Breaking down barriers: How Ilbijerri is empowering First Nations people through theatre

From left: Big Name, No Blankets. Photo by James Henry.
Tracker. Photo by Pedro Greig.

The company has become Australia’s longest running First Nations theatre company, providing a platform for the voices and perspectives of First Peoples since 1991.

"Our core premise is about storytelling as a way to strengthen the social fabric and opportunities for First Peoples," says Ilbijerri Theatre Company business development manager Kirsty Hillhouse.

"We connect back to culture, to the artists stories, and bring people close together."

"We work from a place of anchoring our stories in culture and working in Black ways of knowing, being and doing. Our work is essentially about eradicating racism. It's about sharing perspectives, empowering First People, and training.”

The first show to receive Equity Trustees support was Big Name, No Blankets – a rock 'n' roll theatre show which tells the story of the Warumpi Band. It was funded about five years ago and had its premiere at the 2024 Sydney Festival.

“Having that formative investment from Equity Trustees allowed us to go on country and to start that process. It takes many years to launch these works. It's a slow process because there needs to be a lot of cultural approvals, particularly around use of language and dance, and also the storytelling.”

Equity Trustees has also supported Tracker, a multidisciplinary work by Wiradjuri choreographer and director, Daniel Riley. The show recently had its premiere with Riley going on to become the inaugural First Peoples artistic director to a non-First Peoples dance company, the Australian Dance Theatre, in 2021.

“Supporting the development of this key project for him and his storytelling was really essential in his artistic practice and his leadership, and he's been able to carry that production forward and his career forward.”

While Ilbijerri’s core purpose is to empower First Peoples’ storytelling, the company also undertakes a wide range of support activities. This includes training, mentoring and advocacy work, as well as partnering with other training institutions to ensure that their Indigenous programs are effective.

“Unless it's a Blak-led process and a sovereign process, it's really difficult to navigate. It's very simple if it's your process and very complex if it's not, so a lot of our time is spent in advocacy.”

Equity Trustees’ funding has also supported Ilbijerri’s BlackWrights, a program which supports three playwrights' dramatic works through the development process from first to final draft.

“Without that investment in the early stages of development, it's almost impossible to do that work.”

Equity Trustees equity and empowerment program manager, Ferdi Hepworth, said Ilbijerri amplifies First Nations voices.

“We have so much respect for our First Peoples rich cultural traditions and we recognise the critical role Ilbijerri plays in nurturing and amplifying First Peoples to tell their stories their way. This is a great example of where our Equity & Empowerment funding is deployed to support First Nations expertise and knowledge that will lead to a culturally richer society for everyone.”