2.3

//Ruby Moon// and //Seven Stages// have embraced the use of symbolism to convey several contemporary issues and ideas that are transforming the Australian scene. Both plays have used juxtaposition to make the symbolism more effective and powerful on the reaction of the audience. //Ruby Moon// uses the colour red, which is symbolic of danger and sexual desire, to contrast with the image of a young girl being presented. Ruby, being a young girl, is used as a symbol of childhood innocence. The red dress transforms her into a sexual object, and suggests that her disappearance may be the product of sexual violence. This idea is supported by Veronica Vale, who states "If you walk down the street in a little red dress you're playing with fire", and Sid Craven, who clearly advises that Ruby may have been raped and murdered. Here, the colour red has been used to show the stripping of innocence and the desensitisation of the Australian audience to sexually explicit content. //Seven Stage//s has used juxtaposition in the presentation of photographs in order to show the past and the present. For example, in scene 5 Photograph Story, photographs depicting Aboriginal people are displayed digitally on a large screen on the stage. The juxtaposition of the new digital technology with the old black and white photographs is effective at showing the pictures to still be important today as they show the history of the present. //Seven Stages// has used the symbolism of the melting ice to show the grief and tears that the Aboriginal people have suffered at the expense of British colonisation. The strong image of the dripping ice is effective at symbolising physical tears which is a universal symbol for crying and captures the concept that there is grief among this Australian community which is still raw and affecting people today. The audience would also be concerned by the ice, as it gradually melts onto the performance space, which encourages concern for the grieving that the ice is symbolising. The ropes that bind the ice are symbolic of the caged emotions that are now surfacing in those affected by European Invasion. Symbolically they remind the audience of Indigenous oppression which would then set the tone of the scene to be sorrowful and lamenting. Similarly, //Ruby Moon// uses the symbolism of the caged bird from Miss Doiley's house and the cul de sac street to portray the trapped nature of the characters in the play. This is effective at showing the suppressed and paranoid landscape in which the play has been set and reflects the Australian society's neighborhood paranoia, spurred onwards by events such as the dissapperence of the Beaumont children and Eloise Worledge. Symbolism has been applied in both //Ruby Moon// and //Seven Stages// to heighten the significance of the issues innocence and past memories, respectively. Furthermore, symbolism has also been an effective tool in presenting the concept of entappmeant and restricted emotions.