An extraordinary theatre experience inviting audiences to laugh, cry and reflect
A BOLD and emotionally charged theatre production exploring the aftermath of Australia’s 2019 bushfires is coming to the Sunshine Coast next month.
The Events Centre Caloundra will host KOAL on June 17, an acclaimed immersive work created by performer and theatre-maker Jacinta Yelland that blends documentary theatre, physical theatre and audience interaction.
Fresh from a sold-out season at Melbourne’s Theatre Works and a celebrated appearance at PhysFestNYC, the production has been described as a “climate-catastrophe-clown-show” that places audiences inside one of Australia’s most confronting environmental disasters.
Set during the Black Summer bushfires, KOAL follows the intertwined journeys of a rescued baby koala, a trapped coal miner and an Indigenous girl, exploring themes of displacement, identity and survival.
Yelland said the idea for the work emerged while she was living overseas and watching the devastation unfold from afar.
“I was in my living room in Philadelphia watching Australia burn,” she said.
“I was devastated by the amount of nature disappearing before my eyes. I couldn’t help but wonder — what would the natural world have to say about this climate disaster?”
At the heart of the production is also a deeply personal family story.
“The character of Minah is based on my grandma,” Yelland said. “She told me about a pivotal time in her life, when she was taken away from her home and placed somewhere completely unfamiliar. “The director and I saw clear parallels between home and identity and worked to find a meaningful way to integrate that into the show.”
The production moves between humour and heartbreak, combining physical theatre with interactive storytelling to create what critics have described as a powerful emotional experience.
One audience member described the work simply as: “I cried, and I laughed.”
The show received a five-star award at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival and is continuing an Australian tour that includes performances across Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania.
In a bid to make theatre more accessible, The Events Centre is also introducing a ‘Choose Your Own Ticket Price’ initiative for the performance, allowing patrons to select from three pricing options.
KOAL will be staged at The Events Centre, Caloundra on June 17 at 7pm.
theeventscentre.com
