We acknowledge and pay our respects to the Elders, Ancestors and leaders of the Kulin Nations on whose unceded lands ILBIJERRI Theatre Company is based.
We extend this respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, recognising their resilience and ongoing connection to land, water and culture, despite ongoing colonial interruption and genocide.
Always was, always will be, sacred Indigenous land.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples should be advised that this website may contain images of deceased persons.
Bindjareb Pinjarra
Presented by The Pinjarra Project & Deckchair Theatre with ILBIJERRI Theatre Company & Footscray Community Arts Centre
“Powerful and moving… delicious satire” - The West Australian
A comedy about a massacre? It’s deadly!
A brilliant improvised comedy about WA’s Pinjarra Massacre. Created and performed by Nyoongar and Wadjella (whitefella) actors, BINDJAREB PINJARRA demonstrates extraordinary risk taking through its fusion of history, outrageous comedy and physical theatre.
The catalyst for this theatrical history lesson is the mass killing of Nyoongar people at Pinjarra on October 28, 1834 – an event recorded as the Battle of Pinjarra but mourned by local Nyoongar as a massacre. An account of this story is played out in front of a dramatic backdrop painted by Nyoongar artist Tjyllyungoo (Lance Chadd).
Created & Performed by Isaac Drandic, Geoff Kelso, Sam Longley, Frank Nannup, Kelton Pell & Phil Thomson.
Reviews
“Its great strength is the depth of story and quality of the tale tellers… their ability to take us deep inside the other and find the familiar self beyond stereotype” - Realtime Magazine
"It's beautifully judged storytelling, and an emphatic denial that the horror was inevitable... Bindjareb Pinjarra is devised theatre at its finest" - Cameron Woodhead, The Age, 2012 [Read More]
"This improvised comedy about a massacre manages to be equally adept at amusing, moving, appalling and educating its audience" - Melanie Burge, ArtsHub, 2012 [Read More]
"Rather than guilt-inducing or depressing, Bindjareb Pinjarra deals with the sensitive topic appropriately through improvised comedy and physical theatre" - Eugenia Flynn, Black Thoughts Live Here, 2012 [Read More]
"Bindjareb Pinjarrais the very essence of a stunning touring show. It is particularly accessible because of its down to earth ‘boysey’ humour and totally worth catching" - Suzanne Sandow, Stage Whispers, 2012 [Read More]
'Turning Pinjarra massacre into comedy', Robin Usher, The Age, 2012 [Read More]
Teachers and presenters
Download the Teacher's Resource Kit
For touring information please contact Geoff Kelso The Pinjarra Project [email protected]
