A love song to the Murray River

Its street name is suicide disease.

“My neuroscientist pain specialist said do something that gives you joy, that will help with the pain,” Carm said.

“It's quite challenging to live with and I've had to learn slower, kinder, more staged ways to create work, so our rehearsals are very short.”

Carm got funding from the Unlocked Grant Program through Murray Arts, and with Chris Mangan started working on the songs she first wrote 25 years ago, and River Song was born.

Directed by Peter J. Adams, River Song is an emotive celebration of the mighty Murray River, revealing the role rivers play in our past, present and future.

“It's an opportunity to look at the history of the river, what we're doing with it, and how we love it,” Carm said.

“Everybody seems to love the river when you talk about it around here.

“It's a little moment to stop, always be still and appreciate it.”

With 10 original songs, all alternative Australian folk inspired and performed acoustically on stage by Carm and Chris, River Song is supported by immersive imagery that flows with the energy of the river itself.

Following upcoming performances at The Cube in Wodonga, the plan is to take the show on the road and bring River Song to communities along the Murray.

“No one goes out to halls anymore, and they're starting to fall down,” Carm said.

“If I can create a show that's cheap and easy to take in, we can raise money for hall maintenance or for the communities.

“It's an excuse for the community to gather and be entertained.

“The melodies are beautiful, and it's an entertaining and thought-provoking production.

“Depending on funding we will take it to small communities that want to use it as a connector.

“It's a 60-minute show, so it's very manageable, and I want to use local artists and techs so that we can keep our arts society vibrant.”

Carm said to make shows like these costs about $180k, which they didn't have, so they’ve done it in the best way possible with whatever funding has been available and volunteering their own time.

She is very proud of her project and the team around it, who she said have been exceedingly generous with their time and effort.

Carm has previously brought the production ‘All the Shining Lights’ with Yackandandah playwright Brendan Hogan, the story of the emergency Uiver landing at Albury in 1934.

Updates about future performances will be made on her Instagram @carmarose_singer, and Facebook page, The Performance Laboratoire.