Theatre review: Logan St
In exploring the friendship between a young First Nations woman and an ageing cameleer in 1940s Adelaide, Logan St delivers an emotionally potent ode to survival, hope and the memories of our ancestors here on Kaurna Yarta.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains the names and images of people who have passed away.
If they say that history is written by the winners then let us say that the truth of that history is spoken by the survivors. This core idea is one of many that sits in the heart of Logan St and it soars in this deftly layered delivery of human struggle, survival and the dignity of hope and friendship.
From the very first instance we know this show is different by the interactive Welcome to Country video, led by Kaurna Elders Aunty Lynette Crocker and Uncle Lewis O’Brien, displayed on the three pointed mosque arches that adorn the stage almost as an immersive light installation as much as it serves as the backdrop for the Adelaide Mosque in which this story takes place. We learn history and cultural protocol through this vignette which acts to immerse us in the space of this Country and ground us in the space of the Dunstan Playhouse.
Logan St centres around the warmly earnest and soulful relationship between Dulcie Sansbury, an ‘exempted’ Kaurna/Narungga woman and Gool Mahomet, an Afghan cameleer and caretaker of the Adelaide Mosque as they both navigate the dissonance of a colonial engine that needs them but despises them. A love of cooking and yarning keeps them close to each other’s spirits. Alexis West as Dulcie brings a sincere playfulness and cutting wit to the role that dances perfectly with Ali Ammouchi’s portrayal of Goolie as a modestly dry, wise and apparently very connected hawker. He knows a guy in Parkside who can get him “the good chocolate”. The cast brings the memories, and the visions between the memories, of these people to life with the weight and charm that they deserve.
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The journey of Jacob Boehme, the Narungga/Kaurna writer and director of Logan St, as he collated oral and written histories about his grandmother Dulcie and the area of the CBD known as ‘ Little Beirut’ in which she lived, is a fascinating story which you can read about here. Boehme calls it ‘an autobiographical work of fiction’, but the way he has envisioned this love-letter to the untold memories and the imagined moments between them holds the heart safely whilst allowing it to reflect on the darkness of this nation’s past.
Every detail of this production gracefully weaves itself into a beautiful privilege to behold. Every aspect coaxes goosebumps, from the lighting and video synchronising through the shadows of the mosque arches to the transcendental fusion of First Nations and Arabic timbres and melodies that collide in a spiritual whirlwind at the end of the play.
Standing ovations were justly deserved. The catharsis in the space that we all shared for the journey we had just walked alongside was palpable and felt long after leaving the lobby. We live in the shadows of our ancestors and I know the spirit of my ancestors would be smiling upon this mesmeric piece of truth-telling.
Logan St continues at the Space Theatre until August 8 2026, presented by State Theatre Company South Australia
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