KOAL by Jacinta Yelland

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 strive to hold onto their homes before all burns and turns to ash. 

KOAL is an original 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 meters 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.

This show is recommended for audience members ages 8+.

ABOUT JACINTA YELLEND

Jacinta Yelland is an Australian theatre creator and performer of Chinese and Torres Strait
Islander descent based in Philadelphia, USA. Jacinta has collaborated with David Gordon,
Opera Philadelphia, Pig Iron Theatre Company, Quintessence Theatre Group, People’s Light,
The Berserker Residents, Tribe of Fools, and Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists. She
holds an MFA in Devised Performance from University of the Arts/Pig Iron, completed the
Zen Zen Zo Company Internship, and studied at École Philippe Gaulier, Paris. Jacinta is
co-artistic director of inFLUX Theatre Collective, whose debut show, The Choice, won the
Philly Fringies Award for Best Theatre at the 2021 Philadelphia Fringe Festival. The Choice
was presented as part of HERE Art Center’s 2022 Co-Op series in NYC. Her work has been
supported by Creative Australia, Arts Queensland, American Australian Association,
Network of Ensemble Theaters, The Work, The Puffin Foundation Ltd., and the City of
Philadelphia. www.jacintayelland.com

Presented as a part of the Climate Convergence in collaboration with Center for an Ecology-Based Economy.