Ningali Lawford

Ningali Lawford
Born Ningali Josie Lawford
1967 (age 50–51)
Wangkatjungka, Western Australia, Australia
Nationality Australian
Other names Josie Ningali Lawford, Ningali Lawford-Wolf
Occupation Actor
Years active 1990–present

Ningali Josie Lawford[1] (born 1967) is an Australian actress. She is known for her roles in the films Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002), Bran Nue Dae (2009), and Last Cab to Darwin (2015), for which she was nominated for the AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.[2][3]

Early life

Lawford was born on Christmas Creek Station, a cattle station at Wangkatjungka, near Fitzroy Crossing in Western Australia,[4] where her father, a stockman, and mother, a domestic, worked.[5][6] After attending Kewdale Senior High School in Perth, she spent a year in Anchorage, Alaska, on an American Field Scholarship.[5][7][8] Lawford trained in dance at the Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre in Sydney.[9]

Career

Lawford made her acting debut in the musical Bran Nue Dae,[1] which premiered in Perth in 1990.

In 1994, Lawford premiered her one-woman show, Ningali, in Perth. It was co-written by stage directors Robyn Archer and Angela Chaplin, whom she had met the previous year.[1] The show toured internationally and won the Fringe First Award for Best New Production at the 1995 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the 1996 Green Room Award for Best Actress in a One Woman Show.[10][11]

In 2000, the satirical comedy Black and Tran premiered at the Melbourne Comedy Festival. It was a collaboration between Lawford and Vietnamese comedian Hung Le.[12] It addressed "the issue of racial discrimination by ridiculing the stereotypes of Aboriginal and Vietnamese cultures".[13]

In 2015, Lawford played the role of Polly in the film Last Cab to Darwin, for which she received an AACTA Award nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role.[9]

In 2017, Lawford voiced the character of Nanna on the National Indigenous Television (NITV) animated series Little J & Big Cuz, which features Indigenous Australian characters.[14]

Personal life

Lawford's son Jaden was born in 1991, and her daughter Rosie was born in 1997.[10][1]

Works

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2002 Rabbit-Proof Fence Maude
2009 Bran Nue Dae Theresa Johnson
2015 Last Cab to Darwin Polly

Stage

Year Title Role Notes
1990 Bran Nue Dae
1994–1996 Ningali Deckchair Theatre
1996–1997 Corrugation Road Black Swan Theatre national tour
1997 Wolf Lullaby
2001 Solid Yirra Yaakin Noongar Theatre
2001 Aliwa Company B Belvoir
2002 One Day in '67 Yirra Yaakin Noongar Theatre and Perth international Arts Festival
2002 Walkabout Bangarra Dance Theatre
2004 Yandy Black Swan Theatre
2005 Uncle Vanya Black Swan Theatre
2008 Jandamarra Black Swan Theatre and Perth International Arts Festival
2015–2017 The Secret River Dhirrumbin Sydney Theatre Company national tour

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2007–10 The Circuit Louise
2009 3 Acts of Murder Emily Dooley Television movie
2017 Little J & Big Cuz Nanna (voice) 13 episodes
2018 Mystery Road Dot

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Nominated work Result
1996 Green Room Awards Best Actress in a One Woman Show Ningali Won[11]
2015 AACTA Awards Best Actress in a Leading Role Last Cab to Darwin Nominated
2016 Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards Best Actress – Supporting Role Last Cab to Darwin Nominated

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Wheatley, Jane (19 September 1997). "To Sir, with love". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  2. ↑ Maddox, Garry (8 December 2015). "AACTA Awards shape as a night for both Mad Max and The Dressmaker". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  3. ↑ Lauder, Jo. "Indigenous actor refused four taxis in Sydney". ABC. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  4. ↑ "What Makes Us Funny Make Us Aussie". Big Ideas. 2 August 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  5. 1 2 Bayley, Clare (17 August 1995). "Life at home is the inspiration for Aboriginal performance artist Ningali. Nothing unusual in that. Except her immediate family is 300 strong. She talks to Clare Bayley". The Independent. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  6. ↑ Jopson, Debra (6 July 2002). "Rockets on the soles of Ningali's shoes". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  7. ↑ Reinelt, Janelle G.; Roach, Joseph R. (2007). Critical Theory and Performance. University of Michigan Press. pp. 73–75. ISBN 0-472-06886-5. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  8. ↑ Mulvey, Paul (1 October 1995). "Tales from under a tree". The Canberra Times. p. 20. Retrieved 24 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. 1 2 Bodey, Michael (8 August 2015). "Last Cab to Darwin lured Ningali Lawford-Wolf out of retirement". The Australian. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  10. 1 2 Fitzgerald, Michael (22 January 1996). "Ningali's telling truths". Time (4): 57. ISSN 0818-0628.
  11. 1 2 Casey, Maryrose (2004). Creating Frames: Contemporary Indigenous Theatre 1967–1990. University of Queensland Press. pp. 279–280. ISBN 978-0-7022-3432-3. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  12. ↑ Adamson, Judy (2 August 2002). "Jest good friends". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  13. ↑ Stephenson, Peta (October 1, 2001). "Finding Common Ground: Indigenous and Asian Diasporic Cultural Production in Australia". Hecate. Retrieved 24 April 2017 – via HighBeam Research.
  14. ↑ "Little J & Big Cuz: Australia's first indigenous animation series for kids". Life Matters. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2017.



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