Cockroaches. Hideous little things. No-one wants them around their home. Well almost no-one. Given the severe overcrowding of infamous Boggo Road Prison you'd think the last thing you'd want would be extra cell mates, even those the size of roaches. But according to interviews with guards at the prison from the notorious Bjelke-Petersen era, the prisoners used the cockroaches to their advantage. They became carriers for contraband, in particular cigarettes. The smokes would be tied to the roaches who were then released to carry their load. The problem is there's no controlling exactly where a roaming roach will roam. However, a creative prisoner might pull all the legs off one side of the cockroach and release the roach against the wall so it could only travel in one direction. Genius. This is just one of the stories that came to light when interviews were being conducted for Boggo, a piece of verbatim theatre which will staged by Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble next month. Playwright Rob Pensalfini created the work based on the oral histories collated by Brisbane historian and Boggo Road Prison expert Chris Dawson. Tales of suicide, murders, corruption and sex scandals are woven through the piece which shines a light on the infamous riots. Today actor James Elliott and Rebecca Murphy explained that residents were always told the unruly prisoners were to blame. This piece sets the record straight. It reveals how misuse of power and corruption at the highest levels in the Bjelke-Petersen government had a trickle down effect right to prisoner level. Murphy says the surprise is not so much that this happened but that this is recent history. While it might seem a surprise that a group devoted Shakespeare would stage such a work, QSE has a very active Shakespeare in Prisons program so in a way there is a natural connection. There is also a colourful lyrical voice unique to Queensland which Elliott says an almost Shakespearean beauty. To hear even more about why you should see the production, listen to our interview. Boggo is being performed at the Geoffrey Rush Drama Studio at St Lucia from November 8-18.
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