Part climate-catastrophe, part clown show—KOAL is a one-woman show for the end of the world. As wildfires tear through Australia, a baby koala, a coal miner and an Indigenous girl desperately strive to hold onto their homes before all burns and turns to ash.
KOAL is an interactive solo-show, performed by Jacinta Yelland and directed by Trey Lyford, that immerses the audience in the middle of the 2019 Australian bushfires. The show follows two eyewitnesses to this climate catastrophe; Koal, a baby koala recovering at a wildlife sanctuary after being saved from a nearby wildfire, and Stevo, a career coal miner trapped in a collapsed mine hundreds of metres underground. Woven throughout is the story of Minah, an Indigenous girl who was removed from her home and interned by her government during WWII.
Using documentary theatre, clown, and audience interaction, KOAL takes the audience from laughter to tears as it explores what is lost when your home is erased.
KOAL is the recipient of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival’s 5 Star Award.
KOAL has been developed with the assistance of The Puffin Foundation Ltd., The Work, gimmick, Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists and Fresh Ground Pepper NYC.
