Bran Nue Dae

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 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

Main article: Bran Nue Dae (film)

The musical has been turned into a feature film of the same title, directed by Rachel Perkins starring Ernie Dingo, Geoffrey Rush, Jessica Mauboy, Missy Higgins, Deborah Mailman, Magda Szubanski and Dan Sultan. It premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival 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

References

1. [http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/theatre/ Australian Government – Culture and Recreation Portal] {{webarchive. link. (29 August 2007 Highlights in Australian theatre history)
2. "Bran Nue Dae : A Musical Journey". [[AustLit]].
3. "''Bran Nue Dae''".
4. "Western Australian Premier's Book Awards – 1991 Winners". State Library of Western Australia.
5. Brisbane, Katharine. (1999). "The Future in Black and White: Aboriginality in Recent Australian Drama".
6. "Gail Mabo".). [[University of New South Wales]].
7. [http://australianscreen.com.au/titles/bran-nue-dae/ Australian screen] ''Bran Nue Dae''
8. (1 April 1991). "''Bran Nue Dae''". [[Filmnews]].
9. Bamford, Matt. (21 April 2019). "''Bran Nue Dae'' for landmark musical's 30th anniversary tour".
10. [http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,23483421-5006347,00.html AdelaideNow] Ernie's ''Bran Nue Dae'' {{Webarchive. link. (3 July 2012)
11. "Rush adds shining light to Broome's ''Bran Nue Dae'' movie project".
12. [https://web.archive.org/web/20200918180625/https://www.villagevoice.com/2010/09/08/aboriginal-musical-unoriginal-music-australias-hit-bran-nue-dae/ "Aboriginal Musical, Unoriginal Music: Australia's Hit ''Bran Nue Dae''"] by [[Aaron Hillis]], ''[[The Village Voice]]'', 8 September 2010, accessed 23 January 2022
13. "Box Office: Daybreakers adds $468,319, Inside Film".