Today NORPA has announced additions to their 2022 season which will see a new original work to be performed at The Eltham Hotel and a powerful First Nations program.
In Love for One Night the theatre company will present a new site-specific work to be performed at The Eltham Hotel, in September. Directed by Julian Louis, Love for One Night weaves a tale of intersecting love stories, told in the playful and theatrical style of NORPA’s much-loved works Railway Wonderland and Dreamland. A series of brief encounters will be told through dialogue, movement, dance and song, using the iconic and historic Eltham Hotel as an atmospheric backdrop and stage.
Mr Louis says NORPA wanted to mark their return to theatre with a big, joyous outdoor event. ‘It will bring us together and celebrate who we are. Love for One Night is full of fictional moments that celebrate the culture and history of the Northern Rivers, and explore themes that are hyper-local and universal.’
First Nations program
NORPA will also present two events in its First Nations program, River Walks and Bundjalung Nghari-Indigenise, devised by Rhoda Roberts as Creative Director First Nations.
River Walks, is a monthly guided walk on Widjabul Wia-bal country that begins at NORPA, before exploring the banks of the Wilsons River in Lismore. Cultural guides invite participants to hear the stories of the river and water, learn the history and discover the old ways of mapping land, water and sky country.
Bundjalung Nghari (meaning: story) is a collection of performed stories, poems and essays, penned by First Nations Writers.
The stories will lift the curtain on how we view homelands and estates, clan and kinship, and the legacy that lives on in the everyday.
Four multi-disciplinary, creative thinkers and writers will share thought-provoking stories, reflecting on the collisions and intersections of belonging in two worlds with opposed philosophies and perceptions of what land and ownership truly means.
‘Our First Nations Program aims to highlight new experiences through a variety of creative expressions and genres that show the breadth of practice,’ says Ms Roberts. ‘Through regular programming of works we also share Widjabul Wia-bal philosophy, we aim to create events that have a distinctive tone, developed through multiple voices, locations and First Nations artistic practices.
River Walks will be held on the last Saturday of each month commencing Saturday, March 26, Bundjalung Nghari – Indigenise: is on 5-7 of August and Love for One Night will play from September 4 to 27.
For more information visit: www.norpa.org.au.
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