By Emily Jacir with collaborating artists Andrea De Siena, Walter Laureti, & Valeria Taccone.
The Belly Cries and the Dogs Laugh is a new performance excavating the history of the White Bay Power Station. Co-devised with a collective of artists from the Mediterranean, alongside a number of local performers, the work addresses circulating movements, translocal lives, the cultivation of kinship networks across distances, sites of belonging, hospitality and exclusion.
The silence, solitude, and confinement of working in isolation are juxtaposed with the joy, rhythm, and movement of gathering with community in public space. A traverse between those who are forced to whisper and those who can scream, between proximity and distance, between personal history and collective trauma.
With an entirely new movement score, and live music, rooted in the the popolare music and dance of Southern Italy, this will be the first performance in the White Bay Entertainment Hall since the site was decommissioned in 1984.
Commissioned by the Biennale of Sydney and QATAR Museums Authority.
Image courtesy of the NSW State Archives
Getting to the Entertainment Hall
The Entertainment Hall is a newly remediated venue within White Bay Power Station. The entry to the Entertainment Hall is located on Victoria Road. If you are travelling from Robert Street and turning onto Victoria Road, follow the bend around toward the Anzac Bridge overpass. Approximately 50 meters from the intersection crossing, you will see a street sign. Just past this sign on your left-hand side is Gate 5.
Note: This is a separate entry point from the main White Bay Power Station (WBPS) entrance located further down on Robert Street.
Most public transport options will drop you off on Robert Street. To reach the Entertainment Hall doors from there, you will need to walk either up or down the hill of Robert Street.
Please stay alert while walking, as the pathway is an active bike path shared with cyclists. If you are walking up from the main WBPS Robert Street entrance, please take extra care; the footpath can be uneven in sections. While the Entertainment Hall is technically on the ground level, the surrounding terrain is inclined.
You will not need to travel back to the main site for any facilities, as there are accessible bathrooms located directly within the Entertainment Hall.
There is no general on-site parking. However limited spots of 2-hour timed parking can be found in the surrounding local streets. There are two accessible parking spots available near Gate 1 on a first-come, first-served basis. But please note: From the Gate 1 accessible parking area, it is a 300-metre uphill walk to the Entertainment Hall entrance.
Rideshare Drop-off (Crescent St) - Because cars cannot stop on Victoria Road under any circumstances, we highly recommend getting dropped off on Crescent Street (just off Victoria Road). From there, you can walk a short distance and cross safely at the top of the Victoria Road intersection, avoiding the hill.
The pedestrian crossing at the top of Robert Street, intersecting with Victoria Road, is the best and safest way to get to the Entertainment Hall.
Front of House staff members will be stationed on Robert Street and at the Entertainment Hall entrance to provide way finding support. If you are still unable to find the venue, please visit the Info Hub who will be able to assist you.
If you have any questions, please contact bookings@biennaleofsydney.com.au
