Lighting production
Straight from the Strait
Torres Strait Islander railway history told through song. Krank'd worked with lighting designer Jason Glenwright on Straight from the Strait, which made its world premiere at Brisbane Festival 2024.
Explore the production- When
- 28 to 31 August 2024
- Where
- Playhouse, QPAC, South Brisbane
The full company across the Playhouse stage.
The workers and songs behind a railway record
Straight from the Strait tells the story of Torres Strait Islander workers who travelled far from their island homes to build railways on the Australian mainland. The musical celebrates their contribution to the country's industrial history, including a record-breaking track-laying achievement, through the songs and stories carried with them.
Presented by Opera Queensland, Yumpla Nerkep Foundation and QPAC in association with Brisbane Festival, the work premiered in QPAC's Playhouse from 28 to 31 August 2024. Ancestral languages and contemporary musical influences sit together in the production, connecting the workers' experiences with family, culture and community.
Working with Jason Glenwright’s lighting design
Krank'd collaborated with lighting designer Jason Glenwright on the production's lighting. The stage world needed to support the narrative as well as the musical ensemble, connecting individual stories with the collective force of the workers' achievement.
The production brought those histories into a contemporary theatre setting, with lighting contributing to changes of place, mood and performance scale. Glenwright's lighting design was later recognised at the Matilda Awards for 2024, alongside several other awards for the production and its creative team.
