Burrbgaja Yalirra 2 is a sequel to the trilogy of short works staged by Broome-based intercultural dance company Marrugeku in 2018. In this instance, one piece presents an Aboriginal Australian story: the superb Nyuju by Fitzroy Crossing artist Emmanuel James Brown (EJB). No New Gods is a dark invocation from Filipinx artist Bhenji Ra, while Bloodlines is an episodic meditation on Pasifica life and “blackbirding” (the forced labour of Pasifika on the Queensland canefields) performed by charismatic duo Czack Ses Bero (Torres Strait Islander / Aboriginal) and Pasifica artist Stan Nalo.

Bhenji Ra in Marrugeku’s Burrbgaja Yalirra 2. Photo © Emma Fishwick

Moving in and out of shadowy purple light and attired in speckled hides, Ra is a striking performer, arching her back, moving on all fours, leaping and spinning with a martial stance, manipulating a pair of Filipino fighting sticks, with which she marks out space, mimes fangs, and lifts and frames her hair.

Kneeling before a water buffalo sculpture resting front right, Ra bites into it and dribbles black blood, almost retching. She relates how colonising Christians drove away local gods and enacted violence on Filipinos. The program tells...