‘The musical that Australia needed’ is about to land in Melbourne

If you’ve lived in Australia at any time over the past few decades, there’s a good chance you’ve heard Warumpi Band’s music. Hailing from the remote Northern Territory community of Papunya, the trailblazing group behind songs such as Blackfella/Whitefella and My Island Home made Australian music history as the first rock band to sing in an Aboriginal language.

Warumpi Band fused country and blues elements with vivid imagery of culture and home, and rallied for solidarity across the racial divide, leading the way for bands such as Yothu Yindi and King Stingray.

Big Name, No Blankets is a joyful musical, soundtracked by the work of the Warumpi Band. Credit: Brett Boardman

Big Name, No Blankets uses Warumpi Band’s music to tell the story of Sammy Tjapanangka Butcher, the group’s Pitjantjatjara-Warlpiri guitarist and co-founder, and of Papunya. Written by Andrea James and co-directed by Rachael Maza and Sammy’s daughter, Anyupa Butcher, for Ilbijerri Theatre Company, the musical – named after the band’s 1985 debut album – is a joyful celebration of the man, the music and the community.

The show resonated with audiences when it made its debut at Sydney Festival in January. “We had standing ovations every night, even sometimes during the show,” Anyupa says. “My favourite thing was after the shows, when the old Warumpi Band fans would come up and share their memories … It felt like we were all reunited.”

“There was such a hunger for this show,” Maza adds. “I felt like we were really tapping into a desperate need for this happy celebration of the First Peoples of this land, language, culture and family … especially after having such a debacle of the [Voice] referendum.” She puts it simply: “We’re the musical that Australia needed.”

The show’s narrative is structured around Warumpi Band’s music, giving the songs new weight and perspective. It has the energy of a rock concert but is very much in the world of theatre.

Big Name, No Blankets co-directors Anyupa Butcher (left) and Rachael Maza.Credit: Simon Schluter

“[The songs are] as poignant today as they were the day that they were written,” Maza says. “In a theatrical setting, because there’s the narrative and the story that happens around the songs, there’s a real listening … and a deeper appreciation of the songs, ultimately, in a quite profoundly life-changing way.”

As the show tells the story of Papunya, the creators felt it was important for the development of Big Name, No Blankets to take place in the community, rather than a metropolitan city removed from these roots. It was something Anyupa, who is making her directorial debut, never thought possible growing up. “If someone told me when I was 15 years old that you could develop a theatre show out of Papunya, I would have laughed in their faces,” she says.

Sammy was involved in it all coming together by sharing not only his own stories, but those of his family, for an authentic intergenerational tale.

“The reporting of remote communities always comes from mostly non-Indigenous people … We never really have opportunities to show what our languages are, our homes, where we come from, what our way of life is,” Anyupa says.

“Big Name, No Blankets gives insight into that with my grandmother’s story, my auntie’s story, my father’s story … It just feels so empowering as a desert woman to be able to bring that to cities, so people can get an insight of what it’s like to live so remotely but love our home.”

The production is a family affair: Anyupa’s brother, Jason, is a member of the house band, and Sammy’s brother, Gordon, who died in 2020, was also a member of Warumpi Band. Anyupa says her father cried the first time he saw the archival footage used in the show. “It’s something that is beautiful for him … sharing this journey with his brothers and his brother-in-law, and this epic moment in his life seeing young people in the next generation tell that story,” she says. “He was so touched seeing his life being told in this way.”

Big Name, No Blankets will play in Melbourne this week as part of Rising, before heading to Darwin Festival in August. At its heart is a message of hope. “That’s what drives the music; that’s what drives Sammy,” Maza says. “That’s the cultural way as an elder … Anyone who shares this story with Sammy walks away feeling very uplifted and very empowered.”

Big Name, No Blankets is on at Melbourne Town Hall as part of Rising from May 31 to June 2.

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