Japanese theatre director Akira Takayama invites Sydney residents to perform a song or poem that was taught to them by their ancestors handed down through generations and across geographies, on the stage of Centennial Hall in Sydney Town Hall (pictured) on 28 January 2018. The song or poem can be in any language, no prior auditions or rehearsals are required, and participants of all abilities are invited to take part.

Participants will perform to an empty theatre, with the unoccupied seats representing the memory of their ancestors and the promise of future generations. Each performance will be recorded on film, and the resulting film piece will act as a collection of the oral histories that the people of Sydney carry with them.

Titled OUR SONGS- SYDNEY KABUKI PROJECT, the final artwork will be exhibited from 16 March – 11 June 2018 as part of the 21st Biennale of Sydney, 'SUPERPOSITION: Equilibrium & Engagement'.

Artist Akira Takayama and a variety of participants aged 5 – 94 years old who will be singing in languages such as Dharug (Western Sydney), Yiddish, Dutch, Japanese, Arabic, Czech, German, Korean, Russian, Spanish and English.

The concept for the performance has developed from the etymological connection between the Japanese word for song, ‘uta’, and the word ‘uttae’, which indicates a summons or call to action. Drawing on the relationship between these two words, the artist considers this performance an open call to people to tell their story and the story of their family through the expression of song and prose.

The performance features elements of Kabuki Theatre,a 400-year-old form of Japanese theatre recognised by the UNESCO Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. One by one, participants will be invited to walk along a specially constructed hanimichi (a runway structure traditionally staged in Kabuki Theatre) through the grand hall to the stage, where the chosen song or poem will be performed. The performances will take place in a continuous procession throughout the day.

Akira Takayama creates and directs projects that challenge the conventions of traditional theatre, expanding the audience experience through participation and experimental and theoretical considerations. In 2002 Takayama founded Port B, a project-specific theatre collective aimed at fostering collaborative relationships and artistic interventions, including installations in urban spaces, tour-performances, experimental social projects, lecture performances and sight-seeing tours. Motifs of movement, migration, participatory theatre, and the use of a radio transistor and maps, are common themes in Takayama’s practice.

Expression of Interest document.  More information about OUR SONGS- SYDNEY KABUKI PROJECT.  More information about the 21st Biennale of Sydney.