The Sapphires (PG)

The Sapphires is an Australian play written by Tony Briggs and directed by Wesley Enoch. It is set in 1968 (a year after the referendum expanding the rights of Aborigines) and tells the story of `The Sapphires`, a singing group of four Koori women who tour Vietnam during the war. It was inspired by the true story of Briggs`s mother, Laurel Robinson, and aunt, Lois Peeler, who toured Vietnam as singers. The pair slept on the stage, as Robinson recalled, `It was so scary, one night a bomb went off, the bed fell down and the place shook.` Though set at the time of increasing calls for Aboriginal rights, the play largely ignores these issues and concentrates on pure entertainment; fun and humour.