Performance review: Illume, Sydney Opera House

It’s winter in Sydney and Vivid is alive on the Harbour. The sails of Opera House are ignited with a kaleidoscope of movement, colour and light. Quite aptly, the display of these elements continues to be explored inside the sheltered warmth of the Joan Sutherland Theatre through the Bangarra Dance Theatre’s production of Illume.

Illume is a multidimensional experience that integrates sound, dance and visual design to tell the stories of First Nations people – and it does this with sophistication, spirit and grace. 

Collaborators, Frances Rings and Darrell Sibosado, explore the concept of light from both a visual art and choreographic perspective, and the overall experience is effective and surreal. In fact, it is so effective that it evokes a range of emotions including wonder, grief and peace. 

Illume incorporates the physical and spiritual. The performance moves through eras and themes, emphasising the importance and sacredness of Country, and illustrating the impacts of colonisation, the Catholic Church and settlement on First Nations people and the environment. 

The production runs for 70 minutes and incorporates 11 abstractly connected sequences that are accompanied by video projections of light.

Storytelling is both linear and non-linear. It features sequential storytelling that shows the progression of time and explores themes that are timeless. 

Illume begins with the dark night sky; the dancers are visible through a plane of shimmering stars – illustrating that light itself is a language and symbolic of lifeforce. The video projections, lighting design and choreography all work cohesively and complement the physicality, fluidity and dexterity of the 18 dancers. 

The dancers are exceptional, their movements are not always perfectly synchronised to mimic each other, and this variation adds to their authenticity and their ability to connect and affect the audience.   

A standout is the sound composition by Brendon Boney – it is superb and perfectly matched to bring out the best of the acoustic facilities at the Joan Sutherland Theatre. Each dance sequence and story component is accentuated by variations in style, timbre, rhythm, pitch and intensity. Boney’s creation is subtle and subliminal. It creeps up on you, alternates between vibrations and stillness, and overwhelms you with emotion.  

The production is abstract and offers the audience an opportunity to engage with a new language – one that is being developed and presented to the audience in the here and now. To understand this language we are asked to freely interpret movement, light, colour and sound.

There is something ground-breaking when it comes to the symbolism of First Nations people having creative control over their own storytelling and artist expression and presenting this to audiences at one of the most significant cultural icons of colonisation – the Sydney Opera House. While the Bangarra Dance Company could perform anywhere, it certainly feels like it has found its home. 

Read: Theatre review: POV, RISING, Showroom Arts Centre Melbourne

This is a world-class performance, and this reviewer was moved to pride, joy and tears. 

Illume, Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House 
Production Manager: Cat Studley
Company Manager: Joseph Cardona
Stage Manager: Ashleigh King
Choreographers: Frances Rings and Bangarra Dance Theatre
Artistic & Cultural Collaborator: Darrell Sibosado 
Set Designer:  Charles Davis
Costume Designer: Elizabeth Gadsby
Emerging Costume: Designer Rika Hamaguchi
Lighting Designer: Damien Cooper
Video Designer: Craig Wilkinson 
Composer: Brendon Boney 
Cultural Consultants: Trevor Sampi, Audrey (Pippi) Bin Swani
Dancers: Lillian Banks, Courtney Radford, Kallum Goolagong, Kassidy Waters, Jye Uren, Maddison Paluch, Daniel Mateo, Emily Flannery, Janaya Lamb, James Boyd, Chantelle Lee Lockhart, Amberlilly Gordon, Donta Whitham, Edan Porter, Zeak Tass, Tamara Bouman, Roxie Syron, Eli Clarke

Tickets: $59- $149

Illume will be performed until 14 June 2025.