Straight from the Strait: A Torres Strait Island musical 

28 - 31 Aug 2024

Playhouse, QPAC

 

Dr Gemma Regan

 

An exciting cultural time-capsule with a world-first premiere of a Torres Strait Islander musical

 

A unique, poignant and hilarious new musical has hit the Brisbane Festival produced by Opera Queensland and the Yumpla Nerkep Foundation which supports Torres Strait islanders worldwide. It is an entertaining historical and cultural legacy which should be seen by all Australians and beyond. 

 

Straight from the Strait, is a brand new musical written by Norah Bagiri and Ribina Kimiia about an extraordinary world record set in Western Australia for speedily laying railway tracks. On 8 May 1968, 137 men, most from the Torres Strait, smashed the world record by laying almost 7km of track, 11,880 sleepers in only 11 hours and 40 minutes at Mount Newman.

 

Director Nadine McDonald-Dowd was inspired to bring the story of record-breaking achievement to the world in the first-ever Torres Straight Islander Musical packed with the Torres Strait culture featuring dances, songs and the ancestral languages of Meriam Mir, Kala Lagaw Ya and Torres Strait Creole. The creative team conducted a Songlines Tour in 2022 from Cairns to Thursday Island and Logan to gather traditional songs from the Western and Eastern Torres Straight Islands for the show.

 

The 15 actors created an electrifying authenticity to the performance with them reveling in their native songs and tribal dances peppered throughout the extraordinary true tale of men leaving the Torres Strait to work on the railway in Australia.

 

Co-writer Norah Bagiri uses the script as a cultural time capsule in consultation with Torres Strait Island Elders and cultural advisors to capture the songlines and languages of her people. Composer Rubina Kimiia captivated the audience with her authentic melodies and songs combined with more modern tunes drawing on her experiences as a music educator on Thursday Island.

 

The story follows Boyor, played tenderly by Paul Isakara Williams (Boy Swallows Universe) who with his brothers leaves his family and island to make a better life in Australia working on the railroad construction. Harold Pascoe as older brother Kusa is equally convincing as the boisterous brat who betrays his brothers. Pinau, the middle brother, is played by the enigmatic cheeky Vaughan Wapau who acts as the narrator of the talent bringing hilarity to the play.

 

All of the characters are larger than life including Mama (Ghenoa Gela), the giant Man Mountain (Jalen Sutcliffe) and the Preacher (Maurice Sailor) are fabulous at combining tenderness with slapstick humour.

 

A live six-piece band are on stage, delivering an entertaining mix of modern funk and ancestral vibes with drums, percussion, guitar and bass.

 

The set design of Kevin O’Brien is simple but ingenious, with a giant suitcase that opens up into a tribal shack, billet and workshop like a Barbie dream house. An array of lights for stars also completes the night scenes by lighting designer Jason Glenwright, who has worked with Shake and Stir.

 

Throughout the performance, the actors encouraged audience participation with clapping, singing and a great deal of laughing. It was a delight to feel part of a very different culture. The narration in pidgin English was translated on a screen above the set, but some of the nuances of the jokes must have been missed, as only the TSI people in the audience laughed. 

 

Nevertheless, it added to the authenticity and uniqueness of the first-ever Torres Strait Islander musical. My favourite parts were the tribal dances that were peppered throughout the musical. Another dance closed the memorable and historical event to a standing ovation from an excited and appreciative audience. It was a fantastic start to the 2024 Brisbane Festival which celebrates local indigenous cultural legacies.