SEASON TWO '08

A COMPANY B PRODUCTION IN ASSOCIATION WITH MALTHOUSE THEATRE

YIBIYUNG

BY DALLAS WINMAR
DRAMATUGY LOUISE GOUGH
DIRECTOR WESLEY ENOCH
SET DESIGNER JACOB NASH
COSTUME DESIGNER BRUCE MCKINVEN
LIGHTING DESIGNER NIKLAS PAJANTI
COMPOSER & SOUND DESIGNER STEVE FRANCIS
ASSISTANT SOUND DESIGNER MICHAEL TOISUTA
LANGUAGE & CULTURAL CONSULTANT ROMA WINMAR
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR KYLE MORRISON

CAST
JADA ALBERTS
JIMI BANI
SIBYLLA BUDD
ANNIE BYRON
RUSSEL DYKSTRA
ROXANNE MCDONALD
DAVID PAGE
MELODIE REYNOLDS
MIRANDA TAPSELL

Western Australia in the 1920s: eight-year-old Yibiyung is taken from her home and sent to a mission where her “education” soon extends far beyond the English lessons she is subjected to. The secrets passed on from her mother and uncle prove as vital to life as anything she learns in the classroom, but when she is bought as a domestic servant by a wealthy white family she must garner all of her life’s resources to survive.

Still a child now facing adult struggles beyond her years, Yibiyung’s tale turns on language - the language which connects her with her family, the cold words of bureaucratic crimes, and the songs and poems that carry her beyond her afflictions. At the same time she finds hope in small gestures of compassion and friendship, given and received.

Dallas Winmar’s arresting tale for a large cast of Indigenous and non-Indigenous performers speaks for a generation stolen and silenced. It is a story inspired by her grandmother - torn from her family along with countless girls like her. Yibiyung’s story is simultaneously a gripping reminder of a still-living history of horror and a joyous celebration of the spirit of life overcoming adversity. A wholly original piece of storytelling, it marks the emergence of a striking new voice and a vision for a future of theatre as a shared space for memory, dream and wonder.

Wesley Enoch is deft and compassionate staging reaches deep into Yibiyung’s story to present a vivid and moving theatrical event. Malthouse Theatre is proud to present the premiere season of Yibiyung, produced in association with Company B.