A co-production between Queensland Theatre and Griffin Theatre Company, Meyne Wyatt’s unflinching, unapologetic, and unforgettable debut play made its world premiere to a well-deserved standing ovation.

City of Gold, written by and starring Meyne Wyatt, tells the story of Breythe, a young man from Kalgoorlie striving to make his way as an actor in the city but finding himself typecast as ‘the Indigenous actor’. With news of his father’s death, Breythe returns home to a hornets’ nest of family rivalries and racial tensions that explode into violence, visited by dreams and memories of his father as he struggles with personal and political issues. Thoughtfully directed by Queensland Theatre’s Resident Dramaturg Isaac Drandic, the play addresses racism in Australia outright and provides a sharp commentary on a wide range of issues, from Australian football culture to ideas of justice to the methamphetamine epidemic gripping towns across the country.

Maitland Schnaars and Meyne Wyatt in City of Gold. Photo © Stephen Henry

Meyne Wyatt was a riveting presence onstage, displaying incredible versatility and courage as he drew the audience into Breythe’s head and his struggles with guilt and grief, inspired by the playwright’s own lived...