UPU at Riverside Live @ PHIVE

With powerful poetry, compelling storytelling and unforgettable performances, it brings the ocean’s rich voices to life – exploring cultural struggle, joy and identity across the islands. Following its sold-out Australian premiere at the Sydney Opera House, UPU returns with an Australian tour starting in Parramatta, after captivating audiences around the world, including a landmark eight-city tour across Canada.

UPU – meaning “word” in many languages of the Pacific – is a collection of voices from peoples who live on a sea of islands connected by the largest body of water on earth, Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, the Pacific Ocean.

Through the words of 23 poets, from emerging voices to acclaimed literary figures, UPU weaves a rich tapestry of stories, experiences and perspectives from across the region. These poems reflect on cultural identity, history and the challenges faced by Pacific communities – from Hawaiians debating Captain Cook’s legacy, to the joys of SPAM in Guam and other Americanised islands, to the Marshall Islands’ struggle against rising seas.

Poetry is powerful on the page but on stage, it’s pure magic. The show’s energy comes alive through an extraordinary cast of Pacific performers, each with a rich background in theatre, film and television, whose passionate delivery of these words will transport you across the ocean.

Enhanced by evocative lighting, projections and a multi-layered soundscape, UPU is an intimate and unforgettable experience – a celebration of the Pacific, its people and their stories.