Memory of Bran Nue Dae to Stay

The Festival may be over, but the memory of one of our shows is here for keeps

Thanks to the West Australian Opera and the City of Subiaco, the essence of coming-of-age musical Bran Nue Dae will stay a visual part of the fabric of our city. 

Bran Nue Dae is a vital West Australian story and 30 years after its premiere, returned to Regal Theatre as a part of Perth Festival.

To celebrate this 30th anniversary West Australian Opera collaborated with the City of Subiaco to commission a commemorative art mural that will ensure Bran Nue Dae’s legacy lives on long after the curtain closed.

Designed by Perth-based artist Kambarni the mural pays homage to the first Aboriginal musical and also pays tribute to Bran Nue Dae’s historical links with the City of Subiaco.

Kam is a descendant from Nimunburr and Yawuru people of the Kimberley and the Ballardong Noongar people of Perth and he is familiar with the cultural significance of Bran Nue Dae and its timeless story of a young Indigenous man, Willie.

Kambarni who was a Western Australian Young Person of the Year Award recipient in 2018 has combined some of Bran Nue Dae’s most prominent motifs and integrated key symbolic elements into the work including a Turtle, Dingo and Red-Winged Parrot representing the individual and the collective journey, a major theme in Bran Nue Dae.

Image courtesy of West Australian Opera.

Carolyn Chard, Executive Director of West Australian Opera, said ‘it’s wonderful to be able to have a legacy of this work and we are grateful to the City of Subiaco for supporting this mural. Kam is an outstanding young artist who has paid great attention to detail and you can watch him work on site in the lead up to completion later in February.’

The Bran Nue Dae mural is located on the corner of Roberts Road and Rokeby Road – head on over and take in a part of Western Australian history. While you’re there, think fondly of Perth Festival!