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.