Seven Sisters

“The stars belong to no one.” ~ Roma Yibiyung Winmar ~

 

“[U]nassumingly magical… a play performed under the cosmic veil of night, in which young actors grapple with the boundless nature of time and the weight of an uncertain future.”

~ The Guardian ~

WA Youth Theatre Company (WAYTCo) returns to Perth Festival with a beautiful new work co-directed by emerging Noongar/Greek theatre maker Cezera Critti-Schnaars and WAYTCo Artistic Director James Berlyn. Seven Sisters is about creative young people on Boorloo, coming to terms with old knowledge. Look up! Don’t look up! We are made of star stuff whether we like it or not.

This work is a response by a diverse group of emerging artist/performers to the Noongar story of the the Seven Sisters made in consultation with Noongar Elder Roma Yibiyung Winmar. This isn’t a retelling of the story, after all which version would you tell? This Seven Sisters riffs on the meaning and metaphor of the very human need to tell stories about the stars and what it is to be young at a time when we’ve never had more ‘access’ to information old or new.

The WAYTCo Ensemble comprises WA’s best and brightest emerging artists who collaborated with the creative team to make a mesmerising work to be performed in conjunction with the stars of the Bunuru night sky at several select Boorloo locations during the Festival.

Artistic Credits

Co-Directors: Cezera Critti-Schnaars & James Berlyn

Cast: Jayda Corunna, Jono Battista, Levi Widnall, Lexie Sleet, Lily Baitup, Lil Murrell, Louis Neylon-Williams, Makaela Rowe-Fox, Monique Mitchell, Rebecca Haywood, Stella Finn & Victoire Hemedi

Lighting Design: Jolene Whibley

Musical Composition: Levi Widnall

Lyrics: Kobi Morrison

“WA Youth Theatre Company has used the Seven Sisters, and the great theatre of the stars, as the jumping off point for an exploration of the thoughts of diverse young people in their uncertain, challenging world, and the result is a gentle, caring work with many insights and rewards.”

~ Seesaw Magazine ~

 

“[A] tapestry of glittering narratives…” ~ Arts Hub ~

The 2023 Perth Festival Commissioned season of Seven Sisters was made possible thanks to a project grant from Creative Australia, the Australian Government’s arts funding and advisory body, which allowed WAYTCo to research and develop the work over much of 2022.