Straight from the Strait | Opera Queensland, Yumpla Nerkep Foundation and QPAC
All images: Jade Ellis
Straight from the Strait was downright SENSATIONAL. Damn straight it was. A joyful unfolding of a lesser known History lesson taking off on the pulsating wings of soulful songs and reverberating through stamping feet carrying ancestral rhythms and wisdoms, it held me captive from the get-go and set my spirit free by the end of the night. I left QPAC’s Playhouse feeling not only upbeat, inspired by the original compositions sung to life in a mix of languages both ancient and contemporary by a stellar cast of performing artists, but also very much enlightened about the contributions of a company of hardworking Torres Strait Islander men who pulled off a feat. They set a world record in laying train tracks on 8 May 1968 in Western Australia. FACT.
The production came across as a true labour of love bearing gravitas in more ways than one. Not only did I witness the long-awaited birth of a story that needed to be told, honoured, and remembered for posterity solely for the pride and collective memory of members of the Torres Strait Islander communities, but I also experienced a complex, layered narrative that embodied a resonance so undeniably universal in nature. This was a story-of-all-of-us - one I could especially relate to as a first generation immigrant to Australia and a diasporic Tamil woman who arrived in Meanjin with a suitcase of aspirations and hopes for a better life in unchartered territory.
In this operetta, the suitcase which stood conspicuously on the stage as a solid entity of a prop contained multiple elements of surprise. The ingenuity of the design allowed it to metamorphosise into various social contexts which aided and enhanced the theatrical and heartfelt storytelling prowess of every single performer. In this sense, the suitcase, a symbol of travelling, masterfully took the audience on a journey as well. It functioned as a tool and metaphor, expounding the notion of being in liminal spaces (think tearful farewells and painful goodbyes), effectively. The arrangement of suitcases to represent railway tracks was a cleverly executed detail that did not escape my attention.
All images: Jade Ellis
Against a backdrop of top notch, laughter-inducing crooning, dancing, and acting, it was impossible to ignore many nuanced moments of tenderness which hinted at subjects of a darker nature. These subtleties elevated the unravelling of this well-paced production, making it even more interesting to watch, process, and ponder upon. In spite of its directorial intention to lean largely towards presenting a light-hearted and victorious display of a master stroke achieved by the men who worked the Mt Newman line in Pilbara, the scenes were injected with hard-hitting themes through its acerbic and playful lyricism.
The articulation of the question, ‘Who wants to be a refugee in your own country?’ briefly directed my attention towards thinking of the tensions and restrictions Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Queensland would have encountered under immensely controlling colonial laws. Although it was a fleeting line, it was impactful in its own right.
The back-breaking labour experienced by the Torres Strait Islander men who worked on railways and sugarcane plantations delivered in small, deliberate doses worked well to highlight the lived realities of the men. Without taking anything away from the gruelling hardships the men and women must have endured respectively as they navigated challenging living and working conditions during that time, I found it a refreshing approach on the part of the creative team to truly and unapologetically place a great deal of focus on the effervescent personalities of the people who contributed significantly to the economic betterment of their families and the industrial development of Australia’s transport infrastructure than perhaps dwell on the pain.
Straight from the Strait was an outright celebration of the resilience of these legendary Torres Strait Islander railway families. A triumphant tale absolutely necessary and deserving of national and international recognition.
‘Straight from the Strait’ played 28-31 August 2024 at QPAC as a part of the 2024 Brisbane Festival. It was presented by Opera Queensland, Yumpla Nerkep Foundation and Queensland Performing Arts Centre, in association with Brisbane Festival.
All images: Jade Ellis
