''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 ...

album recorded live by Australian singers

Archie Roach Archibald William Roach (8 January 1956 – 30 July 2022) was an Australian singer, songwriter and Aboriginal activist. Often referred to as "Uncle Archie", Roach was a Gunditjmara and Bundjalung elder who campaigned for the rights of Abori ...

and

Ruby Hunter Ruby Charlotte Margaret Hunter (31 October 195517 February 2010), also known as Aunty Ruby, was an Aboriginal Australian singer, songwriter and guitarist, and the life and musical partner of Archie Roach . Early life Ruby Hunter was born on 31 ...

with

Paul Grabowsky Paul Atherstone Grabowsky (born 27 September 1958) is an Australian pianist and composer. Biography Born in Lae, Papua New Guinea, Grabowsky is a pianist and composer of music for film, theatre and opera. His father Alistair had lived in Pap ...

and

Australian Art Orchestra The Australian Art Orchestra (AAO) is one of Australia's leading contemporary ensembles. Founded by pianist Paul Grabowsky in 1994, it has been led by composer/trumpeter/sound artist Peter Knight since 2013 and led by pianist/composer/producer A ...

. 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 Billabong ( ) is an Australian term for an oxbow lake, an isolated pond left behind after a river changes course. Billabongs are usually formed when the path of a creek or river changes, leaving the former branch with a dead end. As a result ...

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 longest ...

, 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 held at the Sydney Opera House. The production toured regionally and internationally until 2009, with destinations including the

Dunstan Playhouse Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first multi-purpose arts centre and the home of South Australia's performing arts, was built in the 1970s, designed by Hassell Architects. The Festival Theatre opened in June 1973 with the rest of the centr ...

at the Adelaide Festival Centre, as part of the

Adelaide Cabaret Festival The Adelaide Cabaret Festival is an annual arts festival featuring cabaret held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It has been held in June each year since 2001, with the exception of 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, ...

(2004); the Famous Spiegeltent at the

Melbourne International Arts Festival Melbourne International Arts Festival, formerly Spoleto Festival Melbourne – Festival of the Three Worlds, then Melbourne International Festival of the Arts, becoming commonly known as Melbourne Festival, was a major international arts festi ...

;

Brisbane Powerhouse Brisbane Powerhouse is an arts and cultural hub located in a former power station in the Brisbane suburb of New Farm, Queensland, Australia. The venue offers an array of performing arts, visual arts, festivals, and free community events. The fir ...

; several towns in the

Northern Territory of Australia The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

; and Festival de Mexico Centro Historico, Mexico (2005); a further seven shows at the Sydney Opera House in 2006;

Auckland Festival Formerly known as Auckland Festival, Auckland Arts Festival or is an annual arts and cultural festival held in Auckland, New Zealand. The Festival features works from New Zealand, the Pacific, Asia and beyond, including world premieres of new wor ...

, New Zealand;

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

, Malaysia; and others.

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 Reconciliation or reconcile may refer to: Accounting * Reconciliation (accounting) Arts, entertainment, and media Sculpture * ''Reconciliation'' (Josefina de Vasconcellos sculpture), a sculpture by Josefina de Vasconcellos in Coventry Cathedra ...

. 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. Following the award, Roach said "Ruby's Story was a collaboration with

Aboriginal people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

and non-Aboriginal people that created something beautiful and good. An award like this is confirmation that Aboriginal people can work with all sorts of people from all fields and produce excellent work".

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