First Sparks: Moogahlin Performing Arts’ Yellamundie Festival

Emily Wells, Executive Producer of YIRRAMBOI was invited to attend Yellamundie Festival – a biennial showcase of 6 new and distinct theatre, dance and music works in development by First Nations creatives, presented by Moogahlin Performing Arts. “Yellamundie” is a Dharug word meaning “storyteller”. As the only development festival of its kind in Australia, the three-day program included public showings, yarns, and ‘Your Stories, with Our People’ – an international exchange of creative work with Aotearoa.

“After so long learning about the great legacy of Yellamundie Festival and its impact for our communities globally, I felt so honoured to attend and feel what it was all about! There is something so special about seeing the very seed of new works come to life in front of an audience, and a majority Blak audience at that. The unique way Moogahlin Performing Arts held the playwrights and their stories was deeply relational and with such care. It really reiterated the power of platforms that are curated, produced and presented by and for our communities.”