I’m a little late posting about this due to catching covid in the aftermath, but I’m very happy to say that The Red Dust 红尘 with Marian St Theatre for Young People premiered swimmingly at Ku-Ring-Gai Town Hall in July! Our Friday and Saturday night shows were sold out, and the piece was beautifully received by the community. I was sadly not there in person, as I was attending Tin House Summer Workshop in Portland, but I was able to video call in on one performance and cheer on the cast and crew as they performed live. You can read more about the show and look at some amazing production shots at this link here.

Many thanks go out to Marian St Theatre for Young People (MSTYP), who produced and supported this show for the past two years, and to the Institute for Australian and Chinese Arts and Culture (IAC) at Western Sydney University for their unwavering support. Obviously big thanks to the Chinese Australian Seniors Service (CASS) and MSTYP for their enthusiastic teens and elders! And to all the crew and creatives who gave their hearts and souls to the show.

The Red Dust 红尘 should be coming back to a theatre near you (if you’re in Sydney) some time in the near future, so stay tuned!

After many pandemic delays and false starts, The Red Dust is back on (tickets here)! Reimagined as an intimate physical theatre performance alongside the original vision of music, poetry and text, the show will be performed at Ku-Ring-Gai Town Hall with elders from Chinese Australian Services Society (CASS).

Our team has changed up a little but it’s still being directed and composed by the tireless Nate Gilkes, with traditional Chinese music composition and performance by Dr Nicholas Ng, movement and choreography by Jia-wei Zhu, lighting design by Benjamin Brockman, assistant direction by Alexandra Sharps, and subtitles in Mandarin and English by the team at the Institute of Australian and Chinese Arts and Culture at Western Sydney University, headed by Professor Jing Han.

The show follows Chinese Australian teen Talia in a near future where Sydney is continuously covered by a red dust storm. Much like the Chinese term hóng chén 红尘, which refers to the world of desires and distractions, Talia is often so distracted by ‘the red dust’ of her online life that she neglects to realise her climate scientist mother has gone missing on a trip to find the last blue gum trees. Through poetry, music, dance and physical theatre, Talia is challenged with ‘seeing through the red dust’ as she embarks on a journey to the Blue Mountains to find her mother.

We just started rehearsals and I’m so excited to be working with the kids at Marian St, as well as Robyn Clark, who will play the lead role of Talia.

Where: Ku-ring-gai Town Hall, 1186 Pacific Hwy, Pymble NSW 2073, Australia

When: Wednesday 13th July 10.30am and 1.30pm, Thursday 14th July 10.30am and 1.30pm, Friday 15th July 1.30pm and 7.30pm, and Saturday 16th July 7.30pm

Who: All ages!

Cost: $20

Tickets: Here!