WEREDINGO Comes to North Melbourne Town Hall in November

Wear your animal loud and proud at Arts House in North Melbourne this November.

“Come in, grab a bickie and a cuppa. We are welcoming all shapes and kinds in our safe space – but it is not your usual support group,” says Thomas E.S. Kelly from Karul Projects.

Led by a First Nations team featuring performers Thomas E.S. Kelly, Benjin Maza, Glory Tuohy-Daniell and Vicki Van Hout, Weredingo by Karul Projects is a profound and playful dance theatre work that challenges the western interpretation of shapeshifting.

In the western context, shapeshifting is limited to folklore and pop culture. However, shapeshifting for First Nations people reflects past, present and future.

Through sharp movement and text, Weredingo follows the intertwining journeys of three shapeshifters, who meet in secret to safely shift into their animal forms and congregate with their feathered or furry friends.

“As our bodies shift through the space, we draw parallels to Black Lives Matter, black deaths in custody and the many injustices for people of colour who shapeshift on a daily basis to not be killed,” explained Kelly.

Weredingo covers the good, the bad; the cultural, the political; the pain and the pleasure. It is brought to life alongside beautiful animations by Studio Gilay and projection by Wirrim Studios.

Arts House Co-Artistic Directors, Emily Sexton and Nithya Nagarajan are thrilled to finally bring this delightful, poignant and timely work to Melbourne.

“Having first supported the the development of Weredingo through CultureLab in 2020, we are honoured to welcome back Karul Projects along with Vicki Van Hout, who will join the cast with her cracking humour and piercing performance. Given Vicki’s long-term relationship with Thomas, it will truly be an unmissable moment to see them share the stage,” said Sexton and Nagarajan.

This is distinctive work with a dash of humour. Audiences are invited to wear their best fur, fleece, feathers, beaks, claws or tails – all animals and outfits are welcome!

Karul Projects is a First Nations dance company that was founded in 2017 by Thomas E.S. Kelly (Minjungbal-Yugambeh, Wiradjuri and Ni-Vanuatu man) and Taree Sansbury (Kaurna, Narrungga and Ngarrindjeri). Karul support emerging First Nations artists and create distinctive First Nations led dance-theatre works.

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