Opera Australia has announced the hit Australian musical Bran Nue Dae will return to Sydney’s Roslyn Packer Theatre in Walsh Bay in April as part of the show’s 30th Anniversary tour.
Jimmy Chi’s coming-of-age musical Bran Nue Dae is an exuberant ride through 1960s Western Australia. A feel-good mash-up of rock-and-roll, gospel, country and blues music made the first-ever Aboriginal musical a sparkling success in 1990.
Legendary Australian actor and TV presenter Ernie Dingo will continue his reprisal of the role of Uncle Tadpole, which he first performed thirty years ago. Starring alongside him as Willie is Marcus Corowa who has been praised for his ‘lovely warm stage presence and a gorgeous, strong, clear voice” (Limelight, 2020).
Dingo will lead a young and exciting cast and an extremely talented ensemble, many of whom are from Broome where the musical is largely set. Bran Nue Dae has been described as “a beacon of light” in Aboriginal and Australian cultural history. With its sense of humanity, irreverence and excitement, it still manages to carry serious social and political messages.
After delighting audiences at Riverside Theatre in Parramatta in January as part of the 2020 Sydney Festival, Bran Nue Dae will visit the Regal Theatre, Perth (6 – 15 February); Roslyn Packer Theatre, Sydney (16 April – 3 May); Comedy Theatre, Melbourne (12 June – 11 July); Playhouse – QPAC, Brisbane (24 July – 2 August); Canberra Theatre Centre (11 – 16 August); and Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide (19 – 23 August). For more information, visit: www.brannuedaemusical.com.au for details.
Image: Callan Purcell as Slippery, Marcus Corowa as Willie, Danielle Sibosado as Marijuana Annie and Ernie Dingo as Uncle Tadpole in the Opera Conference production of Bran Nue Dae – photo by Prudence Upton