Ilbijerri Theatre Company

Palm Island, 2004: An Aboriginal man dies in police custody.

Members of the Palm Island community make a direct challenge to police power and the police station is torched. Eleven years later, the people of Palm Island continue to demand real justice, and all the while life continues.

ILBIJERRI Theatre Company and Belvoir came together in 2011 over a shared sense of outrage at the injustices surrounding the death of Mulrunji Doomadgee. But, prompted by the Palm Island community, they have looked for a way to turn anger into real understanding and new possibilities. The result is Beautiful One Day – a theatrical documentary about the irrepressible life and times of Palm Island.

As raw as it is shocking, the show stars three Islanders in their first theatrical appearances. It combines documentary-style footage with conversation, reportage, stories and images, told in their own words.

Beautiful One Day captures the horrible reality of an unnecessary death and the remarkable humanity, wisdom and determination to forgive shown by the Palm Islanders.

An antidote to the relentlessly negative media coverage, this work interweaves the stories of Palm Island, the diktats of white Australia and the voices of the community to create a work that is honest, joyful and poignant.