Bulunggayi - Leanne Tobin

Bulunggayi (Maria Locke), in the 1800s, was a formidable Dharug advocate, who found herself fighting for justice and equality in the newly-established colony of Sydney Town. 

But the fight didn't end with her significant accomplishments, and the suppression and silencing of her culture sent many who followed underground. This story reflects on the struggle for recognition and the impact felt amidst the loss of so much. 

The story is told by one of her descendants, Leanne Tobin, and a self-determined team of esteemed First Nations performance makers. 10 years in the making, Bulunggayi by Leanne Tobin is the first major Dharug text-based performance work of scale.

Bulunggayi – on-script progress showing and Q&A

As a part of Another World Festival  

Date and Time: Saturday 15 November , 5-6:30pm  

Location: Utp, Bankstown Arts Centre , 5 Olympic Parade Bankstown  

Book your ticket now

 View the full program of Another World Festival here

STARRING

Sandy Greenwood as Maria Locke

Aunty Julie Jones as Nan

Katie Leslie as Laura

Aroha Pehi as Leah

Brianna Kemmerling as The Narrator

Written and Directed by Leanne Tobin

2025 Development

In July 2025, Utp led an experimental writer’s room for the script development of Bulunggayi, which included a grounding and generative series of activities:

Day 1 – Table Reading and Discussion

Day 2 – Grounding On Country & Site Visits

Day 3 – Script Analysis

Day 4 onwards – Collective Dramaturgy, Yarning and Feedback. Individual Analysis and Response. Writing Experimentation, Revision and Finalisation.

Participating Creatives: Leanne Tobin, Phoebe Grainer, Travis De Vries and Hannah Donnelly, with Akala Newman and Aunty Julie Jones joining for the table reading.

Utp Team: Jane Wade and Hannah Donnelly

This is part of intensive lab developments over a 4-month period, working collaboratively on script development and performance. These activities take place entirely on Dharug Country, grounding the project in the cultural context of the story it tells.

You can read more about Maria Locke's life and legacy below:

• Significant Aboriginal women: Maria Lock, Parramatta History and Heritage 

• Maria Locke, Australian Dictionary of Biography 

Cover image credit: Artist impression of Maria Lock. Maria’s Dilemma and the Dharug Legacy, 2009, by Leanne Tobin. Courtesy the artist.

Bulunggayi is part of a year-long suite of programs within Utp’s 2025 provocation – who is ready for another world considers this moment of collective grief, models of collective liberation and resistance to settler-colonialism.

PARTNERS AND SUPPORTERS

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.

This project is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW and the Neilson Foundation.