Spinifex Gum
Felix Riebl, Ollie McGill and Marliya | Australia
World Premiere Season
25 January Sydney Opera House $50–$80 + BF 70 mins
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EVENT INFO
VENUE
WHEN
  • Fri 25 January at 8pm
TICKETS & PRICING
  • Premium $80
    A Reserve $70 / $63
    B Reserve $60 / $54
    C Reserve $50 / $45
    + booking fee


PAST EVENT
Spinifex Gum
Felix Riebl, Ollie McGill and Marliya | Australia
World Premiere Season
Musical snapshots of life in the Pilbara, north Western Australia, performed by the lush voices of Marliya from Gondwana Choirs, young Indigenous women singing in English and Yindjibarndi. Joining the choir are Felix Riebl and Ollie McGill of The Cat Empire, who wrote and produced the music, and special guests Briggs, Emma Donovan and Peter Garrett.

Commissioned to write a song cycle for the choir, Riebl spent several years visiting the Pilbara to build relationships and gather stories. He and Ollie McGill went on to write album Spinifex Gum about the region’s local tales and characters, true stories of racism and injustice, and the legacies of colonisation with music production that’s staunchly modern, built from found sound samples of the Pilbara – rustling leaves, bouncing basketballs and chugging trains.

For one night only at the Sydney Opera House, experience the powerful, beautiful harmonies of Marliya choir with Briggs, Emma Donovan and Peter Garrett.

Accessibility
Important Info
Performance contains some graphic violence, strobe and haze effects. Warning to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers: This performance contains culturally sensitive stories and may contain images of deceased persons.
Cast and Credits

Director & Composer: Felix Riebl
Assistant Director & Choreographer: Deborah Brown
Marliya of Gondwana Choirs Conductor: Lyn Williams OAM 
Music Producer & Instrumentalist: Ollie McGill
Artist: Marliya of Gondwana Choirs
Guest Artists: Briggs, Emma Donovan, Peter Garrett AM

Cultural Advisor: Michael Woodley, CEO Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation
Lighting Design: Mark Howett and Chloe Ogilve
Film & Video Design: Dominic Allen
Sound Design: Gideon Cozens
Animated Illustrations & Costume Design: James Brown
Costume Design: Marliya, Lyn Williams, Felix Riebl, Deborah Brown, Alice Neldner 
Producer: Claire Portek
Production Manager: Emily O’Brien

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Major Festivals Initiative in association with the Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals Inc., Adelaide Festival, Sydney Festival and Monash Academy of Performing Arts; the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body; the Ryan Cooper Family Foundation, the Lightfolk Foundation, and by Creative Partnerships Australia through the Australian Cultural Fund.

Images: Tony Lewis, Shane Reid, Daniel Pockett, Emmaline Zanelli

25 January
$50–$80 + BF
70 mins
"Uniquely moving collaborative project"
The Adelaide Review
Major Festivals Initiative Sydney Opera House ARA Indigenous Sydney Airport
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