Jurrungu Ngan-ga (Straight Talk) deploys Marrugeku’s renowned culturally and community informed dance theatre to address local and global issues of the fear of cultural difference. Inspired by Yawuru leader Patrick Dodson’s proposal: “because we lack the ability to straight talk to one another about cultural difference, fear grows in each generation, holding community and society back in multiple ways”, Jurrungu Ngan-ga addresses alarming statistics which reveal Aboriginal Australians as proportionately the most incarcerated peoples in the world and responds to firsthand descriptions of life inside the Manus Island detention centre. Through choreography, voice, cultural perspectives and installation art Marrugeku investigates that which we wish to lock away, to put behind walls and to isolate. Featuring an outstanding cast who draw on their intersecting experiences within multiple marginalised communities, (Aboriginal, immigrant, refugee and transgender) Jurrungu Ngan-ga creates a searing and at times humorous portrayal of the fear of fear itself.
CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM
Direction Rachael Swain
Choreography Dalisa Pigram with the performers
Dramaturgy Hildegard de Vuyst
Music/sound design Sam Serruys
Scenic design Abdul-Rahman Abdullah
Lighting design Damien Cooper
Costume design Andrew Treloar
Lyrics Beni ‘Bjah’ Hasler
Co-devising performers Emmanuel James Brown, Luke Currie-Richardson, Issa El Assaad, Zachery Lopez, Bhenji Ra, Feras Shaheen, Miranda Wheen and Chandler Connell