Curious Legends and Newcastle Region Library collaborated in early 2017 to discover the hidden history of Newcastle. Community participants throughout Newcastle worked with our core team of 8 professional artists to bring this performance to life! The final result was a large scale outdoor performance in Newcastle’s Civic Park on May 5th, 2017. Multimedia projection, lantern puppets, Aboriginal dreamtime stories, maritime battles, ghosts, and spirit birds featured in the show.
The creation process was highly collaborative. Students from 5 primary schools were involved in gathering material and creating the show. This included Islington, Mayfield East, Carrington, Hamilton, and Tighes Hill Public Schools. The end result included shadow puppets, cane bicycles, fish lanterns, and an entire performance sound-scape created in collaboration with the community. Opening the performance was a traditional welcome from the Worimi Nation by Auntie Jay, together with a dance performance by the Bloodline Sister Girls.
The final performance drew in a crowd of 400 people, and involved over 50 community participants joining in the performance. For more info on the Hidden Port Project, see our project website: www.hiddenport.org
Creative Team
Mitchell Reese – Artistic Director & Performer
Karen Eastwood – Writer & Performer
Zackary Watt – Co-producer & Sound Design
Felicity Yorston (Ikara) – Maker
Ross Brown – Maker & Performer
Conor Fox – Maker & Performer
Jepthah Francis Walcott – Multimedia Projection & Design
Auntie Debbie Dates – Aboriginal Artist & Consultant
All photos taken by Eduardo Hernando: www.photolook.com.au
Special thanks to IKARA for help with the project build.
Thanks to our wonderful sponsors for making this project possible!
