Wittenoom

Dot and Pearl live in Wittenoom, the blue asbestos mining town in WA's Pilbara.

So begin glorious days, when the Pilbara's stunning landscapes, magnificent wildlife and close-knit community shaped an idyllic lifestyle; wild-natured Dot making the most of every second, while teenaged Pearl tries to make sense of what her own life might be. Wittenoom follows Dot and Pearl's personal story, filled with humour, sorrow and the friends they make along the way.

Mary Anne Butler expertly weaves their journey into the frame of the Wittenoom tragedy, asking questions about accountability in an era where the health and cultural impacts of mining ricochet as heavily in 2023 as they did in 1963. Wittenoom was developed through Red Stitch's INK program.

About the Author

Mary Anne Butler is a Darwin-based playwright whose plays have been described as 'poetic, evocative and muscular'. Theatre credits include Half Way There, Highway of Lost Hearts, Broken, The Sound of Waiting, Alice in Wonderland (adaptation) and Cusp. Playwriting awards include the Victorian Prize for Literature, Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Drama and NT Book of the Year. Nominations include the Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting (NSW Premier's Literary Awards), an AWGIE Award (Stage), and Griffin Theatre Award. Butler is a four-time winner of the NT Literary Awards for Best Script, a 2016 Sidney Myer Creative Fellow, 2016 Asialink recipient, 2014 Churchill Fellow and a 2015 Regional Arts Fellow. She holds an MPhil in Creative Writing and an MEd in Arts Education, and is a co-artistic director of Knock-em-Down Theatre.