Chennai is about to play host to a fascinating Indo-Australian creative mash-up as GUURANDA x KMMC lands in the city with an evening of storytelling, music, and movement. The collaboration brings together award-winning theatreperson and choreographer Jacob Boehme from the Narungga and Kaurna Nations of South Australia, the KM Music Conservatory, Shreya Nagarajan Singh Arts Development Consultancy, and puppeteer B Muthuchandran’s Tholpaavai Koothu Group. The production centres on Guuranda, the Narungga name for Yorke Peninsula, home to the stories that shape the performance.
So, how has the work evolved for Chennai? “The work premiered at the Adelaide Festival in 2024. Its evolution into Gurranda with the KM Music Conservatory in Chennai began later that year when I visited the city with my two aunties, along with Shreya. During that visit, we spent some time at KMMC and sat in on a vocal composition class. Listening to the students sing sparked a rather ambitious idea. I turned to Shreya and Adam (Greig) of KM Conservatory and suggested that we take the sound design from the original work and collaborate with the students at KMMC so they could rearrange the songs for their choir. Three of them created choral arrangements of the original songs. The choir at KMMC has been learning the Narungga language, songs and cultural context. Over the past month, we have also been working online with dancers based in India. Together we’ve been developing new choreography for the show using a technique I use called memory and movement. In essence, everyone involved — the dancers, singers and collaborators — has been learning about Narungga culture as part of the creative process.”
He adds, “For context, the Narungga people are part of Australia’s First Nations communities. There are roughly 250 indigenous languages still spoken today; before British colonisation there were more than 500. Because of that, sharing and preserving language and cultural knowledge is incredibly important to us.”
The collaboration has also revealed some unexpected cultural echoes. “While learning about Narungga culture, we noticed something remarkable. Many of the words sounded very similar to Tamil words, although they had different meanings. For example, the word ‘Nandu’ appears in both languages. In Tamil, it means ‘crab’, but in Narungga, it carries a completely different meaning. When we heard the phrase ‘Nandu Vanducha’, we initially joked that it sounded as if someone was announcing the arrival of a crab! Moments like this hint at the possibility of old cultural connections between South India and Australia. While not widely documented, some historians and researchers believe that contact between these regions may date back many centuries,”notes Shreya.
Jacob echoes her sentiments, “Another interesting connection arose during earlier research we conducted for a project about dingoes. We discovered that the ancient landmasses of Sunda and Sahul once connected parts of Southeast Asia and Australia. Genetic research suggests that the Australian dingo and the Indian pariah dog share the same DNA lineage. These links suggest ancient pathways of migration, trade and cohabitation that may go back as far as 18,000 years.”
Moving on to the performance, what can the audience in Chennai expect? Jacob reveals, “The performance itself presents three major creation stories from Narungga. The first tells the story of the creation of Spencer Gulf, a large body of water in South Australia. The story aligns with the rising sea levels at the end of the last Ice Age, around 11,000 years ago. The second story is about Buzra the Giant, a legendary figure who travels across the land fighting and shaping the landscape through his actions. That story will be performed in Tamil through traditional shadow puppetry by the artiste Muthu and his team. It has been quite special to entrust one of our creation stories to a Tamil puppeteer who will reinterpret it through his own artistic tradition. The third story is the tale of Godly, a dingo creation story. It is essentially a moral story about a boy who tells lies and learns the consequences of his behaviour.
Bringing together so many artistic traditions has been an extraordinary experience, says Shreya. “We have worked across regions and genres before, but always within India. This time we are collaborating with First Nations elders and artistes from Australia, including senior community members, who visited last year and will return for this production. Because these stories are deeply meaningful and sensitive within Australian culture, we approached the collaboration with great care and respect. Many of the creative components have been developed separately until now: the puppetry team has been working independently, Jacob has been rehearsing with the dancers and the choir, and the choir itself has been preparing the music for several months. Over the next two weeks everything will finally come together in rehearsal. None of us have attempted a collaboration quite like this before, so it will be exciting to see the entire production take shape.”
For Jacob, sharing these stories internationally is deeply important. “For the Narungga people, it helps ensure that culture remains strong, alive and visible. But there is also a broader reason. In a world that often feels divided and chaotic, sharing stories, language and music across cultures can help people reconnect. Singing together, learning from one another and forming relationships across borders can be a powerful counterbalance to the divisions we see globally.”
The production itself has four main components, says Shreya. “First is the 20-member choir from the KM Music Conservatory. Second is a group of dancers and choreographers selected through an open call across India. Nearly a hundred dancers applied, and four were ultimately chosen, representing Gujarat, Chennai, Mumbai and Kerala. They will gather in Chennai to rehearse together in the weeks leading up to the show. The third element is the immersive set design, inspired by Narungga artwork and visual motifs. The fourth, and perhaps most distinctive, is the venue. The performance will take place outdoors in a public park, a choice that was made very intentionally. Large productions are often staged in theatres with ticketed entry, but presenting the work in a public space allows anyone to experience it simply by walking through the park.”
She adds, “The venue itself is beautifully suited for this. It features stepped seating similar to an open-air theatre, accommodating around 200 to 250 people, with a circular stage and a water body behind it. The performance begins around 6.30 pm, as the sun sets and the sky shifts from blue to shades of pink and twilight. Special lighting has been designed to complement the natural light of sunset as well as the requirements of the shadow puppetry. In a way, performing outdoors also reflects how the work was first presented on Narungga country. The original staging took place on a beach at sunset, with the landscape itself forming part of the backdrop. During that first performance something remarkable happened: as the dancers entered and the music began, a full blood moon rose from the ocean behind them. It was an unforgettable moment, something no stage designer or lighting director could ever replicate.Because these stories are fundamentally about land, performing them in connection with the natural environment feels especially meaningful."
The performance runs for approximately ninety minutes, and everyone is welcome to attend. Since the event takes place in a public park, access is open, although seating is limited.
Entry free. Open to all. March 21 and 22. 6 pm.
At Tower Park, Anna Nagar.
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