Stolen Generations dance piece to premiere at Northern Stage

The Other Side of Me will be performed at Northern Stage in Newcastle on May 20, following a seven-venue tour along Australia’s east coast that ends with a four-day run at the Sydney Opera House.

Originally scheduled to be staged in Newcastle in 2020, the production was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Other Side of Me by Gary Lang NT Dance Company at DanceX Festival, Arts Centre Melbourne 2025 (Image: Gregory Lorenzutti.)

It also carries emotional significance, following the death in 2024 of Dr Laura Fish, the Northumbria University writer and assistant professor who first conceived the project.

Dr Fish began the work after exchanging letters with a young Aboriginal man who shared his struggles with identity and reconnecting with his Indigenous heritage.

Liz Pavey, assistant professor at Northumbria University and co-creator of the production, said: “It is a joy that The Other Side of Meis finally coming to the North East after all this time.

The Other Side of Me by Gary Lang NT Dance Company at DanceX Festival, Arts Centre Melbourne 2025 (Image: Gregory Lorenzutti.)

“This is such an important story, and we are so excited that North East audiences can finally connect with it – I know they will be moved, challenged, and in awe of the choreography. It raises profound questions about colonialism and belonging that resonate far beyond Australia.

“This is also a wonderful moment of international recognition for Gary and his extraordinary artistry. And of course, it is a tribute to Laura – a chance for all those who knew her to remember the incredible cultural impact she had on creative writing, on this region, and well beyond.”

The Other Side of Me by Gary Lang NT Dance Company at DanceX Festival, Arts Centre Melbourne 2025 (Image: Gregory Lorenzutti.)

The Other Side of Me tells the story of a young man from Australia’s Stolen Generations – Indigenous children forcibly removed from their families under government policy – who is adopted and raised in the UK, cut off from his culture and identity.

Blending contemporary and First Nations dance with physical theatre and literature, the work unfolds as an intimate duet between two men representing different sides of the same person: the British identity he lives and the Indigenous identity he yearns to reclaim.

The performance has received international acclaim since premiering at the Darwin Festival in 2023.

It has since toured Western and Central Australia, featured at The Australian Ballet’s DanceX Festival in Melbourne, and embarked on its acclaimed 2026 East Coast Australian tour, which culminates at the Sydney Opera House before travelling to the UK.

Produced by the First Nations-led organisation BlakDance, the production was developed in collaboration with Northumbria University and the Gary Lang NT Dance Company.

Ms Pavey described the upcoming performance as a tribute to Dr Fish and her lasting influence.

She said: “This is also a wonderful moment of international recognition for Gary and his extraordinary artistry.

“And of course, it is a tribute to Laura – a chance for all those who knew her to remember the incredible cultural impact she had on creative writing, on this region, and well beyond.”

Gary Lang, choreographer and artistic director of Gary Lang NT Dance Company, said: “While this work was inspired by a specific and gut-wrenching story about the loss of a Blak boy’s identity, the exploration is about the many ‘what if’ moments we can all recognise in our lives.

“The Other Side of Me is about the prison that everyone has in their own minds – how we keep ourselves behind bars and how we try to find our own freedom.”

Following the Newcastle date, the production will appear at Dance North Scotland’s RISE 2026 festival, an annual event celebrating contemporary dance across Caithness, Inverness, Findhorn, and Glasgow.

The Other Side of Me will be performed at Northern Stage, Newcastle, on May 20.