AustLit

'Follow four unaccompanied children as they embark on a perilous journey. Drifting on Indo-Australian waters towards an uncertain future they confront memories of the lives they have left behind.

'The culmination of a two-year research project, Children of the Sea is Jay Emmanuel’s emotional and epic theatrical piece that shares the journey of young maritime survivors who came to Australia by boat. Inspired by true stories, it brings together a stellar team of five extraordinary young performers onstage with a vocal ensemble led by Green Room Award-winning singer-songwriter, composer, performer and choir-leader, Kavisha Mazzella.

'The UN Refugee Agency reports 70.8 million people were forcibly displaced by conflict or persecution at the end of 2018. 52% of those were children. A counter-response to one of the most pressing issues humanity is facing right now, the piece asks: How do children deal with fate and tragedy? What do children do to survive in the face of adversity? What gives them hope? How does loss and displacement morph childhood?

'A tribute to hope and a sobering reminder of the stories that float on the horizon, Children of the Sea explores the paradoxes and confusions of a world dealing with an unprecedented flux of uprooted lives. Chilling, yet playful and funny, this sensitive and politically-charged show puts children front and centre – their voice, their story – ultimately creating an uplifting theatrical experience.'

Source: Perth Festival.

'A stirring deliberation on the choices we make and how they shape our lives, Black Brass is a theatrical feast; playful yet mysterious. Written and performed by Mararo Wangai, joined live onstage by musician Mahamudo Selimane, this intimate and soulful experience celebrates stories of resilience – private victories rather than public actions.

'Arriving to clean a music studio late at night, Sleeper encounters a stranger who speaks only in music. The man is fascinating and oddly familiar. Slowly the pair are drawn into each other’s orbit, as each man tries to reconcile a past that refuses to let go and a present that is unwilling to accept. Through flashback narrative and music, moments of darkness are tempered by soulful songs as the pair hurtles towards a pivotal decision that must be made come sunrise.

'Black Brass draws inspiration from interviews conducted with Perth’s Zimbabwean, Sudanese, South African, Central Congo, Mauritius, Nigerian, Congolese and Kenyan communities on the theme of resilience. Through its story it gives voice to the marginalised, offering a window into the lives and voices not often heard in the theatre.'

Source: Perth Festival.

'When you lose something, you gain something else …

'Cathelijn is completely and undeniably alone: no friends, no family, no-one to turn to. All by herself in the centre of a dark forest, she tries to be strong, like a Viking. And that’s when she sees it – the house. A higgledy-piggeldy mess of a place as tall as the trees. Inside, she finds Piotr, a boy who never stops talking, and Elka, a grey-haired explorer who insists they keep the curtains closed tight. When they suddenly launch into the air and set off across the sky, Cathelijn learns that this is no ordinary house: it’s a Rescue House, and it rescues the Loneliest Child in the World.

'Whale Fall follows the emotional journey of a 12-year-old boy, Caleb (Ashton Brady), and his family grappling with Caleb’s desire to medically affirm his gender: letting go of the daughter they had; accepting and getting to know the son he has become.

'We are immersed in an ocean setting. Ian Sinclair’s script carries a strong marine undercurrent from beginning to end: the beachside house, the young boy’s dream of becoming a marine biologist, his excitement in recounting his readings about intriguing sea creatures to his mother, Nadine (Caitlin Beresford-Ord), and the parallel theme of whale fall sewn into the story. This is the new life borne out of a dead whale when it reaches the ocean floor.

'The play is as much about a young trans person’s journey as it is about Australians’ strong connection to the ocean and ever-increasing awareness of our ecological responsibility for its preservation.' (Production summary)