Uncle Jack Charles is an Australian legend: veteran actor, musician, Koori elder and activist, but for a good portion of his nearly 70 years he has also been an addict, a thief and a regular in Victoria's prisons. This is a show about his life – told by him.

From Stolen Generation to Koori theatre in the 70s, from film sets to Her Majesty's prisons, Jack Charles V the Crown runs the gamut of a life lived to its utmost. Charles' unswerving optimism transforms this tale of addiction, crime and doing time into a kind of vagabond's progress – a map of the traps of dispossession and a guide to reaching the age of grey-haired wisdom.

Accompanied by a three-piece band, this one-man show is a theatrical delight brought to the stage by ILBIJERRI – Australia's leading and longest running Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Theatre Company.

Country: Canada

Australian Cultural Diplomacy Grant: $38,679

Website: http://ilbijerri.com.au