Part concert, part story, part ceremony
When two skeletons are discovered in the dried-up creek bed of a remote Queensland farm, the fates of three women – thousands of kilometres apart – become deeply intertwined.
Selene faces the loss of her family farm after five generations of tending. Violet’s ancestors were custodians of that land for over 65,000 years before Selene’s ancestors stole it from them. Meanwhile, Tsuet-Cheng is returning from Sydney to Singapore for “Tomb Sweeping Day”, a ritual in which families visit cemeteries to talk with their ancestors. These three women don’t know each other – but they will.
A hauntingly beautiful blend of music, dance, film, design and dialogue, 宿 (stay) is built on the real-life experiences of the artists. It’s an evocative unearthing of the buried traumas and fragile connections that lie at the heart of rural life, one that transports its audience from a densely packed Singapore housing block to the vast Tagalaka country of outback Australia.
宿 (stay) is a new work created by Western Sydney company Kurinji, its co-founder/writer S. Shakthidharan (Counting and Cracking, Sydney Festival 2019) and the renowned Singaporean sound ensemble SAtheCollective.
Cast
Aimée Falzon, Jasmin Sheppard, Charles Wu, Andy Chia, Natalie Alexandra Tse, Govin Tan, Vick Low
Creative Team
Director/Writer S. Shakthidharan
Music Composers SAtheCollective & Kurinji
Set & Costume Design Dale Ferguson
Lighting Design Karen Norris
AV Design/Operator Elias Nohra
Movement Director Jasmin Sheppard
Production Manager Barry Searle
Stage Manager Jen Jackson
Producer Fenn Gordon for Tandem
Producer/Music Director Andy Chia
Associate Writers Aimée Falzon, Jasmin Sheppard, Natalie Alexandra Tse
Photography Alex Vaughan and Jacquie Manning
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“a narrative that is both blazingly relevant and deserving of an audience’s attention… The three in-person performers, of Western Sydney-based theatre company Kurinji – Aimee Falzon, Jasmin Sheppard and Charles Wu – shift nimbly across multiple roles and disciplines, which in itself is an impressive feat.”
“Inspired by the stories and cultural ceremonies of some ensemble members, this narrative concert is thematically ambitious and emotionally affecting”
“Certainly, any production from Shakthidharan and Kurinji deserves an audience”
“This ambitious new show from the creator of ‘Counting and Cracking’ tells a deserving story… an extremely well-heeled production with a lot of sophistication at its disposal”