difficult to investigate pre-colonised humour practices, traditions of people living in remote areas of Australia and early records found that humour is an integral part of First Nations performances.
The history of the National Black Theatre in Redfern is important in Australian arts. It was a space where First Nations people were able to go express themselves and were able to access a range of services. Basically Black was a theatre performance turned TV pilot and was the first all First Nations people television show in Australia. Although Blak comedy has a long history, Basically Black shows Blak comedy as part of the national identity as well as the importance of representation.
The 1970s in Australia
For First Nations peoples in Australia, the early 1970s was an era of change as they became more politically active in the recognition of their land rights. On January 26 1972, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy was set up on the front lawns of the Old Parliament House, Canberra as a protest for Indigenous land rights. The establishment of the embassy was a result of the McMahon Coalition Government's decision to deny the recognition of Aboriginal land rights and the native title. Instead, they proposed general-purpose leases for a period of 50 years, subject to the condition that Aboriginal people would use the land for reasonable economic and social purposes. However, the rights to minerals and forestry would remain with the Crown. The same year on the 14th of July the Black Moratorium protests and marches began in Redfern and Sydney with around 6,000 marchers. They were under the rallying cry of "Ningla-A-na" (Arrernte for "hungry land"). The demands of the protestors were land ownership, compensation for land seized since 1770, the right and power of Blak communities to control their lives and their land, support for all Blak struggles, Blak Studies and Culture in education, real equality in education and an end to all discriminatory legislation. The Black Moratorium Committee also inspired the National Black Theatre (NBT).
The Beginning of National Black Theatre
The NBT was established by Paul Coe, Gary Foley, Jenny Sheehan, and Lester Bostock. Coe and Sheehan sought funding from the Australia Council for the Arts on behalf of "Black Theatre" to expand their drama workshops and receive training. Regrettably, their request was due to a lack of experience. That did not stop them to deliver activities and be part of land rights movements.
Lester Bostock described the dreams of the NBT in New Dawn magazine in 1973, “National Black Theatre was formed in 1972 to supply [Aboriginal] people with art forms to which they could relate. It grew out of political struggles…those who were not political celebrities found they could become involved as actors and dancers etc. and that they could show their convictions in this way."
Bob Maza got involved in community theatre in Melbourne after Maza had travelled to the United States and been impressed by the political theatre by African Americans and Native Americans. Along with Jack Charles, Maza co-founded the first Aboriginal theatre company, Nindethana, at the Pram Factory in 1971.
In mid-1972 Bob Maza was invited to come to Sydney, to share his experience with the National Black Theatre of Harlem, New York City, and experience writing his own material. His "professional" status attracted the funding that was needed, and $5,500 was granted by the Australia Council. The NBT was established in Redfern and was in the same vicinity as organisations like the Aboriginal Legal Service, Aboriginal Medical Service, Aboriginal Women’s Action Group and Aboriginal Housing Service in Redfern. The members of the NBT were also workers or members of those organisations as well. The centre was a venue for Aboriginal drama but also held workshops in dancing, writing, karate and photography. These activities had relevance to the First Nations peoples and their broader issues of social and economic justice.
The concept for Basically Black evolved not long after Maza undertook an apprenticeship program for directors and actors with the Nimrod Theatre Company in Sydney.
The Rise and Fall of Basically Black
Basically Black put the NBT on the map. The performance was a revue of comedic, satirical, political sketches. It was a response to land ownership and the white Australian attitudes towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. The NBT performed Basically Black at the Nimrod Theatre in Sydney on October 27 1972 and was a successful season before running until 3 December 1972. The final performance coincided with the election and the Gough Whitlam (Labor) victory after two decades of a Liberal government. The cast, crew and audience gathered in the theatre foyer to party and watch the results of the Federal election. The play and the election signifies the shift of a political change in the 70s for the arts.
Due to the success, the NBT toured the Basically Black revue, the NBT travelled in a white bus which had the words ‘Black Theatre’ and ‘Basically Black’. Ted Maza who was involved in the music of the theatre said, “In those days we had a lot of looks and stares of people wondering what all these blackfellas in this bus here.” The tour was meant to visit all Australian states (excluding Tasmania). However, with insufficient funding, they only travelled to New South Wales and Queensland. Another financial issue was the Council of the Arts promised them funding for their performance at the Innisfail Festival in Queensland. However, the funding did not arrive which put enormous pressure on the company.
ABC TV picked up the show to be featured as a pilot for The Comedy Game. The Comedy Game is an Australian TV comedy anthology series that aired in 1971 and 1973. The news comedies were screened as pilots to be a full TV series. This was the first TV program performed by an all-Indigenous cast and led by Blak writers. However, the finalised version of the TV version of Basically Black was heavily censored and politically “watered-down”. NBT founder Gary Foley explained “The first black television show by the ABC, which was a version of Basically Black, had some scripts culled by non-Aboriginal scriptwriters from the original production".
