04 November 2005

basically black



Zac Martin as "SuperBoong"

In 1973 ABC-TV produced a television version of Basically Black. This was the first all-Aboriginal television show in Australia. The ABC-TV production was a heavily censored and politically 'watered-down' version of the stage production that had been so successful at Sydney's Nimrod Theatre the previous year.

Nevertheless, the TV version was a success, but not enough to make the ABC proceed with a planned series. The show is still occasionally screened late at night, or as a token gesture around National Aborigines Week every few years. Here is a selection of video captures from the TV version.



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