Domestic stories from the top end

SBS’s new Kimberley drama The Circuit is groundbreaking not only for being authentically indigenous – from crew and cast to directors and writers – but also because it pulls no punches.

Pedophilia, juvenile delinquency, substance abuse and domestic violence join petty crime at the Kimberley Circuit Court – plenty of drama and almost none of it the tiptoed, politically correct variety.

Director Catriona McKenzie said she knew they were hitting the right note when the white producer was the only person uncomfortable with the storylines.

“It’s kinda patronising to be scared of great stories because they’re tough,” McKenzie said.

The story lines include a tribal elder accused of sexually abusing young girls, and a mixed-race gay couple who use violence to cope with conflicting cultures. These stories needed to be told, McKenzie said, because they’re coming from a real place.

“The Aboriginal writers were very insistent on telling the story of [pedophile] elder Harry Pope; that definitely happens in the community,” she said.

“And there’s no doubt that domestic violence goes on within Aboriginal communities and in gay relationships.

“It’s something that needs to be dealt with in communities, but I’d hate to see it linked up to [Prime Minister John] Howard’s policies.”

While Howard may bring in federal forces on some untenable issues in these communities, there’s little chance same-sex domestic violence will be one of them.

The Circuit depicts white journalist Archie (Nick Simpson-Deeks) leaving Melbourne to join his partner Clarry (LeRoy Parsons) at the Top End. Clarry is struggling to open up about his homosexuality in the indigenous community.

“I love the Archie-Clarry story because it happens all the time – of course Aboriginal men go out with non-Aboriginal men,” McKenzie said.

Even though it was often difficult to discuss gay issues in the Aboriginal community, McKenzie said it needed confronting.

“Sometimes they come from traditional backgrounds and it’s hard for them to incorporate that lifestyle into their sexuality and back into their community,” she said.

The results of these inadequacies, for Clarry, Harry Pope and others, are destructive, and in The Circuit, white law struggles for a solution.

“Ultimately, it’s about a magistrate’s court, where white law meets people in crisis,” McKenzie said. “You don’t go to court when you’ve been a good girl or boy – there’s been a breakdown in law, either white law or black law.

“White law doesn’t mesh at all well with Aboriginal lore or culture. It’s like there’s two different languages being spoken, metaphorically and literally. I think Aboriginal people come out the worst because of that,” she said.

Traditional culture in Broome is still quite strong, McKenzie said, but what looks like a successful blend of cultures is only surface deep.

“You still have the history of Aboriginal people being disempowered – stripped of land and culture.”

The Circuit appears 9:30pm Sunday on SBS.