Cirrus@Austlit

'An intimate tale of heartbreak, forgiveness, share memories and sweet melodies.

'Songbird is a story about a young couple, Leon & Brooke, who parted ways following the death of Brooke’s brother, Michael. Michael, Brooke and Leon grew up together and have been best friends their entire lives. They were inseparable until Michael’s untimely death drove Brooke and Leon apart. After five years, Leon wants to reconnect with Brooke and find out why Michael died. Does he really want to know the truth behind the death? Will he understand why reconciliation with Brooke may be too difficult, or will their shared memories & love of music allow forgiveness to triumph over the ever-aching sadness they both share?'

Source: Yirra Yaakin.

'Nana wants out of the old folks’ home – and she ain’t coming back. An escape plan has been hatched and the grand kids are on board. Will the rest of the family assist or resist?

'Featuring legend of stage and screen Dr Lynette Narkle in the role of nana, alongside an all-star cast.

'Join us for a night of laughter, joy and tenderness as we cheer nana in her quest to return home to country.

'Boomerangs always return…'

Source: Yirra Yaakin.

'Bilya Kaatijin (“Fresh Water Knowledge” in Noongar)

'Connecting stories from Noongar land (south-west Western Australia) to Wonguktha land (the northern Goldfields), Aotearoa (New Zealand) and the Kikuyu people of Kenya, Bilya Kaatijin teaches us about the importance of water to First Nations people around the world.'

Source: Playlab.

'Saddle up for the next big Black musical. Set in a small town in the northwest of Western Australia in the 1960s, Panawathi Girl overflows with wild joy as hippies and cowboys, politicians and protesters fuel an all-singing, all-dancing night of entertainment.

'Written by David Milroy, the much loved playwright behind Waltzing the Wilarra, and featuring an all-star cast of WA talent, this music-filled journey is brimming with heart and humour. Follow our heroine Molly Chubb from the big smoke back to the small country town of her birth as she searches for her place in the world.

'Set amidst a time of great political change, this bold new production from Yirra Yaakin will have you questioning if much has changed at all, even as it has you tapping your toes and yearning for more.'  (Production summary)

'Ice Land: A Hip h’Opera is the journey of three people and Ice addiction in all its states, including happiness, invincibility and clarity, through to despair, fear, psychosis and, ultimately, the breakdown of our communities – their ruin. Aided by the enigmatic Dnale Ci, it is a twisted tale of grief, addiction and redemption.

'It’s an exciting new work using the power of hip hop to explore a pressing issue within our communities, featuring new music from Aussie hip hop legends Downsyde, Layla and Moana Mayatrix.

'With the flow of jazz, the soul of blues and the energy of electro, Ice Land: A Hip h’Opera uses the language of hip hop to tackle a tough issue currently affecting our society – the plague of methamphetamine use.

'Yirra Yaakin has gathered powerful testimonials from users, carers, family members and many others to piece together a full-length contemporary theatre performance using hip hop as the key musical and philosophical drive. Join us as we explore the journey of Ice addiction in all its states, including happiness, invincibility and clarity, through to despair, fear, psychosis and, ultimately, the breakdown of our communities – their ruin.

'Alongside a team that boasts some of Western Australia’s best artists, including Perth hip hop kings Downsyde, the awe-inspiring vocalist Aria Scarlett, multi-disciplinary performer, musician and singer Moana Mayatrix of MOANA, we explore a very timely subject and ultimately ask the question: if meth use continues to escalate within our communities, what is going to happen to our society as a whole?'

Source: Yirra Yaakin.

'Djinda has come out of a bad marriage and moved back in with family. Her best friend Hope is also single and ready to mingle. Djinda is back on the market, but her overprotective brother is getting in the way. Justin is the new man on the scene but is he too smooth? Djinda doesn’t want to risk another broken heart. Because no one comes without baggage after 30!' (Production summary)

'Besties Niarra and Te Umuroa are out playing in the bush. Just another day in paradise – until they glimpse what can only be the world’s last Tasmanian Tiger.

'Dodging hunters, Niarra and Te Umuroa set sail for Aotearoa to hide their new friend. But hunters aren’t the only ones on this Tiger’s tail. They’ll have to outwit Māori gods and palawa spirits to save their furry friend.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'In a world where the Noongar language is spoken by all, a yarn about a Scottish king is retold.

'Join Yirra Yaakin, one of Australia’s leading Aboriginal performing arts organisations for Australia’s first large-scale Shakespeare production entirely in Noongar. 

'Hecate, queen of the witches, is usually omitted from productions of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Most directors are unsure of what to do with her. Here, she is at the heart of everything watching as Macbeth strives toward power at any cost, all the while knowing that order must be restored; that Country always trumps human ambition and greed.

'In 1833 colonist Robert Menli Lyon wrote in reference to Noongar people that ‘the whole of each tribe are bards’. This world premiere event puts those words to the test. Having spent years studying and reclaiming their endangered Noongar language, a star ensemble use this audacious adaptation as a springboard to showcase its poetic and expressive qualities.'

Source: Perth Festival.

