Culturally Led, Culturally Safe Performance Making

Abstract

This chapter presents the first of the findings from our study into the five health education works led by Kamarra Bell-Wykes and produced by Ilbijerri Theatre Company from 2006 to 2019. These findings draw on interviews conducted with eight practitioners who were involved over the years as performers, production staff, and advisors, a research yarn conducted between co-authors Sarah and Kamarra, and Kamarra’s own critical reflections while putting together this volume. We also analysed documents and data from Ilbijerri’s corporate archive and published works such as those by Clare Keating (‘Chopped Liver’ Evaluation Report. Effective Change Pty Ltd. Melbourne: Ilbijerri Theatre Company. Supplied, 2009) and Blayne Welsh (The Hepatitis C Trilogy: A Case for Indigenous Theatre as a Contemporary Manifestation of Traditional Healing Business. Australasian Drama Studies 73: 20–41. https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/ielapa.146479491877297, 2018). Here we discuss the first of four prominent themes within the data: the importance of culturally led, culturally safe approaches to making theatre in health education in the First Nations Australian context. This includes the importance of First Nations cultural leadership at every stage from conception through to production, performance, and touring; the need for meaningful community consultation and engagement; and the promotion of cultural safety through protocols and practices that honour the lived experience, cultural obligations, and ‘colonial load’ for creative teams. We argue that centring culture in these foundational ways is essential for the works to achieve their educational goals while also progressing the dramaturgies of wellbeing, strength, and resistance that characterise contemporary First Nations theatre in Australia.