Wharf 1, July 24. Until August 16.

“I’m a devil and a saint. I’m admired and vilified,” says Bennelong.

He’s that and more. In this play, he is the means to reconsider what unfolded on Sydney’s shores and for a contemporary Indigenous man to connect to his culture.

Playwright Jane Harrison has crafted a powerfully inventive piece of storytelling that uses meta theatre to bring the present and colonial past face-to-face.

It moves far beyond what we might know about the first Aboriginal man to travel to Europe and back, to consider questions of Black masculinity, how the past and present are in dialogue and the responsibility of passing on knowledge.

The play begins with the lightest of touches. In present-day Sydney, a young actor, Sebastian Anderson (Guy Simon), is poised to audition for a play called Bennelong in London, about the Wangal man and mediator in the early days of the colony who sailed to London with Governor Arthur Phillip.

Sebastian warms up his vocal cords, overacts in front of his phone and wishes the spirit of Bennelong would appear to him. Hey, presto.

In skins and paint up, Bennelong (Googoorewon Knox) materialises like a time-traveller in the actor’s loungeroom.

Sebastian wants to tell Bennelong’s story on stage. Bennelong, with an eye on his own legacy, isn’t convinced Sebastian has the chops to do so.

The first half hour is filled with deft comic exchanges. Bennelong is miffed to learn that while there’s now a small peninsula named after him, his wife Barangaroo got an entire suburb.

There are gags about theatrical practice and questions about who can play what role. An early sound glitch briefly halted the show on opening night.

The tone shifts as Bennelong unpacks his dark and complex tale, of kidnapping, brutality and the devastation of smallpox. His sorrow at the deaths of Barangaroo and his countryman in London is heartbreaking, his shifting relationship with Phillip intriguing.

The play doesn’t shy away from the troubling aspects of Bennelong’s life, in particular the beatings he inflicted on his wives, although his response invites further questions.

Emma White’s set has Sebastian’s loungeroom supported by a block of layered rock. Native reeds, grasses and waratahs grow through cracks in the floor. The effect is a modern home on an ancient, living foundation.

This two-man cast is ideally matched in Ian Michael’s finely balanced production.

Knox is outstanding as Bennelong, bringing depth, grace and emotional range to the role. This is a flesh-and-blood Bennelong.

Simon as Sebastian grows in stature as he learns what stories he wants to tell and why. He earns the right to play the role he wants. Simon also creates distinct characters of several minor roles.

Composer James Peter Brown’s sound design unfolds from barely audible to haunting resonance that combined well with Knox’s rich voice.

This is the third Harrison play the STC has produced in recent years, but the first time it has debuted a new work from her. After The Visitors and Stolen, this latest piece has reconfirmed Harrison’s place as a leading Indigenous voice.