This month the State Library of NSW celebrates its 200th anniversary with a six-week program of talks, performances and live music, including new commissions from some of Australia’s most prolific creatives.
On Friday night, the Mitchell Library Reading Room, known for its vast ceilings and the multi-storey bookshelves lining its walls, became the site of RECLAIM: A Contemporary Ceremony. Directed and Co-written by Stephen Page AO, the performance presents a series of connecting vignettes that combine dance, music, poetry and storytelling to celebrate and honour the resistance and histories of First Nations peoples, both encapsulated within the library’s walls and on the land on which it stands.
Indigenous Engagement Librarian Melissa Jackson stood high on the stairs of the library stacks. He talked about the cultural reclamation of First Nations librarians, saying, “I reclaim information from collections that are about us, but not by us.” Incorporating the perspectives of the State Library staff grounds the work in the present before venturing into the past.
A group of performers (including Brendon Boney, Angeline Penrith and Dalara Williams) stand in front of a sign which reads ‘Aboriginal Sovereignty’, and chronologically list moments of First Nations resistance. They conclude with the protest song (sung by Taj Pigram) ‘Ngarra Burra Ferra’ in Yorta Yorta language. It is powerful and deeply stirring.
Two women (Angeline Penrith and Dalara Williams) sit on stage and discuss the incredible legacy of Colleen Shirley Perry Smith AM MBE, known as Mum Shirl. After one of her brothers was incarcerated, she began visiting the jail and soon discovered her visits benefited other prisoners. She began to accompany indigenous people who were unfamiliar with the legal system to court, and whenever an official questioned her relationship to the prisoner, she would tell them she was their Mum. A nickname, and a legend, was born.
Tribute is paid to the life of respected ancestor Bennelong, remembered in part for acting as an intermediary between the Eora people and the early British settlers. Beau Dean Riley Smith is mesmerising in the role of Bennelong, dancing high along the library stacks before moving to the main stage. The remaining performers begin to build a literal box which traps him inside. A poignant reflection on the isolation he must have experienced, feeling torn between two worlds.
RECLAIM is a visually stunning show, with lighting design by Damien Cooper, creating the perfect accompaniment to the movement and storytelling being enacted on stage. In particular, the use of coloured lighting and the choice to back-light some performances was powerful and emotive, their shadows dancing across the shelves of books around the room. The performance made incredible use of the space, exposing truths that exist outside of the books lining the walls.
It’s fascinating how we tend to equate history with facts, but history, by its very nature, is often one person’s account of an event. This is particularly true of colonial history, being primarily the perspective of white men. RECLAIM highlights and celebrates First Nations stories, reclaiming what the site was and the knowledge it holds.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
To read more about RECLAIM: A Contemporary Ceremony head to the State Library of NSW website.
Reviewer attended on 11 September 2026.
Photos by Daniel Boud
