RIGHT HERE. RIGHT NOW.

Blacktown Arts and Urban Theatre Projects challenge you to experience Blacktown City in a brand new way!

The latest partnership between Blacktown Arts and Urban Theatre Projects brings you the first place-based arts festival in the heart of Blacktown, Right Here. Right Now.

Immerse yourself in performance, installation, music, film and food inspired by the stories, characters and artists from across our region.

The audience is encouraged to embark on a 3.5 hour journey of works presented in restaurants, arcades and public spaces along Blacktown’s iconic Main Street with a shared dinner along the way. All participants will dine together as part of the experience at a selection of local Persian, Ethiopian and Afghan restaurants.

Blacktown City Mayor Stephen Bali said all participants will be able to see their City in a new light.

“Right Here. Right Now offers local residents a chance to explore familiar parts of their city in a whole new way,” he said.

“It will challenge the wider population of Sydney to get on the train, and experience what Blacktown is really all about.’

Five newly commissioned artworks, made in collaboration with more than 25 young and emerging Western Sydney artists, will also be revealed.

“We’re telling local, contemporary stories of Sydney from our stomping ground in Western Sydney,’ said UTP Artistic Director Rosie Dennis. “If you loved Home Country, then you will love this experience too.”

Program highlights include:

The Nightline: Award-winning theatre director Roslyn Oades in collaboration with six young people has created an immersive audio-led theatre work based on the provocation, What Happens After Midnight?. The work builds on research which begun in 2016 and saw the artist set up a night-line phone message service to collect audio.

Team Trampoline: Contemporary visual and textiles Adelaide artist Meg Wilson: Wilson has collaborated with Sydney artist Nicole Barakat to weave 8 trampoline mats from different textiles and fabrics in collaboration with local residents and students from Rooty Hill High School. The work is part large-scale installation, part choreographed live performance.

Musical performance: Internationally acclaimed tabla player Maharshi Raval will collaborate with young musicians to compose two new works for percussion, which will be performed live by seven percussionists.

Short film: Darug women Corina Marino and Julie Jones feature in a short-film shot on location at the Blacktown Native Institution site. The Institution played a key role in the history of colonial assimilation policies and race relations in Australia.

Tom Polo artworks: Award winning Western Sydney Visual Artist Tom Polo has been commissioned to create a series of flags and banners to ‘dress’ the streets of downtown Blacktown.

Feminist Killjoys Reading Group: Artist Rajni Shah & Collaborators are in-residence with their project. The group is a growing community of people who identify as feminist killjoys, or who wish to learn more about the figure of the feminist killjoy in a respectful and inclusive setting. During RHRN audiences are invited to join the conversation as part of open sessions held each Saturday of the festival.

Right Here. Right Now will run on Thursday, Friday and Saturday across 3 weeks from 1-17 November 2018.

This is the sixth partnership between Urban Theatre Projects and Blacktown Arts and demonstrates our shared commitment to re-setting the cultural conversation about contemporary multi-cultural Australia through great storytelling and live experiences.

About Urban Theatre Projects

Based in Bankstown, Urban Theatre Projects (UTP) has a 35-year history of making ground-breaking work and its reputation has never been stronger than it is today. The company was created to re-imagine what theatre can be, and who it can be for. Under the guidance of several visionary artistic directors, it has played a vital role in Australia’s cultural landscape. In the past five years it has reached even greater heights. In that time, UTP has produced 58 projects, engaged 524 participants, employed 523 artists and entertained 1,104,757 people. Under the leadership of current Artistic Director Rosie Dennis, UTP is firmly established as an agenda-setter for art making that thinks outside the black box. It has also caught the attention of art lovers from across the city who now readily travel to new neighbourhoods for UTP’s unforgettable art experiences.KEY INFORMATION

Dates: 
Thursday 1, Friday 2, and Saturday 3 November
Thursday 8, Friday 9, and Saturday 10 November
Thursday 15, Friday 16, and Saturday 17 November
Times:
From 6pm each night*
*Feminist Killjoys Reading Group Open Sessions to be held each Saturday from 4pm. Free with registration at time of booking. 
Location:
Main Street, Blacktown, Sydney.
Tickets:
Full price: $59 including dinner.
Family price: $139 for two adults and two children aged 12-17 including dinner.
Bookings:
To book tickets, please visit
urbantheatre.com.au/rhrn/Photo credit
Johnny Barker