The first inland town to be settled in Western Australia, with its rich fertile soils and abundant water, was soon earmarked for farming by the colonists, who called it York. Had the English come to this land in the summer they may not have been so quick to name it after the green rolling hills of their home country.

The Balladong Noongar people have their own names for this place, their place – names that come from intimate knowledge, the lore of this land reflected in the ancient and enduring stories of this place.

One such story has brought us here to gather at the Bilya Gollgulgar (Avon River) between Wongboral, the sleeping woman (Mt Brown), and Walwalling (Mt Bakewell), the place of tears.

Wundig wer Wilura is a very old story of these two hills, a tale of “wrong skin” lovers separated and banished forever, retold in a Noongar language opera that premiered at the 2024 Perth Festival. Now Wundig wer Wilura, a trimmed down concert version of WA Opera’s fully staged production at His Majesty’s Theatre, has come home to the Balladong community for the York Festival.

We are welcomed to their Country with smoke, song and the sounds of didgeridoo, and invited to move closer to a smaller stage adjacent to the main stage where Wundig wer Wilura is to be performed. In the light of early evening the bustling sounds of the town are still evident as the audience settles in and the scene is set for the season of early Spring, Djilba.

As a prelude to the opera, Floeur Alder performs her solo contemporary dance Djilba (Spring) on the ground-level stage supported by changing images of Djilba projected onto a mia mia-inspired backdrop. Adler performed with striking movement, matching the vibrancy of the season depicted in the beautiful images. Occasionally a child moves through the projection as they give in to their need to join the dance.

The seating is BYO chair or picnic rug, which creates a connection with the audience. The town life quietens as evening descends, and it becomes easier to engage with the music and the harmonising song of the natural bush life by the river. As the evening grows colder, it’s time for the main performance.

Wundig wer Willura is an eternal story of forbidden love, jealousy and maternal conflict over the happiness of their child versus the greater good of the community.

Writers and composers Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse wove magic from this local story handed down through time. Their contemporary songwriting style references ancestral patterns and chants and was sung faultlessly by a brilliant cast led by Jarred Wall as Wundig, Jess Hitchcock as Wilura and David Leha as Mubarn the clever man.

It is sung in the local language, and we are immediately taken into its heart. The handsome Wundig  and beautiful Wilura are in love. Both are promised to others. He is from the hills and she is from the grasslands; had they not been wrong-way related, it could have been a good match.

The dramatic songs of longing are broken by a cheeky song of Djerabiny (liking/flirting ) where the cast – which includes Gina Williams as Kabaarli Kalyat, Wilura’s Nanna – were momentarily abandoning the rules in the playful spirit of Djilba.

However, this love is not to be and results in conflict between the two families. Unable to reconcile, they ask for help from the powerful Mubarn, who steps in to end the war. As an eternal punishment and reminder to the communities, he turns the two lovers into hills where they still stand today with a bilya flowing between them.

Having not seen the original full production with its costumes, sets, dancers and the full WA Symphony Orchestra, I didn’t feel any loss in this earthy version located in the place from which the story comes. All those involved, including the York Festival, should be applauded for all their hard work in getting this story back to Country with so little resources.

In the place of WASO, four musicians (Ghouse on guitar, music director and pianist Joshua Haines, Nick Abbey on bass and Daniel Susnjar on drums) accompanied the cast of 11 singers in emphatic contemporary style. The sound quality was excellent, and the lighting gently gave a true feeling of being there in that time and place.

I felt so transported that I only realised part through that I had left my seat and was swaying back and forward with a number of other people as we read the English subtitles in large black and white text at the foot of the stage, not wanting to miss a word.

For more information about WA Opera’s Wundig wer Wilura, please visit: https://www.waopera.asn.au/shows/past-seasons/season-2024/wundig-wer-wilura/

Davina Edwards has written this review as a participant through Seesaw’s Regional Mentoring Program.

Featured photo: Jess Hitchcock, Jarrad Inman, Gina Williams and Jarred Wall. Photo: Caris Bingeman