Michelle Daw, Yorke Peninsula Country Times
Stenhouse Bay and a rising full moon formed the stunning backdrop to the on-Country preview of Adelaide Festival production, Guuranda, at the weekend.
Invited members of the Narungga community watched the performance unfold on Saturday, February 24.
Guuranda will have its international premiere at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide on Thursday, February 29.
It tells the creation stories of Guuranda/Yorke Peninsula and is led by artistic director and Narungga /Kaurna theatre-maker Jacob Boehme.
Rather than quaint old tales, these Dreamtime stories are vital, violent and delightful by turns, and are intended to charm, shock and instruct the audience.
Jacob has woven a compelling blend of dance, puppetry, songs, instrumental music and visual arts, all closely informed by Narungga Elders Uncle Rex Angie, Aunty Lynette Newchurch, Aunty Deanna Newchurch and Uncle Eddie Newchurch as cultural consultants.
Among the professional dance troupe is senior dancer and Narungga woman Caleena Sansbury.
L-R: Get some air. Luke Currie-Richardson gives his all; Home ground. Narungga woman and senior dancer Caleena Sansbury brings alive the stories of Guuranda; Look and learn. Jordan O’David inhabits the creation stories of Yorke Peninsula in Adelaide Festival Production, Guuranda.
Photos: Michelle Daw.
Other Narungga performers include singers Warren Milera and Sonya Rankine, and members of the 26-strong Narungga Family Choir, while artist Kylie O’Loughlin created the backdrops.
Before the preview began, the elders talked about how the stories have been handed down through the generations and the emotional impact of seeing Guuranda performed after 12 months of development.
“To see it brought alive, with the full moon coming up behind, was magical — it was beautiful,” Aunty Lynette said.
Jacob is a member of the Newchurch and Sansbury families and grew up between Adelaide and Point Pearce.
He has been a performing arts professional in many national Indigenous productions during his 25-year career and said developing Guuranda has been a person-al quest to expand knowledge of his own culture.
“I know about the languages and stories from every other mob around Australia — I knew more about other mobs’ stories than about my own,” he said.
“I have wanted to know more about these (Narungga) stories for a very long time.
“I have had nothing but love and support from the Narungga community and the Elders — they have all given Guuranda the thumbs up.”
Guuranda will be performed in Narungga and English, with English subtitles, at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Grote Street, Adelaide, from Thursday, February 29, to Sunday, March 3.
This article appeared in the Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 27 February 2024.
