MerrigongX goes beyond granting stage space to creating marketing collateral for artists to take their work further — like these production stills from A Place at the Sultan’s Kitchen. Photos: Tracey Leigh.
From a chicken curry cooked live on stage to a teenage girl’s diary cracked open in all its messy, musical glory – stories rooted right here in Wollongong are growing far beyond their Illawarra beginnings, thanks to MerrigongX.
The artist development program itself is undergoing an evolution into a launchpad for the region’s emerging performance art talent, and is now behind a string of theatre works stepping onto mainstages across Australia.
In 2022, A Practical Guide to Self Defence, produced through MerrigongX, was fast-tracked straight to the mainstage in a co-production with Riverside’s National Theatre of Parramatta. That same year, The Sirens’ Return — a bold outdoor work set at Port Kembla Pool — also made a splash as a mainstage event thanks to a partnership with The Society of Histrionic Happenings.
This year, things are ramping up.
A Place in the Sultan’s Kitchen — a sweeping family epic that sees Illawarra theatre maker Josh Hinton attempt to make his grandmother’s chicken curry live on stage while telling stories of his grandparents’ formative experiences — makes its mainstage premiere in August before heading to Brisbane Festival.
Another previous MerrigongX show, Nathan Harrison’s Birdsong of Tomorrow, also makes its mainstage debut next month at Griffin Theatre Company in Sydney.
Two other MerrigongX alumni productions — Kay Proudlove’s Dear Diary and Rose Maher’s The Cardinal Rules — will appear at Sydney Fringe Festival as part of the new Made in Wollongong program.
In all, four MerrigongX works will move on to a life beyond Illawarra stages in 2025 alone — a sign that stories born from regional voices are no less worthy of national attention.
“I think it goes to show that just because a work is created locally doesn’t mean it can’t have universal resonance,” Merringong Producer — New Works Annie Clapton says.
Annie says few artist development programs provide more substantial assistance to artists than MerringongX. Outside funding or theatre space, their benefactors receive a wide range of promotional collateral from vox pops to production stills and media coverage.
This helps emerging artists put their best foot forward when approaching other venues, and the best shot at ensuring their works continue to evolve and experience life beyond MerringongX.
“We believe it’s important, when championing local talent, to give our artists the resources they need to take their work further. We don’t want it to have a three-night season never to return again – that would be a tragedy,” Annie says.
“It’s so satisfying to see how big the program is getting. It’s wonderful these Wollongong stories are making their way across the nation.”
Josh, who will once again be joined on stage by his brother Dominic (who provides light and sound for A Place in the Sultan’s Kitchen live on stage — along with some light-hearted brotherly banter), is stoked to see his production spread its wings.
“I don’t think anyone was expecting how big the turnout from the wider community would be,” he says.
Among the many family and friends who came to support the young artist’s show — a hallmark of MerrigongX performances — was a different demographic.
“The Sultan’s Kitchen talks about my reconnecting with my different cultural identities. I had lovely interactions with people after the show who were not born in Australia, but came here with their families, who were deeply touched by the stories,” he says.
“To me, this was just my family, my stories; they’re lovely, but they’re not new to me. I was so used to them that it was a beautiful surprise to see them through the lens of audience members with whom the stories resonated.”
Following mainstage appearances at Perth and Adelaide fringe festivals, Kay Proudlove’s Dear Diary will this year join fellow MerrigongX alum The Cardinal Rules at Sydney Fringe Festival.
As Josh prepares the production for a new life, in front of a whole new audience, he says the bones will remain the same, but mainstage resources give him the chance to refine and add to it.
“It’s like the image of the show is a bit sharper,” Josh says. “As for the curry — it’s getting better every time I make it. Maybe one day the curry I make on stage will be good enough to serve to audiences.”
A Place in the Sultan’s Kitchen takes place at IPAC’s Bruce Gordon Theatre from Wednesday 20 to Saturday 23 August, and Birdsong of Tomorrow takes place at Griffin Theatre Company’s The Old Fitz Theatre from Thursday 21 August to Saturday 6 September. Dear Diary and The Cardinal Rules takes place at PACT Centre for Emerging Artists from Wednesday 24 to Saturday 27 September as part of Sydney Fringe Festival.
