Mungangga Garlagula (Wajarri for “yarning by the fire”) is a deeply human story of homecoming, told through spoken word, soundscape and music.
Co-created and performed by Yamatji artist Mark Atkins and Finnish-Australian composer Erkki Veltheim, the work celebrates the life and career of one of Australia’s most respected First Nations musicians and poets.
Audiences are invited to join Atkins by the fire and travel with him across shifting boundaries of memory and myth, light and shadow, the reverberating past and the emerging future.
Mungangga Garlagula is the culmination of Mark Atkins’ expansive creative life. A descendent of Western Australia’s Yamatji people and of Irish-Australian heritage, he is a virtuosic didgeridoo player and compelling storyteller. A founding member of The Black Arm Band, Atkins has collaborated with global icons including Robert Plant and Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), Philip Glass, Ornette Coleman and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. His 1994 Didgeridoo Concerto showcased his mastery of circular breathing, playing continuously for over 50 minutes - an unofficial world record at the time.
Erkki Veltheim is a multidisciplinary artist, a storyteller in live and electronic sound, and a remarkable performer on violin and viola. A Sidney Myer Fellow, he is also the orchestral composer and arranger for Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu’s posthumous ARIA and Australian Music Prize-winning album Djarimirri.
Atkins and Veltheim perform live on stage in this theatrical production. Exceptional Australian musicians Genevieve Lacey, Vanessa Tomlinson, Stephen Magnusson, Anthony Pateras and Scott Tinkler have also created and recorded a shifting bed of sound that is integral to the work. Co-created with Atkins and Veltheim from the outset, the recorded score and live performance form a unified sonic and narrative experience.
Premiering in Mark’s hometown of Albany in late 2024, Mungangga Garlagula captivated audiences across WA’s South West before a celebrated 2025 season at the Canberra International Music Festival.
This one-night-only Perth performance offers audiences a chance to experience the culmination of this five-year creative journey.
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