Before I Forget

Badtjala/Butchulla/Jagera theatre maker Kamarra Bell-Wykes ( A Wake – A Woke Mob , 37 ) draws loosely on real events to craft this poignant tribute to motherhood, family and culture. Told with wicked humour and deep emotional truth, Before I Forget celebrates the strength of an ancestral line steered by a revered and accomplished matriarch determined to hold on to her legacy as her memory slips away. This compelling new work is a testimony to healing, forgiveness and the unconditional love of family. Faith Wells ( Roxanne McDonald ), a prominent First Nations linguist, activist and academic, has spent her life being fiercely independent – until now. As Faith’s dementia escalates, her daughter Karma ( Melodie Reynolds-Diarra ) finds herself in the unwinnable position of relocating Faith into aged care and selling her home to fund it. Joined by her daughter, Hope ( Tyallah Bullock ), who is dealing with her own personal struggles, Karma faces the unstoppable force of her mother, who refuses to go quietly. As boxes are packed and memories picked over, the women are forced to navigate the fraying edges of their lineage as they reckon with the loss not just of a mother, but a cultural leader. Commissioned and developed through Melbourne Theatre Company’s NEXT STAGE Writers’ Program , with the support of our Playwrights Giving Circle.