serenading adela

Celebrating

Brunswick community

history

Serenading Adela is a locally produced street opera.  Staging the show (first in December 2017 and then in January this year) proved to be a major community theatre event. The shows were performed to large and appreciative audiences in both Brunswick and again at Pentridge Jail where the show marked the centenary of the event that was itself the inspiration for the opera.

A colourful protest took place on January 7, 1918.  On that hot summer night during World War I, supporters of British-born suffragette and anti-war militant Adela Pankhurst gathered outside the bluestone walls of the Women’s Prison at Pentridge in Coburg.

Ms Pankhurst had been jailed for her energetic anti-war campaign and her loyal and vocal supporters refused to be silenced in the face of her incarceration.  Initially about 50 people “understood to be socialists, and a majority of them women”, gathered to serenade Adela so that she would know she was not alone and that her sacrifice would strike a blow for the anti-conscription campaign. Solidarity Forever and The Red Flag were sung. The crowd cheered and coo-eed, and let off coloured lights.  Word spread, and the crowd quickly swelled to 300.

It was a courageous and defining moment for Adela's campaign, and an important chapter in local community history.

Students of Brunswick Secondary College were invited to participate in  Serenading Adela, and here tell us of their exciting experience.

Maddie Horner

Year 9

Serenading Adela was a really unique experience.  While singing in such a large and diverse choir was amazing on its own, the fact that we were performing it in the same venue in which the events we were celebrating occurred added to the atmosphere of the performances.  We jumped into  rehearsals a bit later than everyone else, and we could immediately see how dedicated everyone was to this performance!  The cast and crew were mostly local to Brunswick, so everyone was really passionate about what we were commemorating. 

Ally Long

Year 9

Being a part of Serenading Adela was an experience that I never thought I would get to try. We got to work with members of the community to commemorate Adela Pankhurst in the best way possible, through song! The rehearsals were hard as we kept getting thrown into different parts and we had to adapt really quickly. Walking into the first rehearsal at Pentridge Jail was weird  (because we were walking into a jail) but I kept thinking about how Adela [had been imprisoned] there and I felt so privileged.  This experience was amazing and I will never forget it.

Ella Byrne

Year 9

Serenading Adela was a great experience. We started with rehearsals, where we got a booklet with all the songs we were going to sing. Whilst being able to learn about what happened historically, we were also able to perform and have fun. When were went to Pentridge it was very exciting and we got to see a small glimpse of what it looked like. When we performed at Pentridge in our costumes it looked really good. Being able to be part of this was amazing, and a great memory.