Merrigong Theatre Company’s first production of 2022 will see them leave their home at Illawarra Performing Arts Centre and take to a different kind of stage: outdoors against the stunning vista of the Port Kembla Pool at dusk.
A co-production with The Society of Histrionic Happenings, The Sirens’ Return is a new music theatre work that marks a new level of theatre-making for the company, where audiences will be fitted with headphones and welcomed into an immersive and deeply emotive experience, from 14 - 19 February.
Drawing on oral histories collected from women living across different eras of the steel town, as well as First Nations and western mermaid mythology, The Sirens’ Return honours the diversity of women’s experiences through the emotional power of song. With an eclectic score from acclaimed composer Daryl Wallis (Dead Man Brake, The Outside Man, Landscape with Monsters) that traverses jazz, blues and pop, The Sirens’ Return presents a metaphor for the way country survives and keeps going despite its hardships.
“This is a big, epic project and it is the first time the company is producing something outdoors on this scale. I am excited for the audiences to be on site, it is such a beautiful place; it will be incredibly magical" exclaimed celebrated local director, Anne-Louise Rentell.
Presented by a high-calibre team of creatives and vocalists, The Sirens’ Return reflects the spirit of place from the perspective of the women who embody it, in a once-in-a-lifetime theatrical event that’s not to be missed.
The Sirens’ Return
By Anne-Louise Rentell, Barbara Nicholson, Ali Jane Smith and Daryl Wallis
Director Anne-Louise Rentell, Musical Director Daryl Wallis, Video Designer Laura Turner, Costume Designer Katja Handt, Lighting Designer Travis Kecek, Cast Alice Ansara, Matilda Brown, Marlene Cummins, Jeannie Lewis, Billie Rose Prichard, Kerrie Sweeney Photo by Jeremy Park
14 – 19 February 2022
merrigong.com.au/shows/the-sirens-return