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Artwork for Gunawarra Re-creation
Artwork for Gunawarra Re-creation
Artwork for Gunawarra Re-creation
Artwork for Gunawarra Re-creation
Gunawarra Re-creation

27 November — 7 December 2024

Southbank Theatre, The Lawler

This work looks at the continuation of creation and the stories of Blak women healing.

Approx. 1 hour with no interval

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This is rated 0 out of 5 stars

‘A powerful reminder of the importance of embracing one’s whole self in the healing process.’

ArtsHub
This is rated 0 out of 5 stars

‘Rachael Maza directs beautifully understated performances, feathering unvarnished realism into vivid symbolism.’

The Age

Murrun has returned to the watering hole. The same one Aunty Aggie used to take her to. Present and past collide.

There she meets her old friend Gunawarra. The Black Swan. Gunawarra Re-creation is a contemporary creation work based on Taun Wurrung (Taungurung) stories passed down. 

This work looks at the continuation of creation and the stories of Blak women healing.

 

 

Accessibility

  • Wheelchair Accessible

Artwork for Isobel Morphy-Walsh

Isobel Morphy-Walsh

Writer

Isobel Morphy-Walsh, a proud Nirim Baluk woman from the Taun Wurrung (Taungurung) people, is a multidisciplinary artist working across visual and performance art. She is also a weaver, curator, producer, activist and educator. Isobel has spent her life working with her community and our cultures with a particular emphasis on history, culture, country and its importance today. Isobel comes from a family of storytellers and weavers and continues both of those practices in her own contemporary and creation storytelling, singing and dramatic performance. In 2023, she launched her first production combining her family’s skills in song, dance and story, Gunga-na Dhum Nganinju (The stories we hold tightly), as part of YIRRAMBOI Festival. Her artwork can be found in state collections, over walls she passes, on the bodies of people she knows and in Heathcote as public art. Many a yarn, spoken word and song can be heard in her presence.

Artwork for Rachael Maza

Rachael Maza

Director

Rachael Maza is Yidinji from North Queensland, Meriam from the Torres Strait Island of Mer, and Dutch on her mother’s side. Rachael is Artistic Director of ILBIJERRI Theatre Company, where her directorial credits include Stolen, Charles V The Crown, Foley, Which Way Home, Heart is a Wasteland, Sisters of Gelam, Black Ties. She is widely known for her wealth of acting, directing and dramaturgical experience across the Australian film, television and theatre industry including AFI Award-winning Radiance and the stage production of The Sapphires. Rachael has also worked as a presenter for ABC Message Stick and as an acting coach on films such as Rabbit Proof Fence. Rachael’s considerable contribution to the cultural landscape has been recognised through multiple awards, including the Australia Council of the Arts Award for Theatre (2019), as well as an Honorary Doctorate of Performing Arts from Edith Cowan University (2019). Rachel is a recipient of an Order of Australia (2020). 

Artwork for Hannah Morphy-Walsh

Hannah Morphy-Walsh

Performer

Hannah Morphy-Walsh, Nirim Baluk from the Taun Wurrung (Taungurung) people, is a multimodal storyteller.

Artwork for Kristel-Lee Kickett

Kristel-Lee Kickett

Performer

Kristel-Lee Kickett is a proud Whadjuk Ballardong yok from Nyoongar Boodjar. Kristel-Lee is making her Melbourne Theatre Company debut. She is a regular ensemble member for ILBIJERRI and has appeared in productions including Scar Trees and Goodbye Aunty Flo. She has also featured in The Return (Malthouse Theatre);  7 Stages of Grieving/The Longest Memory (Complete Works Theatre Company) and made her stage debut in the world premiere of Ngarngk:Giver of Life (Yirramboi Festival). Kristel-Lee has appeared on screen in TV series Safe Home (SBS). Also a professional singer, Kristel-Lee performed at Perth Festival’s Song Circle, and has been in the music industry for over a decade as a solo performer and a member of former pop duo The Merindas. 

Artwork for Melodie Reynolds-Diarra

Melodie Reynolds-Diarra

Performer

Melodie is a Wongutha, Nadju, Mirning woman from Western Australia. Melodie grew up in Esperance and made her acting debut at 16 in No Sugar (Belvoir). She graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) in 1996. Melodie has performed in several ABC radio plays and an audio book of My Place by Sally Morgan. Her theatre acting credits include Coranderrk, The Dirty Mile, Head Hunter, Chopped Liver, Black Sheep, Headhunter, Wild Cat Falling, King For This Place, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Actors at Work, Holy Day, Stolen, Shrunken Iris, Jackie, Yandy, Yibiyung, and The Man from Mukinupin. She was also associate director on The Shadow King. Melodie’s television credits include Natural Justice, Hard Rock Medical and Redfern Now. In 2018, Melodie’s first play Skylab made its world premiere in Perth. Melodie appeared in the 2017, 2018, and 2019 seasons of Black is the New White, and in Is That You Ruthie. 

