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Dirtsong single work   musical theatre  
Issue Details: First known date: 2009... 2009 Dirtsong
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Dirtsong is a music performance from Aboriginal Australia mixing traditional and contemporary songs, existing repertoire with newly commissioned music and sung in many Indigenous Australian languages.

'A narrative about country, dirtsong evokes a sense of geographical place and country as a series of encounters, memories, occurrences, obligations and nature.

'With words from Miles Franklin Award-winning author Alexis Wright (Carpentaria), these songs evoke a new conceptual and emotional map of Australia's heartland while gently awakening some of Australia's sleeping languages.'

Source: Black Arm Band website, http://www.blackarmband.com.au/
Sighted: 28/09/2009

Notes

  • 'Performed in Australian Aboriginal languages against a backdrop of lyrical film imagery.'

Production Details

  • World premiere performed at the Melbourne International Arts Festival in association with Arts House and in collaboration with The Black Arm Band, 23-24 October 2009.
  • Performed at Concert Hall, QPAC, South Brisbane, 2 to 5 Mar 2013.
    • Created and performed by Black Arm Band
    • Original text: Alexis Wright
    • Film: Natasha Gadd and Rhys Graham
    • Performed by: Archie Roach, Lou Bennett, Deline Briscoe, Emma Donovan, Djolpa Mackenzie, David Leha, William Barton, Natalie Pa'apa'a, Shane Howard, Jimmy Barnes, Paul Dempsey, Julien Wilson, Michael Meagher, Forbes Scotney, Andrea Keller, John Rodgers, Dan Curro, Rory MacDougall, Greg Sheehan.
    • Artistic Director: Lou Bennett
    • Executive Producer: Steven Richardson
    • Associate Producers: Anna Jacobs and Mia Christophersen
    • Artistic Associate: Emma Donovan

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

Dirtsong to Hit Stages Jillian Mundy , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 25 March no. 597 2015; (p. 11)

— Review of Dirtsong Alexis Wright , 2009 single work musical theatre
'The Black Arm Band returns to the stage in Melbourne, Launceston and Hobart this week, before heading to Asia, with dirtsong, a musical journey featuring songs in 11 Aboriginal languages and moving imagery and text...'
Literatura dzieci Tęczowego Węża Teresa Podemska-Abt , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: Polska Canada Magazine Creative 2012;
Shared History Bears Fruit Michael Dwyer , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 4 September 2012; (p. 15)

— Review of Dirtsong Alexis Wright , 2009 single work musical theatre
Many Voices, One Soul: Black Arm Band Turn Dirt into Song John Mangan , 2009 single work column
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 27 September 2009; (p. 17)
Shared History Bears Fruit Michael Dwyer , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 4 September 2012; (p. 15)

— Review of Dirtsong Alexis Wright , 2009 single work musical theatre
Dirtsong to Hit Stages Jillian Mundy , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 25 March no. 597 2015; (p. 11)

— Review of Dirtsong Alexis Wright , 2009 single work musical theatre
'The Black Arm Band returns to the stage in Melbourne, Launceston and Hobart this week, before heading to Asia, with dirtsong, a musical journey featuring songs in 11 Aboriginal languages and moving imagery and text...'
Many Voices, One Soul: Black Arm Band Turn Dirt into Song John Mangan , 2009 single work column
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 27 September 2009; (p. 17)
Literatura dzieci Tęczowego Węża Teresa Podemska-Abt , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: Polska Canada Magazine Creative 2012;

Awards

Last amended 30 Mar 2015 12:40:19
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