The Merrigong Theatre Company has secured a share of the $7.8 million Creative Futures Fund last month, prompting a boost in local arts.
The Creative Futures Fund is an initiative from the Australian Government’s National Cultural Policy that supports new projects by ambitious artists across the nation. It will support 20 large-scale creative projects, bringing Australian stories to Australian audiences.
Merrigong Theatre Company Artistic Director and CEO Simon Hinton said it was an honour to receive the Creative Futures Fund.
“To be able to create a work of national significance on this scale on Country for the people of the Illawarra, and to bring people to this region to experience it, is a potentially transformative project for both artists and community,” Mr Hinton said.
The adaptation will highlight the enduring strength of First Nations culture in the Illawarra, as well as the shared histories of all who call the region home.
Theatre culture in the Illawarra is seen as vital to its cultural identity, education and tourism. The funding will allow for local stories to be adapted and shared with a larger audience.
Local author Catherine McKinnon’s novel, Storyland, has been adapted into an outdoor stage production, set to go to stage at the Merrigong Theatre Company.
“The fund is going to help bring this very bold, very audacious proposal in a big way to the community of Wollongong and the wider community,” Ms McKinnon said.
Storyland, by Catherine McKinnon and Aunty Barbara Nicholson, weaves together five interconnected First Nations narratives, illustrating the relationships between First Nations peoples from the Illawarra, following European ‘first contact’ in 1796. Ms McKinnon and Aunty Barbara Nicholson want audiences to take away important messages from the stage production of Storyland.
‘The stories that we tell each other are an important way in shaping the future,’ Ms McKinnon said.
Ms McKinnon believes the funding will help bring together the interconnected voices of Storyland.
“It will allow Merrigong to hire various associate directors, choreographers, and various actors all from different backgrounds. It will allow them the funds to really do this properly,” she said.
Audiences can expect a fusion of traditional storytelling and contemporary theatre techniques.
Jack Cooper, an active member of the University of Wollongong’s Theatre Collective, believes the funding of local theatre is integral to the community.
“To me, local theatre has never been more important than it is now to the community, as not only does it allow for young actors around the region to be able to enhance their skills on stage, it also allows for opportunities to both bring communities together, and create new ones,’ Jack said.
As the preparations continue for the Storyland adaptation, the Illawarra region is brought to the national stage through the Merrigong Theatre Company and the local talent that is being displayed.
