News

Full cast of Bran Nue Day announced

Legendary Australian actor and TV presenter Ernie Dingo will reprise the role of Uncle Tadpole he first performed 30 years ago when the hit musical Bran Nue Dae, written by Jimmy Chi in collaboration with the band Kuckles, embarks on its 30th Anniversary tour in 2020.

Ernie Dingo

Recognised as a National Living Treasure, Dingo has had an accomplished acting career spanning more than four decades. He first performed the role of the wily Uncle Tadpole in the original 1990 tour of Bran Nue Dae and again in the 2009 film adaptation of the musical.

Australian singer/songwriter Marcus Corowa will star as Willie, a runaway teenager trying to make his way home to Broome and the girl he left behind. An award winning entertainer, Corowa is no stranger to the stage with credits to his name including Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and Sydney Theatre Company’s production of The Secret River.

Theatre newcomer and Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts graduate Teresa Moore will make her musical debut as Willie’s love interest, Rosie. Rounding out the principal cast are Andrew Moran as Father Benedictus, Tuuli Narkle as Marijuana Annie and Callan Purcell as Slippery.

The revival will have a real family flare with up to three generations involved. Original Kuckles member Stephen Pigram will once again tour as part of the band, with daughters Naomi and Ngaire Pigram as the Associate Director and the role of Aunty Theresa respectively, and their children Taj Jamieson, Tehya Jamieson and Bojesse Pigram all in the ensemble. Remaining ensemble members include Adi Cox, Damar Isherwood, Danielle Sibasado, Czack (Ses) Bero, and Tai Savage.

The fifteen strong cast will commence rehearsals in Broome this December before touring the production across Australia. Opening in Parramatta in January, the show will visit Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Adelaide throughout 2020.

Recognised as the world’s first Aboriginal stage musical when it premiered to great acclaim, Bran Nue Dae is a coming of age musical that takes audiences on an exuberant ride through 1960s Western Australia.

For tickets and more information, please visit the Bran Nue Dae website.

Gabi Bergman

Gabi Bergman (she/her) is a Melbourne-based performer and educator, and the current Deputy Editor-in-Chief of AussieTheatre.com. She holds a double degree in Theatre Studies and Film/Screen Studies, along with a Master of Teaching (Secondary Education). A passionate advocate for inclusion and diversity in the arts, Gabi brings her deep love of storytelling to the stage, the page, and the classroom. A lifelong lover of theatre, she spends more on tickets than she’d like to admit. Her most prized possession is her ever-growing collection of theatre programs.

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