Ancient Expression. New Pathways.

The 2024 Blue Room Theatre season with ChitAmbara, of Raagas, Shakespeare and Everything in Between, was long overdue, a collaboration between Northbridge neighbours whose purpose so deeply align, cherished institutions that connect community through powerful storytelling and performance.  This premier season working together was a tremendous success, a trailblazing example of intercultural performance, fusing 2 traditions for an entirely new artistic experience. With audience participation, a local dinning experience (dinner & a show), and a sold-out season, the ChitAmbara team showed their skill and vision for creating wholistic audience experiences. Interactive, educational and entertaining, this stunning debut is surely only the beginning of our collaborative friendship.

With sprawled chalk covering the walls, of wise quotes and the famous lines of writers we all know, and some we might not, ChitAmbara immediately transformed the space to something new, something it had never been before. The black walls, white text, and the vibrant, colourful saris focused the audience attention to the performers. Their presence comfortable and commanding, clear these artists are seasoned performers, creating world with minimal set, through words, movement and dance. 

Beyond the stage, this collaboration showed how our intentions truly inform our art, and with many artists from many different backgrounds making work at on Blue Room stages, in the ChitAmbara team w found a kindred spirits. All of us in this business have drive to perform, to connect people through story, but not all shows speak to something deeper, to keep culture alive, to strive for positive impact in the world off the stage. Contemporary Boorloo is a melting pot of cultures and communities, the oldest continuous living culture on the planet, the Noongar people, and the many migrants who now call it home, that may be many generations ago from the United Kingdom, or more recent families calling this place home. Stories connect us, they teach, they share history and through new stories, new art, we create a new, shared culture, together. In this we are kindred spirits, aspiring to start these local conversations, with international aspirations, telling the modern stories of WA, to the world. 

The team at ChitAmbara showed they belong alongside the cornerstone companies of Boorloo/Perth, with a huge potential for future productions to reach the South-Asian community as a growing audiences, while creating intercultural work that truly reflects modern Australia. This is production also showcased the talent and quality the artists, teachers and students of the Saraswati Mahavidhyalaya School, and their important place in the greater arts industry of Boorloo/Perth.

As Jay Darroch wrote in Magazine 6000:

"I didn’t come into this wanting to see a Shakespearean show, as it’s overdone and I’m a little bored with the omnipresent Eurocentric narratives. I found this multicultural exploration refreshing, despite being initially taken aback when I walked into a room full of desi people and became a minority. This is the kind of diversity desperately needed in Perth’s theatre scene."

Joel Evans | Program & Engagement Manager at The Blue Room Theatre | July 2024