Thursday, July 4, 2024

Issue:

Mackay and Whitsunday Life

The Visitors Coming Soon To Burdekin Theatre

Directed by the talented Wesley Enoch, Jane Harrison’s The Visitors will grace the stage of the Burdekin Theatre on 7 September.

Audiences will be transported back in time, to witness the historical happenings of January 1788 unfold right before their eyes…

On a sweltering day in January 1788, seven clan leaders gather on a sandstone escarpment overlooking the harbour. The attendees, six of them Elders and one new initiate, catch-up, laugh together, share a meal and compare notes. But beyond the friendly banter, protocols, and hospitality, a momentous decision is waiting to be made.

A mysterious fleet of giant nawi is amassing in the harbour and as they creep closer, these seven representatives must choose unanimously: whether to send these strangers on their way or welcome them?

Having recently been awarded Best Mainstage Production and Best Ensemble at the 2023 Sydney Theatre Awards, Muruwari playwright Jane Harrison’s The Visitors embarks on a national tour directed by one of Australia’s most celebrated directors, Quandamooka man Wesley Enoch.

Co-produced by Moogahlin Performing Arts and Sydney Theatre Company, The Visitors is at once a riveting, deeply researched insight into one of the most impactful and painful days in Australia’s history, and a hugely entertaining study of how communities respond to change and the unknown.

Celebrated as “a powerful and contemplative performance that challenges the mind and moves the heart” by Timeout, the production has received much praise from numerous publishments, along receiving the award for Best Mainstage Production and Best Ensemble at the 2023 Sydney Theatre Awards.

“We are surrounded by the need for discussion and debate,” said Director Wesley Enoch.

“We have friendly disagreements all the time, we argue and oppose sometimes for very personal reasons as we clash over values and ideology but as a society the key is finding some way forward rather than being paralysed by division.

The Visitors simultaneously leads us to a past and a preferred future - It takes us back to the arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney Cove and asks: ‘what if’ that moment was different? What if there was a way for the visitors to hear the generous message of welcome? What if they understood the power of connection to Land for the First Peoples?”

Tickets to the unmissable and outstanding production of The Visitors will be available for purchase from Friday 5 July and can be purchased on the Burdekin Theatre’s website, by calling (07) 4783 9880, or through the QR code.

A Moogahlin Performing Arts and Sydney Theatre Company Production by Jane Harrison. Directed by Wesley Enoch.

What: The Visitors
When: 7 September 2024.
Where: The Burdekin Theatre
More Information: bit.ly/TheVisitors_Burdekin or by calling (07) 4783 9880. 

Photo Credit Rob Hookey.
Photo Credit Daniel Boud.
Photo Credit Daniel Boud.

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