Characters
This character is the matriarch of the Dear family, known for her strength, resilience, and traditional wisdom.
Who is Nan Dear?
This theme is shown through the Dear family’s desire for housing, education, and equal treatment.
What is the theme of hope for social progress?
Rainbow’s End belongs to this literary form, allowing it to be performed on stage with dialogue and stage directions.
What is a play?
Gladys’s dream of moving into a real house shows this universal human experience.
What is aspiration for a better life?
Rainbow’s End is set in this decade, a time of post-war development and conservative values in Australia.
What are the 1950s?
She is ambitious and dreams of becoming a nurse, representing the hope of a better future for Aboriginal women.
Who is Dolly?
The systemic mistreatment of Aboriginal people in education, housing, and health highlights this theme.
What is racism and discrimination?
This element of the play helps the audience understand what the characters are doing and where they are. It includes notes like “[The lights dim].”
What are stage directions?
Dolly’s relationship with Errol explores this common emotional experience, especially among young people.
What is first love?
The Dear family lives in this kind of housing, typical for many Aboriginal families during the 1950s.
What is a humpy?
This character works tirelessly to improve conditions for her family, is proud of her daughter's success, and often clashes with institutional racism.
Who is Gladys?
This theme is represented by Dolly’s struggle to balance her personal ambitions with her cultural roots.
What is identity and belonging?
Harrison includes these surreal moments to reveal the characters’ deepest fears and hopes, blending realism with symbolic imagery.
What are the dream sequences?
Nan Dear’s memories of past injustices reflect this collective Aboriginal experience.
What is intergenerational trauma?
This policy, still in effect during the time of the play, encouraged Aboriginal people to adopt white customs and abandon their own culture.
What is the assimilation policy?
Although white and well-meaning, this character’s efforts to help often reveal unconscious bias and cultural misunderstandings.
Who is the Inspector?
The way Nan Dear tells stories and teaches values shows the importance of this theme in preserving Aboriginal culture.
What is intergenerational wisdom and tradition?
The blending of humour with serious themes in Rainbow’s End is an example of this theatrical technique that engages the audience emotionally while prompting reflection.
What is dramatic contrast (or juxtaposition)?
The characters’ struggles to be respected by society highlight this recurring human experience.
What is the search for dignity and identity?
Gladys is excited about this 1954 event, seeing it as a symbol of progress and national inclusion—though it ironically contrasts with the lived reality of Aboriginal people.
What is Queen Elizabeth II’s royal visit to Australia?
He is a kind and respectful young man who forms a relationship with Dolly, symbolising the possibility of cross-cultural understanding.
Who is Errol Fisher?
When Gladys insists on dressing “properly” and seeking opportunities through official systems, she is embodying this complex theme.
What is assimilation versus cultural pride?
The play is set in this specific historical and social context, which shapes the characters’ experiences and the play’s realist style.
What is 1950s rural Victoria, Australia?
The tension between cultural heritage and modern ambition faced by Nan and Gladys represents this complex human experience.
What is conflict between tradition and progress?
This item, borrowed by Gladys for the Queen’s visit, represents her desire for dignity, acceptance, and social equality.
What are Auntie's shoes?