Northern Rivers Performing Arts (NORPA) is igniting community creativity, connection, and rejuvenation with its development program, Dinner Party at the End of the World.
Emerging from a region that knows both the devastation of disaster and the power of collective action, the creative development project embraces art as a catalyst for renewal. The notion of a dinner party at the end of the world becomes the starting point for artistic exploration of how we share, engage with, and process our collective experience.
“I’m incredibly excited to see this series of developments come to life, not only because of the calibre of artists we’re working with, but because of the way it invites our community to step into the creative process with us.” said NORPA’s Artistic Director, Julian Louis.
“After everything we’ve been through together in recent years, it feels vital to create spaces where we can gather, share stories, and imagine the future side by side. This program is about more than making theatre, it’s about strengthening connections, celebrating our resilience, and showing that art can be a powerful way to bring people together,” said Louis.
Running until November 2025, the program will see 21 inspiring artists and ensembles lead creative explorations and community workshops across the Northern Rivers.
Highlights include Bunuba Man Fred Copperwaite leading a local theatre chorus, Sprung Ensemble using disability-led processes to explore through movement and music, Kaz Therese blending pop culture and games to interrogate our relationship with catastrophe, and Javanese Australian choreographer Jade Dewi Tyas Tunggal creating riverscape-inspired dance.
Bridie Hooper will develop climate focused circus work, Kimberley McIntyre will invite explorations of extreme physicality and emotion through movement, and proud Yaegl and Widjabul Wia-bul artist Mitch King will create theatre, movement, and sound inspired by the Dundurimba swamp lands. Noa Rotem will lead a series of school workshops engaging young people through theatre, dance and film.
This year’s program will help inform a major new work for NORPA, set to premiere in 2027, honouring the courage, generosity, and ingenuity that defined the Northern Rivers community in the wake of the 2022 floods.
Guided by the belief that creativity can help communities adapt and thrive in a changing climate, the program invites artists and residents to collaborate on works that speak to the specifics of place while addressing universal questions of resilience and connection.
From rooftop rescues and popup soup kitchens to acts of radical generosity – these raw and powerful stories will be transformed into expressions of artistic possibility. The program includes artist creative developments, public workshops, school collaborations, culminating in a community sharing in November 2025.
Upcoming Public Workshops:
The Duet: Leaning into Extreme Physicality
St Paul’s Memorial Hall, Lismore: Saturday 27 September 2025 (10.00am – 4.00pm)
A high-energy physical workshop exploring movement, play, and connection with Kimberley McIntyre and Phil Blackman.
Bookings: www.norpa.org.au (free – bookings required)
Physical Explorations of Sustained Defiance
111 Magellan Dance Studio, Lismore: Saturday 4 October 2025 (10.00 – 12.00pm)
A circus-based workshop exploring strength, resistance and connection through movement with Bridie Hooper and Billie Wilson-Coffey.
Bookings: www.norpa.org.au (free – bookings required)
Dinner Party at the End of the World has been supported through Creative Australia’s, Creative Futures Fund, NSW Government, The Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation, Regional Arts Australia, Southern Cross University, Petersen Family Foundation, Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools and the Reconstruction Authority.
For more information about Dinner Party at the End of the World and to register for the public workshops and events, visit: www.norpa.org.au for details.
Image: L-R: Kimberley Mcintyre, Mitch King, Fred, Copperwaite, Julian Louis (Top), Naomi Feller, Noa Rotem, Frauke Huhn, Poppy Walker, Bridie Hooper (Top), Kaz Therese (Hat), Katie Cooper, Jade Dewi Tyas Tunggal, Libby Lincoln – photo by Kate Holmes