The Light Inside

There is a place between sea and sky — a sacred realm, where the sun rises and falls and the light is new.

Some call it a feeling, some call it the mother spirit. It’s the compass that guides us home.  

In our first cross-cultural collaboration, leading Māori choreographer and Arts Laureate Moss Te Ururangi Patterson joins beloved Bangarra alumna Deborah Brown. Together they guide our award-winning ensemble in stories that honour their mother countries and the spirit that calls them home.

Brown is a proud descendent of the Wakaid Clan and Meriam people in the Torres Strait, and has heritage from far across the seas in Scotland. She carries strength and resilience from her ancestors. Patterson, born near Lake Taupō, is a proud mokopuna (grandson) of the Ngāti Tūwharetoa tribe, and describes his sense of home as something alive, a fire inside, that he carries like a beating heart.

Come explore the cultural forces that bind us together, across oceans and eons. Experience the resilience of the First Peoples of the Oceania region, that extends across the continent now known as Australia, the Torres Strait Islands and Aoteoroa, our southern neighbour.

Please note that this production contains elevated sound levels, flashing lights, haze, smoke effects and voices of Tangata whenua, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have passed.

Reviews

• ★★★★ "... a rich, layered production that stays with the viewer long after curtain call." - ArtsHub 
• ★★★★ "…as an expression of solidarity with the First Peoples of the Oceania region it nonetheless represents an important enlargement of the company’s core mission – and a new artistic frontier." - The Age
• ★★★★ "... Takes both an unconventional and refreshing approach to storytelling. Stripping its performers of any apparent character development and role playing, the overall journey is about building the narrative through movement, mood, music, and multimedia" - Theatre Matters

Our 2025 regional tour is supported by Arts on Tour and and has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body.

Photo by Daniel Boud