''Ruby'' is a
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
album recorded live by Australian singers
Archie Roach and
Ruby Hunter with
Paul Grabowsky and
Australian Art Orchestra. The album, based on a musical production called ''Ruby's Story'' staged in 2004, was released in 2005.
Stage production
In 2004, Roach and Hunter collaborated with Grabowsky, founder of the Australian Art Orchestra, to produce ''Ruby's Story'', a semi-autobiographical musical stage production based on Hunter's life. It told her story, from her birth near a
billabong on banks of the
Murray River
The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) ( Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longe ...
, through her experience as one of the
stolen generation, her search for identity and the discovery of hope through love. The show debuted at the 2004
Message Sticks Festival
Message Sticks Festival, also known for some time as Message Sticks Indigenous Film Festival, was an arts festival celebrating the culture of Aboriginal Australians, based at the Sydney Opera House, between 1999 and 2013. It focused on film for ...
held at the
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century archit ...
.
The production toured regionally and internationally until 2009, with destinations including the
Dunstan Playhouse at the
Adelaide Festival Centre, as part of the
Adelaide Cabaret Festival (2004); the
Famous Spiegeltent at the
Melbourne International Arts Festival;
Brisbane Powerhouse; several towns in the
Northern Territory of Australia; and Festival de Mexico Centro Historico, Mexico (2005); a further seven shows at the Sydney Opera House in 2006;
Auckland Festival, New Zealand;
Kuala Lumpur
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, Malaysia; and others.
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Reception
''The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
s reviewer wrote in June 2004: "This was the finest, most moving work the Australian Art Orchestra has undertaken", adding "It is primarily a celebration of Ruby Hunter's resilience and ability to find joy in life, but it also makes the anguish of the stolen generation real and raw... Attending Ruby's Story should probably be mandatory for those lost souls who spurn an official apology as a step towards reconciliation. It is not, however, about wallowing in grief. It is an uplifting affirmation of the human spirit".
In July 2004, Hunter said "The feedback we've received has been really positive, people have been truly moved, feeling that it was their story being told too. The emotion in the room was tangible".
Awards
In 2004, the soundtrack won the Deadly Award for Excellence in Film & Theatrical Score.
Album release
The soundtrack of the musical was released on CD and as a digital download in 2005.
Track listing
References
{{Paul Grabowsky
2005 live albums
Live albums by Australian artists
Soundtracks by Australian artists
Archie Roach albums
Paul Grabowsky albums