Tracker
“A profound work that deftly transports the audience onto country through the power of storytelling.”
An intergenerational exploration of shared cultural resilience based on the life of Wiradjuri tracker Alec Riley.
Alec, a Wiradjuri Elder and tracker, served the New South Wales Police Force for 40 years, leading numerous high-profile cases. As an Elder of his community, he forged a path between the enforced colonial system in which he worked and his Wiradjuri lore.
Weaving together dance, music and text, Wiradjuri director-choreographer Daniel Riley excavates his personal history to create an ambitious work that examines the tensions that exists in Alec’s work and life, and the battles First Nations people have shared for generations.
Looking inward and outward, Tracker is both a moving story of the resilience of First Nations people and a thrillingly contemporary offering about finding your place in a history that is at once personal and political.
Co-Director and Choreographer
Daniel Riley (Wiradjuri)
Co-Director
Rachael Maza AM (Yidinji, Meriam Mer)
Co-Writer
Ursula Yovich (An-Burra)
Co-Writer
Amy Sole (Wiradjuri)
Set Designer
Jonathan Jones (Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi)
Composer and Sound Designer
James Henry (Yuwaalaraay, Yorta Yorta)
Composer and Live Musician
Gary Watling (Wiradjuri)
Lighting Designer
Chloë Ogilvie (Yamatji)
Costume Designer
Ailsa Paterson
Scenic Artist
Merindah Funnel (Wiradjuri)
Performers
Tyrel Dulvarie (Yirrganydji, Djirrabul, Kalkadoon and Umpila), Rika Hamaguchi (Yawuru), Ari Maza-Long (Yidinji, Meriam Mer), Kaine Sultan-Babij (Arrente)
Dramaturgs
Amy Sole (Wiradjuri) and Jennifer Medway
Project Elders
Aunty Shirley Mathews (Wiradjuri), Aunty Ann Cribb (Wiradjuri)
Wiradjuri Language Translator
Aunty Dianne Riley-McNaboe (Wiradjuri)
Tracker is an Australian Dance Theatre production presented in association with Ilbijerri Theatre Company, who were the original commissioner of the work.
2023
Sydney Festival // Carriageworks: 10 - 14 January (Gadigal)
Perth Festival // Studio Underground: 1 - 4 March (Boorloo)
Adelaide Festival // The Odeon: 10 - 18 March (Kaurna)
RISING: Festival // Arts House: 7-18 June 2023 (Boon Wurrung)
Brisbane Festival // Brisbane Powerhouse: 20-23 September (Yuggera and Turrbal)
The Odeon: 25 - 27 October (Kaurna)
Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre, Mount Gambier: 31 October (Boandik)
Chaffey Theatre, Renmark: 3 November (Erawirung)
Middleback Arts Centre, Whyalla: 9 - 10 November (Barngarla)
2024
Dubbo Regional Theatre and Convention Centre: 4 October (Wiradjuri)
“The production’s intricate layers are like callings to us to look more closely at the past, and sharpen our eyes to its complex ripple effects on the present day. It’s a generous offering that leaves impressions with both subtlety and tenderness.”
Photo by Pedro Greig
