__NOTOC__ ''Bran Nue Dae'' is a 1990 musical set in

Broome, Western Australia Broome, also known as Rubibi by the Yawuru, Yawuru people, is a coastal Pearl hunting, pearling and tourist town in the Kimberley (Western Australia), Kimberley region of Western Australia, north of Perth. The town recorded a population of 14,6 ...

, that tells stories and of issues relating to

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

. It was written by Jimmy Chi and his band Kuckles and friends, and was the first

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

musical. The name is a phonetic representation of "Brand New Day".

Background and description

The musical was originally directed by Andrew Ross and choreographed by Michael Leslie. It premiered at the Octagon Theatre in February–March 1990 as part of the Festival of Perth, and later toured nationally. The musical won the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards in 1990. The following year the published script and score won the Special Award in the Western Australian Premier's Book Awards. Theatre critic Katharine Brisbane wrote in 1999: Gail Mabo performed in the

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

run of the musical in 1991. A 1991 television documentary ''Bran Nue Dae'' tells the story of the creation of the musical. The musical was revived for an Australian national tour in 2020.

Film version

The musical has been turned into a feature film of the same title, directed by Rachel Perkins starring Ernie Dingo,

Geoffrey Rush Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. Known for often playing eccentric roles on both stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Geoffrey Rush, numerous accolades, including an Academy Aw ...

Jessica Mauboy Jessica Hilda Mauboy (; born 4 August 1989) is an Australian singer. Born and raised in Darwin, Northern Territory, she rose to fame in 2006 on the Australian Idol (season 4), fourth season of ''Australian Idol'', where she was runner-up and s ...

Missy Higgins Melissa Morrison "Missy" Higgins (born 19 August 1983) is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. Her most popular singles include "Scar", " Steer", and " Where I Stood". Her Australian number-one albums are '' The Sound of White'' (2004 ...

, Deborah Mailman, Magda Szubanski and

Dan Sultan Daniel Leo Sultan is an Australian alternative rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, actor and author. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2010 he won Best Male Artist and Best Blues & Roots Album for his second album, '' Get Out While You Can'' (N ...

. It premiered at the

Melbourne International Film Festival The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venic ...

and won the Audience Award for Best Film. It was theatrically released in Australia on 14 January 2010. It debuted with $2.5 million in its first week, solidifying it as a box office hit. It went on to gross over $7 million, making it one of the most successful Australian films of all time.

References

External links

* *{{AustLit, C432890, i=yes 1990 musicals 1990s Australian musicals Indigenous Australian theatre Musicals set in Australia Stage plays about Aboriginal Australians Musicals set in Western Australia

Background and description

Film version

References

Further reading

External links