The pilot episode featured Lionel Mouse who fights racism as superhero ‘Superboong’. The word ‘boong’ is an offensive word for First Nations people. Basically Black reclaims the word by using it mockingly. Superboong is described as a stranger from a northern tribe who possess powers greater than mortal Kooris and faster than a killer boomerang. A skit in the episode features Lionel Mouse hearing about a racist incident in a hotel. Lionel leaps into action but he can’t do anything about it due to Aboriginal people being barred to enter hotels. This shows that even superheroes are not allowed to enter hotels and gives emphasis on the racial segregation. The episode also featured black actors wearing white masks whenever taking on white roles.
It was only screened once when it was released. This TV Pilot, highly controversial at the time was a first for First Nations representation on screen. It was the first time middle class white Australians were exposed to the views of Redfern and the larger pan-Aboriginal perspective on colonial dispossession of land through the optics of satire. Nevertheless, the TV version was a success and well received for its satire and commentary, but not enough to make the ABC proceed with a planned series. It later emerged that it was considered too political and provocative for the ABC, who had censored parts of the script.
The NBT received funding from the Department of Aboriginal Affairs over the years after Basically Black and had many successful shows. Their show The Cake Man (1975) by Aboriginal Australian writer Bob Merritt, is notable for being the first play written by an Indigenous Australian person to be published, televised and tour out of Australia. ABC TV made a movie about the performance of the play in 1977. However the same year the movie was released the NBT had to close due to a lack of funding from the government. Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser who is part of the Liberal government declared that cultural activities involving Aboriginal people would no longer be helped by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, but would become the responsibility of the Australia Council. Lester Bostock recalled that the Theatre had applied to the Australia Council for assistance but had received no reply. Due to a lack of funding that made the members of NBT burnt out.
Blak Humour and National Identity
The Australian Government recognises that humour is an important part of being Australian. However, Australian humour can be linked to blatant or casual racism which makes fun of First Nations people and other minority groups living in Australia. That is why Blak Humour is part of changing that ideal and challenges non-Indigenous audiences to put themselves in their shoes.
First Nations people use humour as a way to convince non-Indigenous people to listen and respect their cultural contributions to Australia’s national discourse. Reports claim that the opening night performance of Basically Black mostly consisted of a white crowd. This shows that incorporating others into their cultural ideologies helps support change towards a more diverse national culture and dilutes racist trends.
Blak humour as educational is also shown through Babakiueria (1986) The mockumentary shows how First Nations people are represented in society and takes a sarcastic look at the stereotypes by reversing the roles. Instead of Europeans colonizing and oppressing First Nations peoples, it is First Nations peoples invading the country and dominating the native white Australians instead. The mockumentary is well received and used to educate Australian police officers. This film does fit categorically in Blak humour, but it was written by a white person. This does create a somewhat white lens into First Nations issues. Although this could be seen as problematic, the elements of Blak humour in this film are pertained by the satirical and political representation in the story. (I plan to go in depth about this film one day)
Blak humour is an integral part of national identity. These stories must be done through a First Nations perspective. As First Nations comedians and performers become more recognised and popular, they can become symbols of greater racial tolerance as well as a complexity of opinions.
Legacy of The National Black Theatre and Basically Black
Although the NBT ended that did not stop First Nations peoples from the performing arts and other creative endeavours. The Aboriginal Dance Theatre Redfern, NAISDA Dance College, Bangarra Dance Theatre and Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Cooperative started due to the NBT. Also, well-known First Nations people such as Bob Maza got their big break from it. The legacy that NBT hold is still in Australian arts today.
As for Basically Black, a few decades later ABC produced Black Comedy (2014 - present) which is a sketch comedy show by First Nations people for everyone which is similar to NBT’s sentiment “For and by the people”. Express Yourself (2015) is also another example of ‘Blak Comedy’ which presents Aboriginal comedians across the country with musical performances. The episodes were dedicated to the men and women who were part of NBT.
The representation of First Nations people in Australia particularly in theatre and comedy is slowly improving. If there was an alternate universe where Basically Black was a TV series and was run on ABC TV nationally, the progress for land rights and more awareness of issues faced by First Nation people could have been highlighted earlier and more publically.
Today, innovative theatre and stand-up comedy provide exciting avenues in which First Nations artists perform and continue their tradition of using humour to be heard in Australia’s mainstream.
You can watch the full version of Basically Black (1973) on the Aussie Film Archive.
References
Austin, K., 2017. ABORIGINAL HUMOUR.
Basically Black | ABC | 1973 | ACMI collection 2023, Acmi.net.au, <https://www.acmi.net.au/works/107708--basically-black/>.
Basically Black: The legacy of the National Black Theatre 2019, NITV, , <https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/basically-black-the-legacy-of-the-national-black-theatre/0w3l88dsp>.
Dow, S 2022, ‘It had no filters’: the legacy of Australia’s provocative National Black Theatre, the Guardian, The Guardian, <https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/nov/09/it-had-no-filters-the-legacy-of-australias-provocative-national-black-theatre>.
Jones, M. (1972) ‘Review of “Basically Black”’, Sydney Morning Herald, 2 November.
Schijndel, S, 2018 ‘Babakiueria’: How a mockumentary fights against Orientalism’, Diggit Magazine, <https://www.diggitmagazine.com/papers/babakiueria-how-mockumentary-fights-against-orientalism>.