From 1 to 3 October, NORPA will welcome audiences into its new creative home in The Joinery for the very first time, for a strictly limited, four-performance season of POV by the acclaimed Re:group Performance Collective.
It’s a fitting production to mark the occasion. POV is theatre that thrives on curiosity, connection and the unpredictable magic of being in a room together.
At the heart of the story is Bub, an 11-year-old girl with a passion for documentary filmmaking. When her family begins to fall apart, she turns to dramatised re-enactments to try to understand what has happened. But Bub doesn’t have all the answers – and neither do the adults around her. That’s where things get interesting.
At every performance, two locally cast adult actors step onto the stage having never rehearsed the play. Guided by Bub, they discover the story in real time, alongside the audience. Among the performers stepping into the unknown are Mandy Nolan, Madeleine West, Damon Gameau, Phil Blackman, Vanessa Larry Mitchell, Melia Naughton and Tom Davies. Which two will take the stage at your performance? That’s part of the fun.
The result is funny, playful and sometimes surprisingly moving, as POV explores family, memory, mental health and the big questions children ask when the adults in their lives can’t quite explain what’s going on.
The production has already captivated audiences around Australia, earning four-star reviews from Time Out Sydney and four-and-a-half stars from ArtsHub.
For NORPA, bringing POV to The Joinery is about more than presenting a show. It’s the first chance for audiences to step inside a place that has been years in the making, a new creative home shaped by the resilience and imagination of the Northern Rivers.
So come through the doors, take a seat and see what happens. With two unrehearsed local actors, an 11-year-old filmmaker, and a story being discovered live in front of you, there’s no telling exactly what you’ll see. But that’s the point.
POV plays at The Joinery, Lismore, from 1 to 3 October. Tickets are on sale now at norpa.org.au.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
