Tuesday, 17 October 2023

The Durga Chronicles

Lee TARLAMIS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (16:14): Recently I had the pleasure of attending The Durga Chronicles at Bunjil Place in the City of Casey. The Durga Chronicles is a landmark theatrical performance and cultural intervention into the experiences of violence by women in our multicultural communities. The Durga Chronicles, by Priya Srinivasan, is a collaboration with Insite Arts and draws on classical Indian and post-modern aesthetics by drawing on the stories of women who have been harmed in different parts of the world and harnesses the force of Durga, the goddess of protection, to provoke empowered resistance, courage and strength against gendered violence. The Durga Chronicles, which won the Green Room Award for Breaking Ground, uses classical music, dance and stunning visuals, along with a moving Carnatic choir of 12 women, to create a spectacular and immersive storytelling experience. It was an incredibly powerful, thought-provoking and empowering performance which brought gender violence to the forefront while those watching were immersed in the artistic portrayal of the stories being told.

The arts, in all its forms, has an important role to play in driving positive social change and preventing family violence and violence against women. The arts and theatre are key settings to influence attitudes and behaviours of individuals and communities, to advance gender equality and to have a critical role in shaping a vibrant, inclusive and diverse society. Following the performance there was a post-show circle of conversation workshop to discuss the prevention of gendered violence, backlash and resistance and the power of the arts to raise awareness of family violence. Involved in these roundtable discussions were diverse multicultural and interfaith community members and leaders, family violence workers, psychologists and social justice workers. I want to recognise the work of Insite Arts and everyone involved in bringing The Durga Chronicles to life, contributing to this important community conversation and demonstrating the powerful way in which storytelling and theatre can drive positive social change and the importance of listening to people who have experienced violence.