The Blue Room Theatre and Ian Michael presents Angus Cerini’s fierce revenge fairy-tale, The Bleeding Tree, at The Blue Room Theatre for a limited season from 23 November 2021.
In an isolated town in Australia, a mother and her two daughters greet the man of the house with a crack on the shins and a shot in the neck. But what do they do with him after taking payback into their own hands?
In this revisioning of Angus Cerini’s award-winning The Bleeding Tree, a cast of First Nations women tell the story of a mother and her daughters who are thrown into an unspeakable situation in this powerful and heartbreaking murder ballad.
Making his directorial debut, The Bleeding Tree is in the hands of Ian Michael (Noongar) and creatives Chloe Ogilvie (Yamatji Nhanda), Rachael Dease and Tyler Hill. Featuring Karla Hart (Noongar), Ebony McGuire (Noongar) and Abbie-Lee Lewis (Kalkadoon), this WA premiere will see audiences bear witness to three women as they tell their haunting and irreverently funny story.
“I dedicate telling this story to the women we’ve lost in massacres and genocide, the daughters who were stolen, the sisters, mothers, aunties, cousins and grandmothers we’ve had taken from us in custody, it is for the women who feel they can’t escape their homes and are trapped in prisons,” said Ian Michael
“The Bleeding Tree is a play that will have many lives beyond this production, and my hope is that one day it will no longer have to reflect the world we live in but tell the story of women who won.”
Ian Michael is an actor, playwright, theatre-maker and proud Noongar man from Western Australia. Off the back of York (Black Swan), his co-written show with Chris Isaacs, Ian will be making his long-awaited directorial debut as a part of The Blue Room Theatre’s 2021 season with The Bleeding Tree by Angus Cerini.
Resident Artist at the Black Swan State Theatre Company of WA, Ian has also worked with/on Cloudstreet (Black Swan); Let the Right One In (Black Swan) HART (She Said Theatre) and Blak Cabaret (Malthouse Theatre).
Director: Ian Michael | Featuring: Karla Hart, Abbie-Lee Lewis, Ebony McGuire | Set & Costume Designer: Tyler Hill | Lighting Designer: Chloe Ogilvie | Sound Designer: Rachael Dease | Stage Manager: Sophia Morgan | Producer: Melanie Julien-Martial | Marketing & Publicity: Kailyn Crabbe
The Bleeding Tree
The Blue Room Theatre, 53 James Street, Northbridge (Perth)
Season: 25 November – 11 December 2021 (preview: 23 November | Member Night: 24 November)
Information and Bookings: www.blueroom.org.au
Image: The Bleeding Tree – photo by Duncan Wright