ALL ABOUT DABBY: NATALIE KERN

The main character I get to explore is Dabby Bryant. One of the things that interests me about this play is that many of the characters we portray were pulled from actual officers or convicts in the "First Fleet" of convict ships to Australia. However, while the characters are pulled from historical fact, the play takes many liberties in changing details, omitting details, or fabricating histories about these characters. It's been fascinating to dig in and find what was historical truth, and what is only true in the world of our play.

In the play she goes by the name of Dabby Bryant, a determined pragmatist hell-bent on surviving by any means necessary, often at the expense of others. In history she was born Mary Bround in 1765 and later went by the name Mary Bryant. She was the daughter of a mariner, from a family described as "eminent for sheep stealing". She left home, joining a group of other questionable characters who lived in the forest of North Devon, England and survived on the fruits of theft and other crimes. I like to think of them as Robin Hood and his band of thieves, however from what I've read I'm not sure there was a noble purpose behind their crimes. Coming of age in a community such as this, group dependency would be a necessity to emotional and physical survival. Trust in others would both be critical and yet extremely difficult to build. I can only imagine how this played a large part in how she measures right from wrong and cost that must be paid for within the group.

Historically, Mary (Dabby) was found guilty of assault and robbery of a woman while in London, stealing a silk bonnet and some jewelry. She was sentenced to hanging but instead was put on the ship, Charlotte, and sent to Australia. While on the ship she gave birth to a daughter, whom she named Charlotte. This detail is puzzling in that I think there is something to unpack as to why a woman would name her child after the convict ship on which she is incarcerated. Once in Australia, the real Mary (Dabby) marries a man named William Bryant and over the next 2 years gives birth to two more children. In the play, there is no mention of her husband or children. I'm still exploring what this means, and whether or not these are details I want to thread through the character, or omit and stick true to the details laid out as truth in the play.

The real Mary (Dabby) ends up stealing the Governor's sailboat and escaping the convict colony by sea with her husband, children, and a few other convicts. They spent 69 days at sea, traveling more than 5,000 miles, and landed in Timor, near Indonesia. They were able to stay there for a while, pretending to be victims of a shipwreck. One night, her husband had one too many drinks and spilled the beans about their true origins and they were all turned over to the authorities and put back on a ship to England. While on that journey, her husband and children died. She ended up landing in England and serving the rest of her sentence in London before being "discharged by due course of law" and returning to extended family in Fowey, England. The lawyer, who was able to get her sentence reduced, continued to send her an annual pension after she was released. The last written evidence from her was in 1794, but her actual death is unknown. Considering her tenacity and ability to persevere in pursuit of survival, I'd like to think she lived for many years after. Clearly, our play doesn't follow Dabby/Mary this far into her life. But as the play draws to a close, we do get a glimpse of what may be to come.

The questions I will continue to explore are mainly rooted in how this information impacts the relationships that Dabby navigates in the play. The text of the play reveals clear strong connections and opinions about many of the other characters. Which of these are rooted in the historical Mary/Dabby and which need to be filled in with the imaginary reality of the play? Can both be true or not? And where do I access the door into better understanding her reasoning for choices and sacrifices?