Ilbijerri Theatre Company Explained

Ilbijerri Theatre Company, formerly Ilbijerri Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Theatre Cooperative and also known simply as Ilbijerri, styled ILBIJERRI, is an Australian theatre company based in Melbourne that creates theatre creatively controlled by Indigenous artists.

History

Ilbijerri was founded in 1990 as Ilbijerri Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Theatre Cooperative by a group of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists galvanised to tell Indigenous stories from an Indigenous perspective.^[1] Ilbijerri, pronounced il BIDGE er ree, is a Woiwurrung language word meaning "coming together for ceremony".^[2]

Notable productions

• Stolen by Jane Harrison, commissioned in 1992 and first performed in a 1998 co-production with Playbox Theatre
• Jack Charles v The Crown, about the life of Jack Charles, which premiered in 2010 at the Melbourne Festival.^[3] Charles was nominated for a Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Play for his performance in the play in 2012,^[4] and the play was also nominated for Best Direction of a Play. The show toured across Australia and internationally, and in 2014, Ilbijerri was joint winner of a Drover Award from APACA,^[5] and Ilbijerri Theatre, toured by Performing Lines, won the Helpmann Award for Best Regional Touring Production.^[6] and in the same year
• Beautiful One Day, a theatrical documentary about events on Palm Island (co-produced with Belvoir and version 1.0), which also played at London's Southbank Centre as part of the 2015 Origins Festival of First Nations^[7]
• Coranderrk: We Will Show the Country, a verbatim theatre work based on historical events at Coranderrk, a former Aboriginal reserve in Victoria. Giordano Nanni and Yorta Yorta/Kurnai playwright Andrea James wrote the play, and it was co-produced with La Mama Theatre, in collaboration with the University of Melbourne. It was performed at the Playhouse at Sydney Opera House in June/July 2012.^{[8] [9] [10] [11]}
• In 2016, Ilbijerri performed a tanderrum ceremony to open the Melbourne Festival^[12]
• Coranderrk, a recreation of the 1881 Coranderrk inquiry, was co-produced with Belvoir Theatre in 2017.^[13]
• Black Ties, a story about a cross-cultural relationship between a Māori woman and an Aboriginal man, was first performed for the Sydney Festival in January 2020, starring Jack Charles, Mark Coles Smith, and Lisa Maza, and co-directed by Rachael Maza Long .^[14] It then toured to Perth, Melbourne, and then Wellington and Auckland in New Zealand in February and March of that year.,^[15]
• 'Big Name, No Blanket', a musical based on the story of the Warumpi Band premiered in January 2024. This musical was written by Andrea James with Sammy Butcher and his daughter Anyupa Butcher. It is co-directed by Rachael Maza and Anyupa Butcher.^{[16] [17] [18]}

See also

• Indigenous theatre in Australia

External links

• • ILBIJERRI on AusStage

Notes and References

1. Web site: Ilbijerri Theatre Company: A history – Maggie Journal. Maggie Journal. en-AU. 2017-02-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20170211160558/http://www.maggiejournal.com/theatre/ilbijerri-theatre-company-a-history/. 11 Feb 2017.
2. Web site: About . ILBIJERRI Theatre Company . 22 July 2020 . 13 March 2021.
3. Web site: Jack Charles V The Crown. Melbourne Festival 2011. 3 June 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20110706110239/http://www.melbournefestival.com.au/program/production?id=3760. 6 July 2011.
4. Web site: Past nominees and winners . Helpmann Awards 2012: Theatre . 13 September 2022.
5. Web site: Wade . Matthew . Talent crowned with touring awards . ArtsHub Australia . 11 July 2014 . 13 September 2022.
6. Web site: Past nominees and winners: 2014: Best Regional Touring Production. Helpmann Awards . 1 January 2016 . 13 September 2022.
7. News: Beautiful One Day: Ilbijerri Theatre takes Palm Island story to London. Ross. Annabel. The Sydney Morning Herald. 2017-02-11. en-US.
8. Web site: Coranderrk: We Will Show the Country . ILBIJERRI Theatre Company . 5 September 2018 . 13 March 2021.
9. Web site: About . The Juice Media . 13 March 2021.
10. Web site: Coranderrk: We will show the country. https://web.archive.org/web/20200809003115/https://aiatsis.gov.au/publications/products/coranderrk-we-will-show-country/paperback. 9 August 2020. AIATSIS.
11. Web site: Coranderrk: We will show the country [catalogue entry] ]. AIATSIS . 2013. 9781922059390 . 13 March 2021. Nanni . Giordano . James . Andrea . Aboriginal Studies Press .
12. Web site: Melbourne festival a celebration of song, film and art . . 12 September 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160918010435/http://nit.com.au/melbourne-festival-celebration-song-film-art/ . 18 September 2016 . dead .
13. Web site: Coranderrk . ILBIJERRI Theatre Company . 2017. 13 March 2021.
14. Web site: Black Ties . . 1 November 2023.
15. Web site: Mark Coles Smith . AusStage . 31 October 2023.
16. News: Tongue . Cassie . 2024-01-12 . Big Name No Blankets review – Warumpi Band musical is a joyous, rollicking tribute . 2024-08-07 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
17. Web site: 2023-10-25 . Big Name, No Blankets . 2024-08-07 . Ilbijerri . en-AU.
18. News: Garrick . Matt . 2024-08-06 . Decades after bursting out of the Red Centre, Warumpi Band's story returns to the territory . 2024-08-07 . ABC News . en-AU.