There is absolutely a place for theatre that entertains, but I prefer work that moves. Work like Dylan Van Den Berg’s Whitefella Yella Tree, presented by Sydney Theatre Company. It cuts straight through the soul.
Directed by Declan Greene and Amy Sole, and first produced by Griffin Theatre Company in 2022, this is a play that looks simple on paper. Two young Aboriginal men, a lemon tree, a love story, but what unfolds is far from.
At its core, this is a story of first love. Ty and Neddy meet in stolen moments. Teasing, joking, discovering each other and themselves through the familiar awkwardness of youth. And it completely tore me apart.
So much of that comes down to the performers. Danny Howard is a star. He lit up the room from the second he stepped into the space. I was watching someone who loved the work, who was having the best time on stage and that joy was infectious.
In acting school, they use the analogy of “keeping the ball up,” keeping the energy driving forward no matter what. Keeping an audience enthralled with nothing but two performers and a stage is a tall order. Howard makes it look easy. He barrels this play forward with charisma and fire.
As Neddy, Joseph Althouse is his perfect counterpart. Where Howard explodes outward, Althouse draws you in. His performance is so intentional. Every look, every pause. Together, they feel inevitable, like all the great love stories. Two halves of a whole.
Design, by Mason Browne, elevates the world into its own living entity. The stage seems relatively bare at first glance. But like the rest of this story there is far more than meets the eye. Central is the lemon tree, suspended in air. It has an ancient, mythic quality. Around it, the world breathes.
Steve Toulmin’s sound design is equally spectacular. You hear the bush in all its familiar detail. The cicadas, the wind. The sound has a soul, transforming the bush into its own character.
Lighting designed by Kelsey Lee and Katie Sfetkidis is as beautiful as it is harrowing. It propels the story forward in its own right with such tenacity; I was truly blown away.
The writing is its own force. Dylan Van Den Berg has a unique voice, one that can be devastating and funny in the same breath. He’s written a love story that is culturally specific, rooted in Indigenous experience and history but also universal.
It’s about queer love, first love, impossible love, and all the beauty and tragedy tied up in that. It doesn’t preach, but it does demand to be felt, and feel it you will.
I attended Whitefella Yella Tree the night after opening, and there were far too many empty seats. A work like this should never play to a half-full house.
Go and see it. Support these actors, this creative team, this story. Bear witness to this gorgeous storytelling. Because when Indigenous stories and queer stories stand at the centre of our stages, it matters that we show up. And if you do, I promise you’ll walk out changed.
Whitefella Yella Tree runs to 18 October at Wharf 1 Theatre, Wharf 4/5 Walsh Bay, Sydney.
Tickets: https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/whats-on/productions/2025/whitefella-yella-tree
Website: https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/sydneytheatreco/
Photo credits: Prudence Upton
