The World Premiere of Sunshine Super Girl

As we approach the 50^th anniversary of her landmark win at Wimbledon, Evonne Goolagong-Cawley’s life story will be played out on stage where it all began as Sunshine Super Girl – the Evonne Goolagong Story by Andrea James premieres in Griffith this October.

Three years in the making, Sunshine Super Girl is an iconic Australian story about Evonne Goolagong’s life as a girl from the bush who dared to dream. With the support of Barellan, her hometown just outside of Griffith, she rose to become the world number one tennis player.

Yorta Yorta/Gunnakurnai playwright and director Andrea James leads an all-First Nations cast to tell this inspiring story and this is a major new work of Australian Aboriginal Theatre.

It’s such a beautiful story about talent and fate, where all of the stars aligned in Evonne’s childhood at the right time and right place for her to become a world champion. She had the same upbringing as my dad who lived on a fringe camp outside of town, and to see a young Aboriginal girl from the bush reach the heights of international tennis fame is such an inspiring and hopeful story,” – Andrea James said.

The story brims with inevitable politics and a longing for home and family. I was also struck by how the little wheatbelt town of Barellan, right near Griffith, got behind this girl and her family and supported her talents – it’s such a good news story, and we could do with some more good news stories in our lives!”

Sunshine Super Girl’s premiere season runs 7 – 10 October as part of the inaugural Yarruwala Wiradjuri! festival celebrating the culture and achievements of the local community and one of it’s most-loved members – Evonne Goolagong. The local community will host a Red Carpet Gala VIP premiere, Wiradjuri Welcome Ceremony, and other arts and cultural events around the centrepiece season of Sunshine Super Girl. The full festival program will launch at the end of August, for more information, visit Griffith Regional Theatre’s website here.

This is an independent, Aboriginal-led production of scale, made possible with the support of Performing Lines and a group of committed regional and metro partners who contributed much needed funds and resources to support the development of the work.

Thank you to all the contributors, supporters and regional venue partners of this project – Australia Council for the Arts, Create NSW, the Seaborn Broughton & Walford Foundation, the Blake-Beckett Trust, Playwriting Australia; and Production Co-Commissioners Griffith Regional Theatre, Melbourne Theatre Company and QPAC.

This work has only been made possible through the commitment of a number of intrepid, passionate partners who like us, see the importance of this work. It’s timely that such an optimistic story of triumph and tenacity be widely shared.” – Marion Potts