Arawarra arrives at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre this March, bringing a powerful First Nations story of resistance, truth-telling and cultural memory to the stage.
The South Coast of New South Wales carries many histories in its landscape. Along the escarpment, rainforest drops suddenly toward the sea. Rivers wind through valleys that have sustained communities for thousands of years. Beneath the calm appearance of the coast lies a deeper story – one of connection, survival, and resistance.
This March, that story finds a new voice on stage. Arawarra arrives at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, bringing audiences into a lesser-known chapter of the region’s past.
Created by Gammea-Dharawal man and language teacher Jake Mara alongside director Lincoln Smith, the production traces the story of a First Nations warrior and leader whose legacy was largely erased from written colonial history.
For three evenings in late March, Arawarra will unfold inside the Bruce Gordon Theatre, offering audiences a work grounded not only in history but in cultural memory and truth-telling.
The Story At The Heart Of Arawarra
At the centre of Arawarra stands a figure remembered in Dharawal cultural knowledge but rarely acknowledged in mainstream accounts of Australian history.
Arawarra was a Ngandah – a protector and leader – who resisted the arrival and expansion of European settlers along the South Coast in the early nineteenth century. His life intersected with the growing influence of the Scottish colonist Alexander Berry, whose settlement transformed the Shoalhaven region.
Yet while Berry’s name appears prominently in historical narratives, Arawarra’s story faded from written record.
The play seeks to rebalance that history.
Through performance, storytelling, and language, Arawarra brings attention to a figure who shaped the early colonial experience of the region but whose voice was gradually removed from the national story.
Arawarra And The Practice Of Truth-Telling
In recent years, Australian theatre has increasingly turned toward truth-telling – a process of acknowledging historical realities that were overlooked, minimised, or deliberately excluded.
Arawarra stands within that movement.
Rather than presenting history as a distant or academic subject, the production places it within lived experience. It asks audiences to consider how stories are recorded, who controls them, and what happens when those stories are incomplete.
For creator Jake Mara, the work grows from both cultural responsibility and personal connection. As a Dharawal language custodian and educator, he has spent years working to preserve and share knowledge of culture and language from the Shoalhaven region.
Through Arawarra, that knowledge takes a theatrical form.
The performance becomes not only a narrative but also a conversation between past and present.
Arawarra Within The MerrigongX Program
The production is part of Merrigong Theatre Company’s artist development initiative, MERRIGONGX.
Each year, the program provides emerging and independent artists with space, resources, and support to develop new work. It encourages experimentation and places local voices at the centre of creative storytelling.
Within this environment, Arawarra has grown from concept to full stage presentation.
Director Lincoln Smith, who previously worked on the community-focused production Bulla Midhong, has approached the project with a strong connection to place. Living and working in the Shoalhaven region, his work often intersects with local communities and social storytelling.
That local grounding gives Arawarra a particular resonance. The events it explores did not happen in distant places or centuries removed from present life – they occurred along the same coastline and valleys many audience members call home.
A Story Carried Through Performance
Theatre has always held a unique power when it comes to history.
Unlike textbooks or monuments, it allows audiences to encounter stories in real time, through voice, movement, and shared presence.
In Arawarra, the stage becomes a space for reflection and listening. The narrative unfolds with courage and tenderness, exploring the life of a leader who stood against the expanding colonial frontier.
Yet the production is not simply about conflict.
It also explores identity, cultural continuity, and the enduring strength of Dharawal people and culture. Through performance, the story moves beyond the boundaries of written history, returning instead to oral storytelling traditions that have shaped Indigenous knowledge for generations.
This is part of what makes Arawarra distinctive. It exists both as theatre and as an act of cultural remembrance.
The Illawarra As A Living Setting
Wollongong’s cultural landscape has steadily grown over the past decade, with the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre becoming an important gathering point for artists and audiences across the region.
Inside the Bruce Gordon Theatre, performances often reflect the diversity of stories emerging from the South Coast.
When Arawarra appears on this stage, the setting itself carries meaning. The Illawarra sits within Dharawal Country, and many of the events referenced in the production occurred not far from where audiences will be seated.
Outside the theatre, the escarpment rises behind the city and the Pacific stretches outward to the horizon – a reminder that the landscapes shaping this story remain very much alive.
Arawarra And The Stories Still Being Told
As the final moments of Arawarra unfold, the play leaves audiences with questions rather than conclusions.
What stories have been overlooked in the telling of Australian history? How many voices remain unheard? And what might change if those voices are finally recognised?
These questions linger long after the theatre lights fade.
For audiences attending the performances in Wollongong, Arawarra offers more than a night at the theatre. It becomes an invitation to reflect on the layered histories of the South Coast and the cultural knowledge that continues to shape it.
Stories like this are not simply rediscovered – they are remembered.
And sometimes, they are finally spoken aloud.
Event Details
Arawarra
Presented by Merrigong Theatre Company as part of the MERRIGONGX program
Bruce Gordon Theatre
Illawarra Performing Arts Centre
Dates & Times:
Thursday 26 March 2026 – 7:30pm
Friday 27 March 2026 – 7:30pm
Saturday 28 March 2026 – 7:30pm
Tickets:
Reserve a seat and pay what you feel the performance is worth after the show.
Recommended Age: 15+ (contains adult themes)
Official bookings: