GURR ERA OP | Ghenoa Gela in association with Force Majeure & ILBIJERRI Theatre Company
All images: Prudence Upton.
“I am currently fighting the fear of being displaced. The fear of not belonging somewhere, do you know what that feels like?”
Ghenoa Gela
Following GURR ERA OP’s extremely successful performances at the Sydney and RISING Festivals, the foyer of the Underground Theatre at the Brisbane Powerhouse presented a warm, welcoming precursor to the show’s debut premiere here in Magandjin / Meanjin.
A pop-up foyer activation that included MABU MABU tea, a tradition of the Torres Strait Islander culture, was freely available and very popular with audience members while an engaging video that featured footage from research trips to Erub Island in the Torres Straits, an apt reminder of ‘the face of the sea’ (the meaning of GURR ERA OP in the Meriam Mer language).
In the opening scenes, Ghenoa Gela, Aba Bero, Berthalia Selina Reuben and Taryn Beatty, four mainland-born Torres Strait Islander women engaged the audience by introducing us to a series of phrases and words from their language… Zenadth Kes… Kai Kai of which the latter referred to food/eating/cooking, and a continuous metaphor sprinkled liberally throughout the production.
The sharing of stories, food and bountiful laughter created a haven of safety and comfort while universal themes and motifs encouraged an intimate audience connection. GURR ERA OP is a cautionary tale - yet another timely warning of the very real danger that Gela’s Torres Strait Islander communities are having to face with their ancestral homes slowly being devoured by the increasingly rising oceans. There was an undeniable underlying darkness as we were swept up in this engrossing production and the reality of the devastating effects of climate change.
All images: Prudence Upton.
An abundance of differently shaped fishing baskets comprised the elaborate large-scale installation by Katy Moir (set and spatial designer) which in turn was superbly lit with the skillful maneuvering of Kelsey Lee’s innovative UV lighting that created an overall lavish spectrum of colours. Intermittently, these baskets were dragged across the performance space to further embellish the rich storytelling that built towards the distressing finale where each of the performers feverishly tried to construct a barricade to prevent the rising tides. Ultimately, their painstaking mission is doomed.
Ania Reynolds’ intriguing sound design and original compositions underscored traditional and contemporary choreography that worked exceptionally well together and was intertwined with spoken word, song and storytelling. The unmistakable haunting roar of the waves was accompanied by passages of recorded text, effective in its delivery and that simultaneously conjured up images, a foretelling of a future that is indeed bleak.
Lisa Fa’alafi’s eye-catching costume designs added yet another dimension to our already fragile ecosystems. The detrimental effects of coral bleaching is an awful reality and just like the deprivation that corals undergo, Fa’alafi’s costumes morphed from vibrant colourways into drab greys throughout the show - a design feat all of its own making.
The displacement of the Torres Straits Islander’s culture, families, homes, livelihood is at the forefront of GURR ERA OP. Confronting as this subject matter most definitely is, Gela is here to remind us that our reckoning is nearer than we can comprehend. Her blistering closing monologue “The oceans will come to Kai Kai your homes next.” is a warning that was met with an eerily uneasy silence.
Denial aside, the climate crisis is truly a global threat to all humanity. Catastrophic in nature, it threatens each and every one of us, no exceptions! GURR ERA OP demands that we listen and learn from our mistakes.
‘GURR ERA OP’ plays as at Brisbane Powerhouse from 11-14 September as part of the 2024 Brisbane Festival.
All images: Prudence Upton.
