The new Ian Potter State Theatre to reopen with a powerful First Nations-led concert

Arts Centre Melbourne’s newly refurbished Ian Potter State Theatre will reopen on 3 October 2026, with a powerful world-premiere First Nations-led concert, Gugu Dindi Gunyah (Many Rivers. One Home) created by Mutti Mutti, Nari Nari, Yorta Yorta Songman Kutcha Edwards and sung entirely in the Aboriginal languages of Song Keepers from across Victoria.

Gugu Dindi Gunyah will be the first public performance staged in the refurbished Ian Potter State Theatre, which has undergone extensive upgrades as part of the Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation project. Gugu Dindi Gunyah, a self-determined First Nations-led project, is the first part of Arts Centre Melbourne’s reopening program to celebrate the milestone.

Gugu Dindi Gunyah is a powerful celebration of culture, resilience and collective belonging shaped by rivers, songlines, ancestral stories and shared memory. Framed as a journey of reconnection to culture, community and self, the multi-disciplinary concert is curated and led by Senior Songman and Creative Producer Kutcha Edwards. He is joined by Song Keepers and artists including Deborah Cheetham Fraillon AO (Yorta Yorta / Yuin), Wayne Thorpe (Gunnai), Alice Skye (Wergaia / Wemba Wemba), Stacie Nicholson-Piper (Wurundjeri Dja Dja Wurrung and Ngurai-Illum Wurrung), Neil Morris (Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung, Multi-lineal Indigenous Sovereign Custodian) and Boorook – Brett Clarke (Kerray Woorroong).

Directed by Kylie Belling (Yorta Yorta, Wiradjuri and South Sea Islander) the stage evokes Country itself, alive and changing beneath the performers. Under Music Director Aaron Choulai (Papua New Guinean-Australian) every song will be sung in the language of the Song Keeper who holds it. Around them, the ceremonial grounds will ripple and morph – flowing with light and texture. Like the river guides the journey, artist Tegan Murdock (Barkindji, Maurara/Yorta Yorta, Dhudaroah) guides the performance through a lens of cultural practice, ceremony and weaving.

Born on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River and removed from country as a child, Kutcha Edwards’ story flows through water, song and ancestral knowledge. Although the course of his river was disrupted, Gugu Dindi Gunyah sees the singer-songwriter reclaim his rightful place, travelling along songlines and ancient trade routes across South-East Nations, bringing together Song Keepers and cultural custodians for a unique performance.

The journey culminates on the banks of the Birrarung (Yarra River) at Arts Centre Melbourne in Naarm to mark the reopening of the Ian Potter State Theatre on the ancestral lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. It is a location that for thousands of years has been a place of gathering, ceremony and storytelling.

To create the work, Kutcha embarked on an extensive series of on-country creative developments with those Song Keepers and cultural custodians across Victoria.

“When you’re asked to conceptualise something for Arts Centre Melbourne, you first need to ask yourself why me? Then you need to figure out what story do you want and need to tell. So many things swirl in your mind,” said Kutcha Edwards.

“You take a deep breath and realise that this concept needs to be seen as ceremony, Waripa (Mutti Mutti). You enter into a cultural framework (Dreaming). Gugu Dindi Gunyah starts to take form. The rivers have their own Dreaming stories. The country has its own story. We have our own story!”

Arts Centre Melbourne Chief Executive Officer Karen Quinlan, AM said Gugu Dindi Gunyah is an important work, highlighting the diverse languages and songlines of Victoria’s First Peoples and celebrating that the ancestral lands of Arts Centre Melbourne have been a place of gathering, ceremony and storytelling for thousands of years.

“Gugu Dindi Gunyah is a powerful and significant piece of storytelling which we can’t wait to see brought to life in our new and improved Ian Potter State Theatre. We knew it needed to be the first concert to reopen our beloved theatre, celebrating and honouring the stories of our First Peoples on Victoria’s most treasured stage.”

Arts Centre Melbourne will be presenting a program of curated performances and offerings to celebrate this significant reopening milestone. The full program of performances and activities will be announced in August. For more information about Gugu Dindi Gunyah visit artscentremelbourne.com.au.

About Ian Potter State Theatre

The Ian Potter State Theatre reopens on 3 October 2026 after undergoing an extensive refurbishment since 2024. The refurbishment, part of the Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation, has made the theatre more accessible and comfortable for all Victorians and modernised its amenities for a truly 21st century theatre experience. The refurbishment has included new aisles in the Stalls and Circle, upgraded seats, heating and cooling, accessible seating in the Stalls supported by two new lifts, and state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems to enhance all genres of performance. Alongside technical upgrades, the theatre’s heritage characteristics have been preserved to uphold interior designer John Truscott’s bold vision that has defined the auditorium for more than 40 years.

The Ian Potter State Theatre is also the Melbourne performance stage of resident companies The Australian Ballet and Opera Australia.

About Arts Centre Melbourne

Australia’s largest performing arts centre, Arts Centre Melbourne is comprised of three iconic Melbourne performance venues – Hamer Hall, Sidney Myer Music Bowl and the Theatres Building with its rooftop Spire – a landmark of the city’s skyline. As the premier performing arts centre in the state of Victoria, Arts Centre Melbourne is home to four Resident Companies: The Australian Ballet, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Theatre Company and Opera Australia. The Theatres Building houses the Ian Potter State Theatre, Playhouse, Fairfax Studio and The Show Room.

PAYANGGATHA  and Arts Centre Melbourne presents