Van Diemen’s Band and Ten Days on the Island present
Sirens – PAST EVENT
(Lutruwita/Tasmania)
Hobart CBD West + North West
Tickets
RESERVED SEATING
SINGLE TICKETS: $39.00 – $59.00
Transaction Fees Apply
Duration
60 mins
Please Note
Some lighting effects.
Themes of gender identity, mortality and death.
Show Accessibility
Assistive Listening
Theatre Royal performance only
A hearing loop is available for use with hearing aids. For more information, please contact the Theatre Royal Box Office on (03) 6146 3300 | boxoffice@theatreroyal.com.au.
Venue Accessibility
Level Access
Both venues hosting this event, along with specific seating areas, are accessible without stairs.
Wheelchair Accessibility
Both venues hosting this event are wheelchair accessible with accessible bathrooms. Wheelchair spaces can be booked directly through the venues box office:
- Burnie Arts (03) 6430 5850 | arts@burnie.tas.gov.au
- Theatre Royal (03) 6146 3300 | boxoffice@theatreroyal.com.au
More detailed information on the venues can be found here:
Mythological shapeshifters, the figure of the Siren has been present in seemingly unrelated cultures for millennia. Appearing as half-birds, or with fish-like tails and often gender fluid, Sirens were singing enchantresses capable of luring passing sailors to their doom with the irresistible beauty of their song.
Their ominous presence is woven throughout the myths and legends of the world. In some cultures, they signify life and fertility within the ocean; in others, the temptation of knowledge. However, they seem to unanimously embody the destructive nature of water — serving as an omen for storms, unruly seas, and danger.
Bringing a new approach to these ancient stories, Van Diemen’s Fiddles lend their unique sound-world to an evocatively mesmerising program of new works and re-worked historical compositions based on tales from Japan, Germany, ancient Greece, and current-day Lutruwita/Tasmania.
Van Diemen’s Fiddles unite the exceptional talents of Baroque violinist Julia Fredersdorff, klezmer/folk fiddler Rachel Meyers, experimental/folk fiddler Emily Sheppard, and contemporary/Baroque violist Katie Yap.
(Please note, due to unforeseen circumstances Karina Schwartz will be replacing Julia Fredersdorff for the performance in Nipaluna/Hobart.)
“We are so looking forward to bringing the mythical figure of the siren to life in this immersive musical experience.”
– Julia Fredersdorff – Artistic Director, Van Diemen’s Band
The Artists
Julia Fredersdorff: Artistic Director & Baroque violin, vocals
Emily Sheppard: violin, viola, eelhu, vocals
Rachel Meyers: viola, viola, vocals
Katie Yap: viola, vocals
Please note, due to unforeseen circumstances Karina Schwartz will be replacing Julia Fredersdorff for the performance in Nipaluna/Hobart.
Credits
Sirens by Van Diemen’s Fiddles
Lighting Design: Matthew Marshall
Dramaturgical Advice: Lindy Hume
Audio Production: Luke Plumb
Daphne Myth Text: Isabel Howard & Emily Sheppard
Narration: Jane Longhurst
Producer: Jennifer Kerr
Operations Manager: Dirk Lorenzen
Please note, due to unforeseen circumstances Karina Schwartz will be replacing Julia Fredersdorff for the performance in Nipaluna/Hobart.
The Program
*World Premiere
Rachel Meyers (b.1981) Diurnality (2024)
Marco Uccellini (1603-1680) Questa Bella Sirena from Sonate, correnti et arie Op.4 (1645)
Kerry Andrew (b.1978) arr. VDF and Donald Nicolson (2025) Blue Men (2023)
Emily Sheppard (b.1993) Descent into sirens* (2025)
Katie Yap (b.1990) & Yyan Ng (b.1985) Kairai* (2025)
Quin Thomson (b.1974) Perceived / Real* (2025)
R. Meyers (b.1981) Ginosko* (2025)
Fredrik Sjölin (b.1982) Shore (2017)
Trad. arr. R. Meyers (2025) Land on the Shore
KERRY ANDREW Blue Men (2023)
Lyrics: Robert Macfarlane
Storm takes form
Blue sea beats
Beats its fists
Fast on hull
Hard on hope
Hurls its ropes
Snares the boats
Hauls the hearts
To the deeps
O you must, O you must
Give a gift to us
A kist not of rust or dust
But of bright silver verse
Or we will pull you down
O we will pull you down
So you must, O you must
Sing our song’s next line
But we set the meter
We set the rhyme
And if you spoil our song,
Falter, utter wrong,
Then it is drowning time,
O it is drowning time.
So here is our song,
Now continue it on:
Have you danced in the mask of the deer?
Can you speak with the voice of the tides?
Will you swim through the blue without fear?
QUIN THOMSON Perceived / Real (2025)
- city | the perceived
Ill
Ill-mannered
Ill-tempered
Ill-fitting
Ill-adapted
Ill at ease
She’s a Dumb smart girl not a girl
Unattractive, fat things hurt
Hypochondriac things hurt
And she talks too much it’s they
And she laughs too loud it’s they
Oversensitive things hurt
Can’t she take a joke? it’s they
She’s a know It All it’s they
But she lacks self worth it’s they
Goody two shoes girl it’s
Abrasive Annoying Unreasonable it’s
Awkward it’s
Abrasive Annoying Unreasonable it’s
Awkward MY PRONOUNS
Abrasive Annoying Unreasonable
Awkward …are they/them
Abrasive Annoying Unreasonable
Awkward
Pronouns
Special snowflake pronouns
unfit
ungainly
uncomfortable
unhinged
unsettling
unacceptable
unacceptable
2. water | the real
welcome shock
pain
subsides
body calms
mind flows
waves wind currents tide
light shadow mountain
endless change endless now
in this place
unbreaking
belonging
RACHEL MEYERS Ginosko (2025)
ginosko (meaning: know/known; a call to intimacy and experiential knowledge)
kindynos (meaning: danger, peril, nakedness)
Image Credit: Albert Comper + Futago
Watch the trailer
Partners
Supported by Taiko Drum Tasmania Inc.
