PREPARE FOR AN EMOTIONAL RIDE

For musician Samuel Gaskin, expression and celebration of cultural identity isn’t something to shy away from.

In preparation for his current venture ‘Reckoning’ to come to Parramatta’s Riverside Theatre, he revisited the moment the idea first came to him, just a few years ago.

“‘Reckoning’ came about after a trip I took back home to Aotearoa to perform with Yothu Yindi and The Treaty Project, a song I had written with them at a festival back home for Waitangi Day,” he said.

“I just saw the power of having both Maori and Aboriginal mob together.”

Though he originally thought of it as a music project, Gaskin recalls realising ‘Reckoning’ could be so much more – to the point where now, he doesn’t really know what it is.

“It’s the music, but it’s also a one-hour theatre show,” he said.

“It’s this thing that I still find hard to name four years later, because I still don’t like to call it a show. It feels like something more than that that I just can’t put a name to.”

Like many artists, Gaskin was met with a roadblock in the form of a global pandemic back in 2020, which saw him shift gears and turn ‘Reckoning’ into an online experience with the help of the Melbourne Fringe.

Though over the past four years, the show has changed plenty, it remains a very personal story for Gaskin, and one that also interlinks with the other cast members in the experience.

“It’s really about embracing those parts of yourself that you may have pushed away to fit in in this colonised world that we live in, but particularly about the power of embracing your Indigenous bloodlines, and knowing your ancestry, and knowing who your ancestors are and where you’ve come from, and also what work your ancestors have put in for you to be able to be here, thriving and shining today,” he said.

Now headed on a national tour, there are a few moments Gaskin admits he can’t wait for audiences to see for the first time.

“Without a doubt, my favourite part of the show is a number called ‘Rain’, which leads into the finale,” he said.

“My favourite part is seeing nine fierce, fabulous, brilliant Aboriginal and Maori performers all on stage at the same time.

“To see us all singing as one with two beautiful languages overlapping is always a really special moment.

“People considering coming to the show need to bring a box of tissues, a glass of champagne, and their dancing shoes, because they are going to experience a whole gamut of heart opening emotions, and they’re going to want to dance after they’ve just cried, after they’ve just been hugging the person next to them.”

Reckoning will be on at Riverside Theatres in Parramatta on Thursday, August 24 at 7.30pm. Tickets start at $43. For more information or to book, visit riversideparramatta.com.au.