11 — 14 Sep
GURR ERA OP
Presented by Brisbane Festival, Brisbane Powerhouse and The University of Queensland
What would you do if you could never go home?
Join four mainland-born Torres Strait Islander women as they battle against the rising tide threatening their home, culture and identity.
GURR ERA OP (which means 'the face of the sea' in Meriam Mir) is a celebratory sharing of culture and a call to action in the face of climate devastation, interweaving hybrid Torres Strait Islander contemporary storytelling, movement and spoken word. What would you do if you could never go home? Is your culture bound by place or by self? What happens to your identity when the physical place that holds your ancestral foundations disappears?
These are some of the questions the storytellers grapple with daily as they watch their motherland, family and communities suffer the onslaught of climate change. The Torres Strait Islands are currently on the front lines, but ultimately, your home is next.
Award-winning choreographer and performer Ghenoa Gela presents her landmark work, in a culmination of many years of creative association with Force Majeure. Now in collaboration with ILBIJERRI Theatre Company’s Amy Sole, the result is a vivid imagining of loss, and a call to action for a better future.
Creator, Director, Writer and Performer - Ghenoa Gela
Performers - Aba Bero, Berthalia Selina Reuben, and Taryn Beatty
Associate Director/ILBIJERRI Theatre Creative Associate - Amy Sole
Associate Director/Force Majeure Artistic Director - Danielle Micich
Elders/Cultural Consultants/Advisors - Anson Jack Gela, Annie Gela, Sarah Gela, Agnes Santo, Meo Sailor, Mua Sailor, Nancy Nawie, Patricia Dow, Joshua Thaiday
Set Designer - Katy Moir
Costume Designer - Lisa Fa'alafi
Lighting Designer - Kelsey Lee
Composer and Sound Designer - Ania Reynolds
Costume Associate - Tracy Datson
Production Manager - Mark Haslam
Sound Associate - Carl Polke
Impact Advisor - Anna Weekes
Produced by Force Majeure in association with ILBIJERRI Theatre Company.
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Major Festivals Initiative, managed by Creative Australia, its Arts Funding and Advisory Body, in association with the Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals Inc., commissioned by Sydney Festival, RISING, Brisbane Festival and Ten Days on the Island.
This project is supported through the Giving Program by Carolyn Vincent — Ubuntu Foundation.
Image by Prudence Upton
Production Partners
Price
$20 - $35
Times
Matinee 2:00pm
Evening Performance 7:30pm
Duration
Approx. 1 hour
Accessibility
Relaxed performance
50% Visual Content
Wheelchair Accessible
Auslan Interpreted Event
Audio Described Event
Assistive Listening
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…easily the most affecting work I have seen this season.
ABC News
…more than a performance; it is a celebration of culture in the face of climate devastation.
That Show Blog
#Artists
Force Majeure
Force Majeure is a national devising company that makes visceral interdisciplinary movement-based performance.
ILBIJERRI Theatre
ILBIJERRI Theatre Company is Australia’s longest-running First Peoples’ theatre company, over 30 years strong. They create, present and tour challenging and provocative theatrical works that share the experiences of First People in Australia today.
#Partners
How to get there
Underground Theatre, Brisbane Powerhouse ›
119 Lamington St,
New Farm QLD 4005