Image by Jade Ellis Photography
swim by Ellen van neerven, Mununjali Yugambeh and Dutch heritage
Creative development, march 2023
In March 2023, BlakDance, Griffin Theatre Company (co-producers), QPAC and HOTA supported a creative development of Ellen van Neerven’s new project swim – a movement performance poem on Australian swimming, the sovereignty of water, and the strength of culture and family in keeping us safe.
This development period included time for the creative team on Yugambeh Country and a studio development period in Meanjin/Brisbane, and introduced the movement/choreographic element into the project with movement director, Yolande Brown.
Freestyle, butterfly, breaststroke, blakstroke, swim is a performance poem on Australian swimming, the sovereignty of water and the strength of culture and family in keeping us safe, told by a young genderqueer Murri ready to hit the fast lane at the local pool. Is e’s Aunt the lifesaver they need right now, or is that sexy DJ spinning tracks over the pool’s PA, the PLI (potential love interest) that is gonna keep e afloat? swim is a reflection on Blak queerness and decolonisation.
Creative team
(March 2023 Creative Development)
Playwright: Ellen van Neerven
Director: Andrea James
Dramaturg: Bryan Andy
Choreography: Yolande Brown
Sound/composition: Brendon Boney
Performer: Dani Sibosado
Performer: Hannah Donnelly
Elder: Jenny Fraser
Elder: Maria Van Neerven
Community Liaison: Hannah Scanlon (QPAC)
Stage Managers: Abbie Trott and Callie Roebuck
swim is a co-production of Griffin Theatre Company and BlakDance.
This project was first developed by Moogahlin Performing Arts through the Yellamundie Festival 2019. Script development in 2020 by Moogahlin Performing Arts, with the support of the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Sydney. Creative developments have received support from Malcolm Robertson Foundation, and Erin Shiel and Robert Dick and continued support from Queensland Performing Arts Centre.
swim is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland and by the NSW Government through Create NSW.