Homegrown star of The Sapphires national tour, Lorinda Merrypoor will join Rockhampton’s Women in Voice line-up in July

The inaugural Women in Voices performance in Rockhampton will bring The Sapphires star Lorinda back to where she began eisteddfods when she was just six years old

Next week’s Women in Voice production, the first of its kind in Rockhampton, will also be the first time Lorinda Merrypoor has performed on the Pilbeam Theatre stage since she finished school here in 2013.

Ms Merrypoor remembers competing in the Rockhampton eisteddfods since she was about six years old, sometimes singing duets with Maddison McDonald who is also in the WIV line-up.

“The Pilbeam Theatre was my second home,” she said.

“Or maybe my third home, because I grew up singing at church with my family every Sunday, surrounded by the most incredible music.

“That feeling of 100 people singing together passionately... I find there’s always something so fundamental about music, it brings people from all different backgrounds together.”

Ms Merrypoor, whose parents still live in Rockhampton, said she felt out of her depth when she first left Rockhampton to audition for the Conservatorium of Music in Brisbane.

“I was the only person there from Rockhampton and the competition was so strong, I rang up Mum at lunchtime and said, “You might as well come pick me up now,” she said.

But not only did she finish her degree in Musical Theatre, Lorinda also managed to land roles which would see her spread her wings on stages all around Australia.

In 2020, before Covid put a stop to live theatre, she had gained the highly-sought-after role of Julie in the Australian tour of ‘The Sapphires’, directed by the original writer and movie director, Tony Briggs.

Set during the Vietnam War, ‘The Sapphires’ is the real-life story of four Indigenous girls who are thrust into worldwide politics when asked to perform for the troops overseas.

“In the movie, they all go but, in real life, only two of the girls chose to go to Vietnam,” Ms Merrypoor said.

“The other two stayed home to protest the war.

“We got to meet and perform and sit down and eat with the real-life (The) Sapphires and the stories they had to tell us about Vietnam were terrifying.

“It wasn’t just the bullets and the bombs but there was a lot of sexual assault from the soldiers too, so much for young Indigenous girls to cope with.”

Ms Merrypoor said the opportunity to tour around Australia made her reflect on her own Indigenous and Islander heritage.

“Every town we went to, and that might be three towns a week, there’d be an Elder do the Welcome to Country and then tell us something about their mob and their country,” she said.

“And growing up in Queensland, all I knew about Western Australia and the Northern Territory was there’s red dirt there.

“I’m so lucky to have travelled to so many gorgeous landscapes around Australia, I don’t think I ever need to go on holiday overseas.”

Covid put a stop to the touring, for now, but Lorinda said that artists rallied and found innovative ways to keep offering their talents.

“I was so excited to catch up with Amanda and Travis (from Rockhampton’s Lock & Hock productions who produced Women in Voice) because we did Cabaret all those years ago at the Pilbeam when I was just kid,” she said.

“Now they’ve put together this amazing show, the first Women in Voice outside of Brisbane where it’s been really popular for 30 years, and it means I get to come back and share my love of singing with them and the people of Rockhampton.”

The Morning Bulletin asked Lorinda whether, if she went back in time and told her six-year old self what was in store, she’s be surprised.

“Very surprised,” she said.

“I had big dreams I was going to dance and sing but I had no idea how that would look and where it would take me.

“I’m looking forward to telling the audience how grateful I am when they come to see Women in Voice at the Pilbeam on July 17.”