Artwork for Carly Sheppard

Carly Sheppard

Performer

Carly Sheppard is a cross-disciplinary performance artist based in Naarm/Melbourne, working across dance, theatre making, performance, sculpture, drawing, writing, voice and installation. Her practice navigates complex narratives of intersecting race, class, mythologies, identities we inherit and how meaning is created and processed through prisms of colonial interruption. Carly’s work reflects her fascination with the chaos of conflicting cultural paradigms. Her recent performance credits include Chase, A Nighttime Travesty (A Daylight Connection); Set Piece (Anna Breckon and Nat Randall); Considerable Sexual License (Joel Bray Dance); Anthem (Performing Lines/Arts Centre Melbourne) and Love (fortyfivedownstairs/Venice Biennale Theatre Festival). Carly has received Green Room Awards for her performances in Love and Crackers n Dip With Chase n Toey (Arts House). She was nominated for her performance in A Nighttime Travesty and Chase. 

Katie Sfetkidis

Katie Sfetkidis

Lighting Designer

Katie Sfetkidis is a lighting designer and contemporary artist based in Naarm/Melbourne. She has worked extensively in theatre, dance and experimental performance for over 15 years both in Australia and internationally. Working broadly across the sector, Katie has collaborated with a range of companies and artists. For Melbourne Theatre Company this includes Touching the Void,  Come Rain or Come Shine and Abigail’s Party.  Other credits include Homo Pentecostus (Malthouse Theatre/Joel Bray Dance); Loaded (Malthouse Theatre); Looking for Alibrandi (Malthouse Theatre); Garabari (Joel Bray Dance with Chunky Move); Considerable Sexual License (Joel Bray Dance); Daddy (Joel Bray Dance); Chase (A Daylight Connection/Malthouse Theatre).  She has received two Green Room Awards and is the current co-chair of the Theatre Companies Panel. 

Artwork for Dann Barber

Dann Barber

Set Designer

Dann Barber is an award-winning set and costume designer whose work is influenced by his study of drawing and fine art at RMIT. He is also a graduate of theatre design from NIDA. Recent work includes A Very Jewish Christmas Carol (Melbourne Theatre Company); Melbourne, Cheryomushki (Victorian Opera); The Crocodile (Spinning Plates); Wittenoom, The Amateurs (Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre); Rent (LPD Productions); Barnum the Musical and Chess (Storeyboard Entertainment). He has been the associate costume designer for Gabriela Tylesova for the Australian Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty and again for Melbourne Theatre Company’s Shakespeare in Love. Dann has received and been nominated for numerous awards including Green Room Awards for Best Design in Cabaret for The Ghetto Cabaret (Kadimah Yiddish Theatre), Best Independent Set and Costume Design for The Mermaid (La Mama Theatre) and Best Set Design for Yentl (Kadimah Yiddish Theatre). Dann is a guest lecturer and tutor at VCA and Melbourne University.

Artwork for Emma Salmon

Emma Salmon

Set & Costume Design Secondment

Artwork for Stone Turner

Stone Turner

Set & Costume Design Secondment

Artwork for James Henry

James Henry

Sound Designer / Composer

James has worked as a composer and sound designer on various productions, including 37, Admissions, Jacky (Melbourne Theatre Company); An Octaroon (Queensland Theatre). He received a Green Room Award in 2023 for Sound Design of Heart is a Wasteland (ILBIJERRI Theatre), in collaboration with Gary Watling and Lidia Fairhall. His versatile skill set extends to composing for renowned ensembles, such as the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and others. As a cultural advocate, he plays a vital role in revitalising indigenous languages through music. His recent fellowship deepened his understanding of traditional Aboriginal music, enabling seamless integration into contemporary contexts. James earned recognition, receiving a nomination for Best Documentary Score at the 2022 AACTA Awards. James Henry's contributions extend beyond the stage, making him a significant figure in the cultural tapestry, bridging traditions and contemporary expressions.

Artwork for Todd J. Bennett

Todd J. Bennett

Sound Design Secondment

Artwork for Emma Holgate

Emma Holgate

Design Associate

Artwork for Jules Orcullo

Jules Orcullo

Dramaturg

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140 Southbank Boulevard

Southbank, Victoria 3006