'Frankie is in jail for serious offences of assault and drug possession. She’s bitter, disenfranchised and just wants to live life on her terms. But jail is a temporary escape for her – free from financial hardship, homelessness, and hunger. Cracked is the story of Frankie as she rages her way through the criminal justice system with the hope of being reunited with her kids. Weaving several narratives, Cracked shows the complexity and disconnectedness of people that fall into a life of crime, and the trials faced by prisoners and others who are determined to help them find a better life. Written by Barbara Hostalek, whose first play Banned sold out two seasons at The Blue Room Theatre in 2018, Cracked is a powerful and thought-provoking look inside our criminal justice system from an exciting new voice.'(Introduction)

'Djinda Kaatijin (which in Noongar means ‘to understand stars’) is the next exciting installment in Yirra Yaakin’s series of productions for young people.

'Through a mix of traditional Noongar dreaming stories and contemporary Indigenous storytelling, Djinda Kaatijin explores the importance of the stars and how they are culturally important to us all.

'Join Weitj (Emu), Dwert (Dingo) and Wardong (Crow) as they take us on a journey through the milky way to learn about the Seven Sisters (Pleiades) while interweaving star stories from around Australia and the world, including stories from India, Spain and Scotland as well as Noongar Boodjar. After all, it’s all our stars. It’s all our dreaming.'

Source: Yirra Yaakin.

'Jono is locked in a Fly In Fly Out (FIFO) gridlock; Mary is wrapped up in a high flying FIFO wife’s lifestyle; her sister Janey is locked in her house, sliding into delusion awaiting her FIFO husband’s return. Something’s gotta give! Will it take a tragedy to stop the slide?' (Production summary)

'Two young women meet face to face for the first time across the bed of a dying man. Strangers to each other but bonded by blood and grief. Sisters. They break the cold silence of the hospital room to start a difficult conversation. About the past and secrets. About the women who were their mothers. And about why this man, their father, abandoned one family to make another. When the past is dying and can’t say sorry, how do you move on?

Sista Girl is an exploration of the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians, via the story of two women who share a white father. Co-written by Elena Carapetis (Gorgon) and Alexis West (Echoes …. of Knowing Home), the play will speak directly to audiences about questions of identity, grief and the complex nature of family.' (Production summary)

The Noongar Shakespeare Project endeavours to celebrate Noongar culture and language, expressed through adaptations and variations of works by William Shakespeare.

'In 2012, in an international first, Yirra Yaakin preseted translated Shakespeare's Sonnets in the Noongar language as part of The Globe Theatre's cultural Olympiad in London. This represented an important moment in celebrating Noongar culture and language internationally.'

Source: Yirra Yaakkin website. 

'Boodjar Kaatijin will be the third instalment of the successful Kaatijin series of new works for families and younger audiences. Just as Kep Kaatijin was about understanding water and Kaarla Kaatijin about understanding fire, Boodjar Kaatijin incorporates live music with storytelling to share Noongar understanding of the Earth and country. This new work is based on the creation stories in and around the Perth metropolitan area, so by sharing stories from our local region, we hope to give audiences in Perth a glimpse of the cultural significance of the places in which we live.' (Source: Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company website)

'When we meet the Three Wise Men, they are drunk, lost, handcuffed, bewildered and don’t even know each other. They fight over grog. They try to remember who they are – but each time they remember it is a grog-police-jail memory. They are prisoners haunted by memories of freedom fighters – Yagan, Ned Kelly & Jandamarra (who all lost their heads and their heads were lost). They each chase down their identities and their purpose, all the while sorting through their memories of oppression and of fighting back. As they go through this process they become closer to themselves, to this reality. What is their wisdom? Will they get to the birth? Will their gifts be appropriate?'

Source: Yirra Yaakin.

'Skylab is a science fiction comedy set in July 1979 when the American space station Skylab crash landed off the southern coast of Western Australia near the coastal town of Esperance. Telekinesis and telepathy besets the town’s population resulting in confusion and fear. President Jimmy Carter rings Balladonia Roadhouse to formally apologise and Auntie picks up the phone.'

Source: Carriageworks website. (Sighted: 14/7/2015)

'Mob can’t survive like that, you can’t survive like that. We gotta talk to each other, as hard as it is, ’cause I guarantee you, that phone will ring and you’ll have to say goodbye again.

'This beautiful little play is about life.

'It begins with a death: on a hot morning under a house in Darwin, Ruben wakes to find his cousin Joe hanging from the rafters. What follows is the story of a family, buffeted by constant tragedy, holding itself together – as their people have done generation after generation. This play asks us: how do we deal with death? And how many other people does it take for each of us to live? Little by little, Ruben’s family brings him back from the edge.' (Production summary)

Kaarla Kaatijin which in noongar means 'to understand fire' is the first story in a series of five productions centred around Noongar language and culture.

The story follows the plight of the birds and animals of the land suffering an endless, icey winter. Together they undertake a dangerous and brave mission to catch 'Kaarla' (fire) and bring it back to warm the land once more. Rich in storytelling and beautifully written characters, Kaarla Kaatijin builds on Yirra Yaakin's excellent reputation for high quality Indigenous theatre for young people. This enchanting Western Australian story celebrates local culture and heritage in a refreshingly youthful and vibrant way.