Theatre and dance production Jurrungu Ngan-ga [Straight Talk] is set to perform at Illawarra Performing Arts Centre (IPAC) from Thursday, August 29.

Co-artistic director Rachael Swain says the show is an enlightening representation of Australia’s cultural psyche.

“It’s a show that started with the idea of Australia’s very deep-seated fear of cultural difference, and fear of the cultural other,” Rachael says.

“We sat down with Yawuru leader Patrick Dodson to have a talk about this idea the day after the ABC released Australia’s Shame.” 

The Four Corners report aired in 2016 and exposed the severe mistreatment of First Nations children at Don Dale Youth Detention Centre.

“We started talking very quickly about incarceration and how Australia locks up that which it fears,” Rachael says.

“Patrick was the one that made the link between that and Australia’s indefinite detention of refugees on Manus Island and how we extend this psyche of imprisonment beyond national borders.

“We wanted to make a work where, although it's about prisons, it's actually about the prison of the mind.”

Choreographed by Dalisa Pigram, Rachael’s creative partner of 29 years, Jurrungu Ngan-ga includes a cast of co-devising performers; Czack (Ses) Bero, Emmanuel James Brown, Chandler Connell, Luke CurrieRichardson, Issa el Assaad, Macon Escobal Riley, Bhenji Ra, Feras Shaheen and Miranda Wheen.

Marrugeku production company collaborates with First Nations people and diverse communities to create accessible works that explore cultural identity.

“The set and the setting for the work is kind of this space of the mind of Australia and different scenes are like figments of the imagination of Australia,” Rachael says.

“Some of them are interpretations of moments that we recognise from the media or moments from Don Dale or from Manus Island,

“We worked with people who have been in those situations to create the scenes, and the performances are interpreting those moments and also contributing their own experiences from their own communities.”

Jurrungu Ngan-ga began touring in 2021 in Broome and has toured remote communities around Australia, as well as national festivals and international theatres. 

“It has played in Fitzroy Crossing, the Kimberley, Derby, in communities where these issues are very close to the bone,” Rachael says.

“But it has also been played in Berlin and Venice, and most capital cities in Australia.

“There was this amazing moment in Berlin where the Australian ambassador was in the audience. He stood up and addressed the whole audience. He really acknowledged that Australia has a lot of work to do and that art can take a big role in that space.”

Rachel credits dance as a medium to unpack complex issues.

“There's so many of the big issues that affect our country that get talked about in policy terms or in statistics,” Rachael says.

“Sometimes text-based work can make things quite didactical – it's one way or another. Whereas dance can work abstractly and concretely – it can be a good way to unpack complexity – it’s something people feel.”

Wollongong audiences will have the chance to see the final performances of the work.

“We haven’t played this work since September last year, so pre-referendum,” Rachael says. 

“We work with diverse communities for the purpose of what it means to work together after a struggle and colonial aftermath.

“We were doing that before the referendum, but maybe the context of the referendum illustrates the purpose of our work more clearly. It'll be interesting to see how audiences react.”

Jurrungu Ngan-ga references some complex themes within cultural Australia, but Rachel reminds audiences that the performance aims to celebrate diverse communities.

“The work really promotes a level of resilience and resistance and the power of joy and solidarity, and listening to each other, sharing experiences,” Rachael says.

“It’s a very life-affirming work. If people are worried that it might be too harsh, they'll find that it is also quite uplifting.”

Tickets start at $45 and the show is on from Thursday, August 29 to Saturday, August 31 at IMB Theatre IPAC. Book via Merrigong.