Adelaide Festival logo
26 FEB - 14 MAR  2027
Theatre

The Dark Matter of Usulal

Created and performed by Margaret J Harvey / Presented by State Theatre Company South Australia in Association with Adelaide Festival

Buy Tickets

The Dark Matter of Usulal

Created and performed by Margaret J Harvey / Presented by State Theatre Company South Australia in Association with Adelaide Festival

Buy Tickets

When

19 Feb - 06 Mar

Where

The Odeon

Access

Venue & access info here

Tickets

Adult
Preview / Weekday Matinee $89 | Season / Saturday Matinee $99
Festival Friends
Preview / Weekday Matinee $76 | Season / Saturday Matinee $84
Concession*
Preview / Weekday Matinee $72 | Season / Saturday Matinee $80
Full-time student^
$39
Under 30**
$39

Transaction fees apply
* Pensioner, Health Care Card holder, MEAA/Actors’ Equity member. NOTE: Commonwealth Senior Health and Seniors Cards are ineligible for concession
** Limited capacity, ID required. If price not visible, allocation is exhausted.
^ ID required

Times

Fri 19 Feb 7:30pm (preview)
Sat 20 Feb 7:30pm
Mon 22 Feb 6:30pm
Tue 23 Feb 6:30pm
Wed 24 Feb 11am, 6:30pm
Thu 25 Feb 7:30pm
Fri 26 Feb 7:30pm
Sat 27 Feb 2pm (audio described), 7:30pm
Mon 1 Mar 6:30pm (audio described)
Tue 2 Mar 6:30pm
Wed 3 Mar 1pm, 6:30pm
Thu 4 Mar7:30pm
Fri 5 Mar 7:30pm
Sat 6 Mar 2pm, 7:30pm

Duration

1hr 10mins, no interval

Warnings

Contains themes of grief, pregnancy loss, medical trauma, family and environmental change. It also features low-frequency sound, immersive audiovisual effects and periods of darkness.

AUSTRALIA

An ancient story from a space between worlds.

One of Australia’s most enthralling actors, Margaret J Harvey, returns to the stage for the first time in over 10 years, with an intimate and visually arresting solo performance.

A mother is unravelling. As the life she knows begins to slip away, the voices of her ancestors call her towards something she cannot yet understand. Drawn into a vast realm shaped by the living cosmologies of Saibai Island, she embarks on a journey through memory and spirit, guided by the stories and knowledge of those who came before.

Combining performance, sound, movement and haunting digital imagery, The Dark Matter of Usulal is a powerful meditation on ancestry that asks what can you hold onto when the ground starts to shift.

“A highly visual theatrical experience in a genre that could be described as magical realism”

Real Time

Creator, Director & Performer Margaret J Harvey
Featuring the Voice of Zey Harvey-Connellan
Associate Director & Dramaturg Danielle Micich
Digital Visual Design Desmond Connellan
Lighting & Spatial Design Jenny Hector
Sound/Composition Design Marco Cher-Gibard
Stage & Production Manager Genevieve Davidson

Cultural Acknowledgement Margaret J Harvey acknowledges Awa Walter Waia, senior Ait Koedal knowledge holder, who gifted her the living myth of Usulal.

Image credit Danielle Micich

MORE

You may also like:

Eucalyptus
Opera

Eucalyptus

Composed by Jonathan Mills / Libretto by Meredith Oakes / After the novel by Murray Bail

Festival Insider Newsletter

Sign up for news, special offers and more.