Leah Purcell, one of Australia’s most well-known Indigenous actors, talks about her latest role playing Rita Connors on the current series of Wentworth, how she remains centered while striving for excellence in her field and the lessons she has learned whilst developing her craft over the past 25 years.

Music in this show includes: My Pelopolees (Tasman Keith), Sistergirl (Oetha), and Native Tongue featuring Pasefika Vitoria Choir (Mojo Juju).

Photo Credit: Brett Boardman

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In this episode, SirRummy and Nat Mac welcome Neil Morris to the JOY studio. Neil, a Yorta Yorta man who performs under the name of DRMNGNOW, is an MC, Instrumentalist, Poet, Keeper of Song,and cultural performer.

Urban Dreaming also chat with Glenda Sutardy, an artist originally from Australia but now living in Japan. Glenda “explores the notion of spiritual existence through the natural world of time and memory, she discovers a parallel divine energy interconnecting  everything.”

Music in this episode include: Ngurra (Kardajala Kirridarra); Australia Does Not Exist (DRMNGNOW); and Indigenous Land (DRMNGNOW). We also play a track called Bail Fails from the Beyond the Bars program which features stories,songs, opinions and poems from 100+ men & women in the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre.

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This week on Urban Dreaming, we get an insight into the life of a GLBTI+ indigenous people working in the mining industry. We also speak with a studio guest about the financial difficulties faced by performance artists. Both guests wish to remain anonymous but speak about the challenges faced by them in their professions.

Includes music by Gurrumul and Neil Morris.

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Kutcha Edwards was born on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River at Balranald, New South Wales, of the Mutti Mutti people and is among the many of the Stolen Generations. He joined Urban Dreaming for a yarn and to reflect on the approaching 20th anniversary of Sorry Day on 26 May.

We also speak with Kaiit and Idil about Sisterhood, a spoken word platform centering the perspectives of African, First Nation and LGBTQI+ artists, presented by Sisters on the Mic and Arts Centre Melbourne.

Music this week include: A to Z (Ziggy Ramo), Mum’s Song (Kutcha Edwards), and spoken word performances by Kaiit and Idil.

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In this week’s show, we reflect on the passing of indigenous actor, Tom E. Lewis; revel in Jessica Mauboy’s 2018 Eurovision performance; and present the Dreamtime story of Bunjil.

Music this week includes: We Got Love (Jessica Mauboy); My Island Home (Jimblah); Mr La Di Da Di (Baker Boy); Looking Out for Country (Githabul Next Generation) and Friends with Feelings (Alice Skye).

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Our special guest this week was the legendary Bart Willoughby, who joined us in the studio to share anecdotes about life and music, how he fell into music and the stories behind some of his songs.

We celebrate Bart Willoughby’s music with Woodskin Funk, Aboriginal Woman and Bob Marley’s Redemption Song (live in studio)

Also this week, we talk to Nadine McDonald-Dowd, co-writer of The Longest Minute, a play centered around the 2015 NRL Grand Final, when underdogs, the North Queensland Cowboys finished ahead of the Brisbane Broncos in an all-Queensland historic final.

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Spoken word extraordinaire, Kyah, and actor and cultural facilitator at Junjurri Workshop, Nathalie McLean (aka Nat Mac) joined Urban Dreaming. Kyah talks about her inspirations and performs one of her works, “Young Black Boy” and Nat Mac tells us about the workshops she runs and what a Junjurri is.

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This week on Urban Dreaming, SirRummy and Gracie are joined by special co-host Laila Thaker and studio guest Wāni. Laila is a Meriam-Mer woman from Torres Straits, actor and the writer/director and producer of Black Shell, a script-reading group which advocates for women of colour. Wāni is a Congolese-born, NZ-raised and Melbourne based poet who won the 2018 Green Room award for Best New Talent.

We also chat with Urban Dreaming’s Davey Thompson about his 2018 Green Room Award for Contemporary Circus for Chasing Smoke. The Green Room Awards celebrate outstanding achievements in productions from Cabaret, Contemporary & Experimental Performance, Dance, Independent Theatre, Music Theatre, Opera and Theatre Companies.

Music in this podcast include: Human Nature (Sevdaliza); Australia Does Not Exist (DRMNGNOW ft Philly, Adrian Eagle and Culture Evolves); Black Girl Magik (Sampa The Great featuring Nicole Gumbe); and Be Kind To Yourself (Willow Beats).

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Lidia Thorpe is the current member for Northcote. Lidia won the Northcoate by-election in November 2017, becoming the first Aboriginal woman elected to the Victorian Parliament.

Shiralee Hood is Australia’s top Aboriginal female comedians and is in town performing at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in her show, The Rise of the Planet of the Apps.

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An insightful conversation on the topic of homelessness with Sue and Sidney who have lived on the streets for many years. We hear from their perspective on the constant day to day struggle and not having adequate support networks for a sustainable living. We also had some live music with our special guest Vateresio Tuikaba who is a Footscray based Fijian-Australian musician, rapper, filmmaker and Actor.

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