Crossing the Divide

Presented by HOTA, Home of the Arts and Shock Therapy

Thu 1 May 2025

Crossing the Divide

Liam, a scholarship student from the Torres Strait is on his high school History excursion - a two-day trek across the Great Dividing Range, learning about the expedition by Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson. As their guide Lionel draws attention to events often left out of the history books, tensions mount when Liam’s friend Max refuses to see how European settlement created anything but a pathway to progress for a newly forming nation. CROSSING THE DIVIDE is a vital conversation starter for anyone who calls Australia home and asks the question, “Can we find a path to a more unified Australia, or will we always be divided?

Dates

Thu 1 May 2025

Where

Theatre 2

Warnings

Low-level coarse language, use of racially prejudiced language, references to gun violence, use of replica firearms, haze effects.

Duration

1 hr
Post show 20-minute Q&A (registration required)

Tickets

Adult $39
Students $27
HOTA Members $33
HOTA Artists & Teachers $30
Student Group (6+) $24

Times

Thu 01 May - 10:30am & 1:00pm

#School Bookings

Please complete the below form to inquire about experiencing HOTA Education Programs.

General Public
Secondary schools (Grade 7-12)
Includes Post Show 20-minute Q&A - please email education@hota.com.au to register for this free session with your booking.

School Bookings

Links to curriculum:

Years 7-10 ACARA 9.0 Descriptors and Elaborations:

Drama

Exploring and Responding

Investigate how drama practitioners collaborate with First Nations communities to develop contemporary theatre that reflects their perspectives, resilience, and identity, and how global trends influence this work. Examine and critique how contemporary theatre explores and challenges concepts of Australian identity, including the impact of colonisation.

History

Knowledge and Understanding

Understand the impact of European contact and settlement on First Nations Peoples of Australia, focusing on significant events, ideas, people, groups, and movements that influenced Australian society. Compare different experiences of colonisers, settlers, and First Nations Australians, and explore how these experiences influenced societal ideas, beliefs, and values.

Health and Physical Education

Personal, Social and Community Health

Analyse and reflect on how values and beliefs shape identities, including how individuals influence each other’s identities and how gender stereotypes affect roles, decision-making, and power dynamics in relationships. Examine the roles of respect, empathy, power, and coercion in developing and maintaining respectful relationships, and evaluate how these factors impact such relationships. Investigate strategies to value diversity and promote inclusion within communities and propose actions for individuals and groups to challenge biases, address stereotypes, and communicate effectively, including managing emotions and negotiating consent.

Drama 11-12: General Senior Syllabus 2025 v1.1

Unit 1: Share

Examine the role of drama in storytelling and understanding diverse human experiences across cultures, with a focus on Australian voices, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives. They will engage with foundational drama content, skills, and processes to explore and celebrate the richness of Australian experiences and aesthetic awareness.

Unit 2: Reflect

Students explore how drama can authentically reflect lived experiences by examining traditional and contemporary styles like Realism and Magical Realism. They focus on using drama to inform, challenge, and empathise with diverse human experiences, including those captured in Australian and international texts, including works by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Students will aim to develop skills for creating and responding to dramatic works that genuinely represent the human condition.

Unit 3: Challenge

Students explore how drama can challenge and reshape our understanding of humanity by using social commentary and advocating for change. They investigate how different dramatic forms can express philosophical and political viewpoints, working with both published and student-devised texts to address issues in political, social, and economic contexts. Students will develop skills to create and respond to dramatic works that provoke thought about complex human questions, drawing on Australian and international texts, including those by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Assessment Outcomes: