writing

Originally published September 4, 2019 The Saturday Paper “It feels like I’m on the run from a disastrous disease,” says Noongar writer and poet Claire G. Coleman. “We went to Barunga Festival in the Northern Territory, then over to Laura dance festival in Queensland, then the shit started hitting the fan. We got to Alice Springs, broke down and now Darwin’s gone into lockdown. We’ve constantly been escaping lockdowns.” Although she’s based in Melbourne, Coleman is currently

DubaiKungaMiyalk’s Same but Different foregrounds the vast range of contemporary Indigenous dance, says First Nations Emerging Critic Jacob Boehme Originally published March 19, 2019 Witness Performance As a form, Indigenous contemporary dance is relatively young. Sadly, the last four decades of Indigenous contribution to contemporary dance is scantily documented and largely unknown outside of Blackfella circles. Its beginnings were humble. A six-week course fusing traditio

Originally published July 3, 2019 The Saturday Paper Content warning: this piece contains the names of Aboriginal people who are deceased. “I have no problems being a gay and old arty bloke, because I’ve been a gay and young arty bloke for many years and everyone’s accepted it,” says Uncle Jack Charles. But back in the 1950s and ’60s, being gay was a problem. “In those days, you had to keep it dark because it was illegal,” says Charles. “I remember the days when the police we

A clever script, skilful direction and compassionate performances showcase the work of a brilliant new writer in Yirra Yaakin’s Cracked , says First Nations Emerging Critic Jacob Boehme Originally published May 15, 2019 Witness Performance Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company’s new work Cracked , by Barbara Hostalek, presents a powerful story about a bungling and racist bureaucracy. As members of the Aboriginal community, we know this story only too well. The content is bleak, but th

‘We need more artists like Kelly to ask these complicated questions’: First Nations Emerging Critic Jacob Boehme on Karul Projects’ CO_EX-EN  Originally published March 26, 2019 Witness Performance CO_EX_EN is the latest offering from emerging choreographer Thomas E S Kelly, under the banner of Karul Projects. A fledging performing arts company founded by Kelly in 2017, Karul Projects tells new stories of Indigenous knowledge, led by new Indigenous voices. A graduate of NAIS

‘Are you having a lend, Mr P?’ Shock and awe camp from an earlier age: First Nations Emerging Critic Jacob Boehme on Phillip Adams’ Glory Originally published March 23, 2019 Witness Performance Phillip Adams, the artistic director of Phillip Adams BalletLab, is known for his exquisite contemporary re-mastering of balletic dance with a signature tongue-in-cheek irreverence, delivered with a healthy dose of shock and awe that leaves you feeling like you’ve been turkey slapped.

A purely conceptual dramaturgy lets down the strong work of the performers in The Difficult Comedown , says First Nations Emerging Critic Jacob Boehme Originally published March 14, 2029 Witness Performance Disclaimer: the following may be tainted by the pungent smell of feet. Ripe, toe-jammy, blue-cheese-encrusted feet. The audience is chaperoned down a red carpet-lined hallway, arriving at the entrance of a makeshift theatre within the giant hall of the Meat Market. We are

Isabella Whawai Waru’s Where We Stand raises urgent questions about the structures that inform Indigenous artmaking, says Jacob Boehme Originally published December 20, 2019 Witness Performance Isabella Whawai Waru’s Where We Stand , presented by Dancehouse, is the full-length redevelopment of Wahu’s earlier work of the same title, which raises urgent interrogations around matters of colonialism, discrimination and privilege. The program notes describe it as performance ritu