Yagan Square celebrates fifty years of NAIDOC Week with free community events
To celebrate fifty years of NAIDOC Week, Yagan Square is hosting Bran Nue Dae Under the Stars—a special event featuring an outdoor screening of the 2009 musical comedy Bran Nue Dae, alongside live dance, music, and storytelling performances.
The free entry open-air screening will see the renowned actor and original cast member of Bran Nue Dae, Ernie Dingo, alongside other performers, honour the spirit of First Nations people at Yagan Square’s Amphitheatre on Thursday, July 10.
Ernie will appear in conversation with television personality Phil Walleystack on the night, reflecting on what the film, as Australia’s first Aboriginal musical, means to him and the legacy of Aboriginal storytelling in Australia.
“I really like that [Bran Nue Dae] is deeply entrenched in the traditional Aboriginal side of it all,” Ernie said. “The family side from an Aboriginal point of view and the music from an Aboriginal point of view. There is lots of hope and tragedy and optimism.”
Audiences can additionally expect live music and dance performances by local First Nations artists from Boss Arts Creative and the Goolamwiin Dancers, with tracks from the film’s soundtrack brought to life by First Nations vocalist group Rhythm Tide.
Directed by Rachel Perkins, Bran Nue Dae follows the story of a young boy who flees a Catholic boarding school in order to return to his Aboriginal home in the late 1960s. The film features an Australian cast of Geoffrey Rush, Magda Szubanski, and Deborah Mailman, and nineteen years before the movie, Ernie Dingo starred in the original stage production of Bran Nue Dae as Uncle Tadpole.
Attendees can expect deck chairs and beanbag seating on the night, with Street Eats Eatery providing a special Under the Stars food menu with drink options. The film runs for 88 minutes and is rated M.
To further celebrate this year’s NAIDOC Week theme of ‘The Next Generation: Strength, Vision and Legacy,’ Yagan Square will also host the Whadjuk Stories Art Trail.
The immersive outdoor exhibition will hit the corner of Wellington Street and William Street from Saturday, July 5, to Friday, July 18, showcasing the acclaimed work of Whadjuk Noongar artists Linda Loo, Gertrina Hayden, Iesha Wyatt and Lea Taylor.
Attendees will be able to wander the trail and uncover ancient stories that honour Yagan Square and wider Boorloo, with event highlights including tributes to resistance fighter Fanny Balbuk and explorations of maternal spirit that connect generations across Noongar Country.
Bran Nue Dae Under the Stars hits Yagan Square’s Amphitheatre on Thursday, July 10, 2025. Whadjuk Stories Art Trail hits Yagan Square from Saturday, July 5, to Friday, July 18, 2025. For more info visit developmentwa.com
