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.
Gurr Era Op
Touring Nationally
A call to action against climate devastation.
Created by Ghenoa Gela and produced by Force Majeure in association with ILBIJERRI Theatre Company
Join four mainland-born Torres Strait Islander women as they battle against the rising tide threatening their home, culture and identity. GURR ERA OP(“the face of the sea” in Meriam Mir) is a celebratory sharing of culture and a call to action in the face of climate devastation. Interweaving hybrid Torres Strait Islander contemporary storytelling, movement and spoken word.
What would you do if you could never go home? Is your culture bound by place or by self? What happens to your identity when the physical place that holds your ancestral foundations disappears?
These are some of the questions the storytellers grapple with daily as they watch their motherland, family and communities suffer the onslaught of climate change. The Torres Strait Islands are currently on the front lines–but ultimately, your home is next.
Award-winning choreographer and performer Ghenoa Gela (My Urrwai, Sydney Festival 2018) presents her landmark work, in a culmination of many years of creative association with Force Majeure. Now in collaboration with ILBIJERRI Theatre Company’s Amy Sole, the result is a vivid imagining of loss and a call to action for a better future.
2024 Tour
With more locations to be announced
Sydney Festival 13 – 19 January 2024 Bangarra Dance Theatre, Studio 1 (The Thirsty Mile) Wharf 4/5, 15 Hickson Road Dawes Point NSW 2000
RISING Festival 12 - 16 June 2024 Arts House, 521 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne VIC 3051
Gurr Era Op at Sydney Festival, taken by Prudence UptonGurr Era Op at Sydney Festival, taken by Prudence UptonGurr Era Op at Sydney Festival, taken by Prudence Upton
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government's Major Festivals Initiative, managed by Creative Australia, its Arts Funding and Advisory Body, in association with the Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals Inc., commissioned by Sydney Festival, RISING, Brisbane Festival and Ten Days in the Island
CREATIVE TEAM
Creator, Director, Writer and Performer Ghenoa Gela
Associate Director / ILBIJERRI Theatre Creative Associate Amy Sole
Artistic Consultant / Force Majeure Artistic Director Danielle Micich
