Review by Markus Hamence – Kuramanunya – Performance date: Friday 20 March 2026. Holden Street Theatres, Adelaide, South Australia.
Kuramanunya: “My feet walk on land that is red blood soaked. Black burnt, yellow sun drenched country. Stories from thousands of years. Songs eternally kept on the wind and water.
I honor lines that have been cut. Poisoned, shot and led to the cliff’s edge. Those who passed to the spirit world before their kin could arrive from the dreaming to continue a physical lineage.
Remembering the stories that remain unwritten and unspoken, returned to the earth and stars that they arrived from. Acknowledging that First Nations people are descendants of those who fought for land, family and identity. Not everyone continued to walk this physical world, many returned to the spirit world.
Kuramanunya honours them. Kuramanunya. The story is told…” (Performance bio online)
Allow me to delve into the Karul‘s show…
I’ve seen my fair share of shows this season, some shows have arrive loud, some with glitter, some chasing applause. This one was a heart-felt ceremony. Kuramanunya walks in steady, grounded and completely sure of itself – and that confidence is what makes it hit so deeply, and, to be honest, brought tears to my eyes.
Inside Holden Street Theatres, where the Fringe often leans into raw, story-first work, this production feels right at home. AND it is. But it also rises above the noise. There’s a stillness to the way Kuramanunya unfolds – not slow, not heavy – just deliberate. Every word feels chosen and heard. Every smack of the body is felt. Every pause feels earned.
“It’s storytelling that comes from somewhere real, somewhere connected…”
Markus Hamence
Karul’s Thomas E.S. Kelly commands the space with a presence that doesn’t need theatrics. It’s storytelling that comes from somewhere real, somewhere connected. The work draws on culture, memory and identity, but never in a way that feels like it’s explaining itself. Instead, it invites you in, trusting the audience to meet it where it stands. A true story ‘as old as time’ and human story MORE relevant and required than EVER before. We are finally starting to listen, NO, REALLY listen. There has been pain.
What’s striking is how physical the storytelling becomes without relying on big movement. The shifts in tone, posture and energy carry just as much weight as the words. There are moments where the room feels completely suspended – like everyone is breathing in time with the story.
The design keeps things clean and focused. No clutter, no distractions. Just enough light and space to let the narrative expand. It’s a smart choice, because this is a piece that thrives on connection rather than spectacle.
And that connection lands. Not in a dramatic, overwhelming way – but in a quiet, lingering way. The kind that sneaks up on you after the show, when you realise you’ve carried parts of it out into the night.
The audience was diverse, all ages, all cultures and we were all one. We all connected to this performance and felt heard especially with the challenges we all face atm around the world, past and current, but, hopefully not future.
“There are not enough words to impress how you feel when you come out of this show… If you don’t connect with this performance, you cannot possibly be a human”
Markus Hamence
In a festival packed with big personalities and high-energy chaos, Kuramanunya carves out its own lane – one built on truth, culture, and presence.
Wrap-up: Kuramanunya doesn’t push – it resonates. A grounded, quietly powerful work that proves the most unforgettable stories are often the ones told with the least noise and the most heart. The leaf signing at the end was a very personal touch and the energy the audience put into writing their name was actually intense and thought through. There are not enough words to impress how you feel when you come out of this show… If you don’t connect with this performance, you cannot possibly be a human. Credit. Bravo. Lesson learnt. Exemplary.
Kuramanunya
Saturday 14 March – Sunday 22 March 2026
The Studio at Holden Street Theatres
Tickets
About Karul
Started by Thomas E.S. Kelly proud Minjungbal, Wiradjuri and Ni-Vanuatu man and Taree Sansbury a proud Karen, Narungga and Nagrrindjeri woman in 2017, Karul is a performing arts company with a focus to increase First Nations’ voices, visibilities and stories locally, nationally and internationally. Karul is based in South East Qld, making high calibre works and increasing First Nations representation.
“Karul” is a Yugambeh Language word which means ‘Everything’. Named so because Karul will use everything it needs to use to tell whatever story needs to be told. Alongside our grounding medium of dance we also use Karul/Everything that we feel best suits the story and information we are sharing incorporating theatre, film, projection, animation, singing and more.
