From dreamtime to the big time– Beenleigh’s Spirits of the Red Sand, an interactive Aboriginal Live Theatre Show, has made it onto this year’s Best of Queensland Experiences list.
A world-first in authentic Aboriginal storytelling, Spirits of the Red Sand is an award-winning moving theatre and dinner experience that takes you beyond Dreamtime to 1800s Australia when the British and Aboriginal ways of life collide.
Ashley Ruska, one of Spirit’s star performers who has built his life around the daytime and nighttime shows, says 60,000 years of culture is shared each night through immersive and interactive Aboriginal storytelling experiences.
“It’s what we call roving theatre– it’s set in the Beenleigh Historical Village, and we pretty much just let the audience become part of the cast and roam around with us from scene to scene.
“Basically, it’s giving people a little bit of an insight as to how the lifestyle was and how the lifestyle has changed upon European settlement.”
Ruska says the show’s story, which moves you through diverse sets to take you back in time, grapples with differences between not only Aboriginal and European cultures, but also in mindsets within the same groups.
“The story is about three brothers– the older brother, his stance is more that he would like to maybe assimilate a little bit with the European settlers and see how things work out, while the younger brother is more of the mindset of we stick to our lifestyle and our traditions.”
He says all of the Aboriginal actors are direct descendants of Australian Aboriginal mobs, and their families have experienced many of the events they bring to life in the show.
“My father was only born in 1969 and he was part of the stolen generation … and as much as we say that it was a long time ago and we should try and move on or try and reconcile, when we really step back and take a look, we’ll see that it wasn’t all that long ago and the effects of it still linger around today– whether we realise it or not,” he said.
Ruska hopes Spirits of the Red Sand will will open audience’s eyes to the history, beauty, and vibrancy of the Aboriginal people.
“If people were to come and have a little bit of a look, the main thing they’ll probably take away from it is that there are things that have happened in our history in this country, and instead of maybe shying away from those things, or sweeping them under the carpet … maybe we should put them in the forefront and acknowledge what has happened … then perhaps we can move on from there for the best.”
Ten members make up the group and they are Elders and members of the Yugambeh, Nunukul, Kombumerri, Yuggera tribes who have been performing and sharing their culture with the world for more than 25 years under the cultural expertise of Elder Eddie Ruska.
Spirits of the Red Sand joins more than 2,200 Queensland tourism products named as Best of Queensland Experiences.
