Electronic Artist Brings To Light Hidden History Of The Pacific

Freeman was awarded the APRA AMCOS Art Music Grant to research and develop The Girmit. The premiere was supported by and debuted at the Kia Mau Festival in June 2023, with the entire season selling out a week in advance. The Girmit also won the Technical Achievement Award at the 2024 Dunedin Fringe Festival.

The word "girmit" was adopted by Indian indentured labourers and derives from the English word "agreement." This performance sheds light on the lesser-known history of Indian indentured labourers (known as Girmityas), who were brought to Fiji to work on sugar plantations in British colonies from 1879 to 1916. The piece is both a celebration of their resilience and a tribute to their struggles.

The performance takes the audience on a journey through time, using music to explore the deception that coerced and forced people into migrating to Fiji on indentured contracts. Many were falsely told that Fiji was part of India, that they would make their fortunes, and that they could return home anytime. However, Freeman's research uncovered harsh realities: most worked long hours, barely survived on meagre food stipends, suffered physical abuse, and many infants died as mothers were forced back to work shortly after childbirth.

Nadia initially found it challenging to access information about Girmit history, as there were no surviving members of that generation and limited books available in public libraries. She was grateful for the resources at the National Library of New Zealand and the Alexander Turnbull Library, which enabled her to piece together an understanding of the brutal injustices the Girmityas experienced.

The NZ Fringe Festival presentations of the Girmit are being showcased with a community kaupapa in mind by working in partnership with The National Library of NZ, Pātaka Art+Museum and The Fiji Girmit Foundation NZ.

On Thursday 27 February, The Girmit will be performed at The National Library of NZ Auditorium.  The aim of the partnership with the National Library was a chance for Nadia to return to the source of her research and to invite people to engage with the story in a space that preserves New Zealand history.

On Friday 28 February, The Girmit will be performed in a demonstration style format at Pātaka Art+Museum where Nadia will explain her music-making process as part of a sensory-relaxed presentation of the work. In tribute to the wider story of slave labour in the Pacific, Nadia will perform the show alongside the work The Cry of Stolen People by Jack Kirifi, Moses Viliam and Zac Mateo -  a multi-media installation that reflects on the history of Tokelauans who were abducted into slavery in the 1860s.

Freeman is a creative producer across multiple mediums, including music, poetry, and theatre. She was the executive producer of the podcast Eastern Sound Stories, which won the 2023 Taite Award for Outstanding Music Journalism. In 2021, she produced and performed Eat These Words, a multisensory poetry show. Since then, she has developed and showcased several performance pieces, including Another Universe for the Aotearoa Festival of Arts, which had sell-out shows at the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Reviews:

Theatre Review:
"Nadia Freeman’s electronic music is haunting, her soulful voice embraces us like the sounds of lapping waves across the idyllic white-sand beaches of Fiji..."

The Post Review:
"Nadia manages to keep her audience transfixed the entire time. Using sounds like a conch horn, jingling jewellery, and sugar cane being shucked, her music wraps the despair and rage of her ancestors' lives into transcendent tones."

Art Murmurs Review:
"Nadia Freeman is powerful and enticing."

The Girmit promises to be an emotional and thought-provoking experience, blending live sound sampling, song, and poetry into a unique theatrical performance that will leave audiences moved and inspired.

The Girmit has received support from the New Zealand Fringe Touring Fund for performances in Wellington and Nelson.

Performance Dates:

• Thursday, 27 February – The National Library of NZ Auditorium
• Friday, 28 February – Pātaka Art+Museum (demonstration-style format where Freeman will explain her music-making process in a sensory-relaxed presentation)
• Thurs 6 and Fri 7 March – Red Door Theatre, Nelson.

·  Accessibility:

Both venues are wheelchair accessible.

The performance at Pātaka Art+Museum will be a sensory relaxed presentation and is also a highly auditory performance with integrated audio description and touch tour for people who are blind or have low-vision.  Please refer to the Pre-Show information and Descriptive Notes for further accessibility information.

Creative Team:
Writer / Performer / Composer: Nadia Freeman

·        Tabla and backing vocals: Harshaa Prasad

·        Mr Arakati: Michael Mckeon

·        Director & Script Advisor: Sameena Zehra

·        Voice Actors: Yogesh Chetty, Zilla Joesph, Shamshad Sen and John Thoman

·        Sound and Visual Design: Marc Freeman

Website: https://iammissleading.com/the-girmit/

© Scoop Media