Singing and dancing about death
Whistling Past the Graveyard
On an autumn afternoon among the old stone monuments, these two talented raconteurs share fascinating reflections about funerals and the end of life. In “Whistling Past the Graveyard” Doctor Leah
Cotterell and Mistress Narelle McCoy draw from their written memoirs and academic research to look at the best and worst of funerals, from the truly sad to the sublime and uplifting. The musical materials are as eclectic as the subject matter, ranging from classical and folk song to emblematic pop songs and of course, together we sing ‘Amazing Grace’. The show has been performed at the South Brisbane Cemetery (2023 and 2024) and at the Redcliffe Museum (2024).
Confessions of a Funeral Singer
Cotterell and McCoy take you on a musical journey through the whole glorious hodge-podge of the funeral singer’s catalogue. For "Confessions of a Funeral Singer", they weave together the voices of nine funeral singers to create a memorable performance, tapping into our emotions from tenderness and sorrow, to unexpected moments of hilarity. From folk music at Australian-Irish wakes, swampy gospel songs at Buddhist services, rock ballads in Protestant chapels, Baptist hymns in Catholic churches, and impromptu graveside songs when Spotify failed,
Reviews
McCoy recounted the colourful funeral traditions of her Irish-Australian family in Ipswich, including the outrageous cocktail party wakes she attended in Sydney in the ‘80s. She also shared stories from her PhD research which centred around keening, a special form of singing for the dead, and the Irish merry wake.
Drawing on her own postgraduate study and subsequent memoir which explored her grief as a family carer for people with mental illnesses, Cotterell found both humour and emotion as she shared memories of her late father, mother and sister. (Skubala)
> Review of the 2024 performance of Whistling Past the Graveyard
“… an intimate conversation that transforms seemingly dark subject matter into something wholesome and luminous” (Haupt, 2025).
> Review of the 2025 debut of Confessions of a Funeral Singer