The Brown Blouse Public Reading

Join JUTE Theatre Company for a free public reading of The Brown Blouse, a new work by Cairns-based Aboriginal playwright Monica Stevens, based on her family's history.

The reading follows a week-long writing and dramaturgical intensive focused on strengthening the script’s structure, scenes and narrative flow. It offers audiences an opportunity to hear the developing work and contribute to its next stage through audience and peer feedback.

Set against the volatile backdrop of the Cape York gold rush in 1886, The Brown Blouse is a love story, which follows Thamali, a young Aboriginal woman navigating violence and upheaval. Her alliance with Yun Hei, a Chinese migrant, becomes a story of protection, resistance and cross-cultural connection.

The work explores a hidden chapter of Queensland history through themes of truth-telling, cultural identity, resilience and intergenerational memory, examining how the past continues to shape relationships, belonging and community.

Feedback from the reading will help guide the script’s future creative development.