More than 200 guests packed out the theatre to help us celebrate our 25th anniversary, where 30 children and young people from Moree to Sierra Leone treated us to colourful and inspiring performances, supported by their dedicated educators and community elders.
It was a highly visual performance which included dance, spoken word, live theatre, puppetry and more – all written, devised and performed by the children themselves, who clearly demonstrated just how important creativity is in their learning and their lives.
From the awe-inspiring giant Brolga puppet in Beyond Empathy’s performance to the deeply touching poems and lively dancers, there really was a sense of achievement and celebration in the air on the night.
Dusseldorp Forum’s Executive Director, Teya Dusseldorp, said afterwards that the biggest highlight was seeing the children’s faces during the performance.
“Many of these kids have never performed before on stage, and certainly not at the Sydney Theatre Company,” Teya said.
There were moments in the preparation for this when they doubted themselves as to whether they could do it, and after the performance they all came up to me and said ‘I did it!’, and they were fantastic – and they knew they were fantastic!
The event was hosted in partnership with The Sydney Theatre Company, Beyond Empathy and The Sydney Story Factory.
Congratulations to all of the inspiring performers and their educators, the backstage crew and our wonderful partners who helped us make the gala performance such a success.
This is an experience these children will never forget. They will carry that pride home with them.
