The Nargun and the Stars - 2009 - Perth International Arts Festival

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photo: prudence upton 2 Plot The Nargun and the Stars is the story of a shocked and lonely boy named Simon who is restored to life and health through his engagement with the ancient dreaming creatures of the landscape and the careful, quiet acceptance of his elderly relatives, farmer Charlie and his kind yet matter-of-fact sister, Edie. It seems Simon is the one who must restore the upset balance of the natural world when he confronts the Nargun, an ancient stone dreaming creature that has left its ‘right place’ and invaded another country. He does so and in the course of his adventures finds a new sense of identity and a safe place of the heart. Origins of the story in Indigenous Culture Many Aboriginal stories about Narguns exist in the Gunai / Kurnai, Monaro and Boon Wurrung communities of East Gippsland in Victoria, but The Nargun and the Stars is not an Aboriginal story. It is said that the Nargun appears as stone but she can also appear as a hairy woman. Stories of Narguns have been used by Aboriginal people for tens of thousands of years to keep children from wandering at night. It is said that she is always looking for children to keep as her own and that spears and boomerangs cannot harm her. Narguns are sometimes known by other names and can be anywhere – in caves or in deep holes in the ground. The Den of Nargun – located in Mitchell River National Park, Victoria – is a sacred women’s site used for initiation and learning ceremonies rather than being the lair of the Nargun. The traditional Aboriginal custodians of the area where the Den is located ask that visitors do not enter the Den due to the cultural significance of the site. The Potkoorok, Turongs and Nyols who feature in The Nargun and the Stars are also creatures from the stories of Aboriginal nations in Victoria. Patricia Wrightson has drawn together some of our most magical Aboriginal creatures to tell a delightful and educational children’s story. By Jo Clancy, Aunty Ruth Mullets and Aunty Carolyn Briggs – 1 / 12 / 08
photo: prudence upton Synopsis The prologue. The Nargun, the great old dreamer of stone and earth, wakes from centuries of slumber. She ventures beyond her dreaming centre – her Nargun’s Den – and past a waterfall to gaze on the beautiful exotica of the stars. She is disturbed by the aggressive mechanical noise of earth being moved, carved, changed. She leaves her safe haven and sets out, travelling across the land until she comes to Wongadilla, a farm in the mountain country that is reminiscent of her original home. And the human story begins. Simon is a 12-year-old boy whose parents have been killed in a car accident. He comes to Wongadilla to live with his second cousin Charlie, who farms the acreage with his sister, Edie. They have both grown up here. They are almost part of the land. Simon is raw, angry, wounded. He trusts no one. Charlie drives Simon home to Wongadilla. As they drive through a gully, Simon notices a bulldozer and a grader clearing some forest. He also notices an enormous stone. Edie welcomes Simon to his new home. A moth-eaten Old Ewe wanders past. Simon goes to bed. As he sleeps the ancient Turongs lean in at his window. The next morning Simon goes exploring. In the gully he writes his name on the enormous stone he had seen the night before. At the swamp he meets the Potkoorok, an ancient water creature and a trickster. The Potkoorok sees him deal kindly with a dead frog. Henceforth Simon will be Frog Boy. The Potkoorok tells Simon that a storm is coming (out of a clear sky) and that the ‘yellow machine’ – the grader that killed the frog – is at risk. Charlie comes past, scoops Simon up on the tractor and takes him home. Simon and Edie hear a strange high howling. That night there is a storm. Simon runs out into the storm. He sees the Potkoorok and the Turongs sink the grader in the swamp. On the way home he is threatened by a scary presence, the Nargun. As he runs from the Nargun, there is a most terrible sound. Something is dying. In the morning Edie cannot find the Old Ewe. Simon returns to the swamp. He discovers that the Potkoorok may have disposed of the bulldozer as well as the grader. Simon asks about the dark and scary thing that lives in the gully. The Potkoorok tells the mysterious thing is a Nargun, but says nothing more. Simon goes to the gully to investigate. Up in the gully he discovers that the stone on which he had written his name has moved. And he realises that it is the stone that is both the dark and scary mystery and the Nargun. Then he discovers the body of the Old Ewe. He calls Charlie. Together they try to find out a bit more about the Nargun via a series of attempts to make her move. They begin to understand how dangerous she might be, then return to the farmhouse. Charlie keeps watch overnight. Simon dreams. From his dream he understands that help may come best from the rock people, the Nyols who live inside the mountain, and that the Potkoorok may be the way to reach them. Simon speaks to the Nyols. He discovers that the Nyols have stolen the bulldozer and hidden it inside the mountain. They won’t, however, help send the Nargun away. But they do let slip that the Nargun won’t tolerate loud noises. Simon, Edie and Charlie decide that if they make a loud noise at the farmhouse via the tractor and a loud noise via the bulldozer inside the mountain, they may perhaps drive the Nargun away from Wongadilla. It doesn’t work out like that. The Potkoorok, via a monumental act of dreaming helps them to lure the Nyols away from their mountain cave long enough for Charlie to start up the bulldozer and leave it working, but … the Nargun attacks the tractor (driven by Edie) and destroys it utterly. Emboldened, the Nargun hears the noise of the bulldozer inside the mountain and goes to destroy that, too. The end There is an almighty battle. The battle ends when a landslide caused by the Nargun’s destruction of the bulldozer entraps her inside the mountain with the Nyols. They tend her joyously. Back at the farmhouse, Simon, restored to wholeness and with real trust in Charlie and Edie, begins his new life at Wongadilla. 3
Page 1: AUSTRALIA photo: prudence upton The
Page 5 and 6: photo: Heidrun Löhr Co-Director's
Page 7 and 8: Company Biography: ERTH-Visual & Ph
Page 9 and 10: Actors Stephen Klinder STAGE MANAGE
Page 11 and 12: Barking Gecko Theatre Company is We

The Nargun and the Stars - 2009 - Perth International Arts Festival

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