Cover image: Aliwah Bardinar! Supplied

Aliwah Bardinar!
Breaksea, in collaboration with Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse
Heath Ledger Theatre, State Theatre Centre of WA

How many of the little ones heading into Heath Ledger Theatre for Aliwah Bardinar! (Look out Rosella!), I ponder, know that they are about to hear a story told in two languages. Will it hold those famously short attention spans?

Never underestimate the power of a story well told, or children’s capacity for wonder. From the moment the curtain rises to reveal a beautiful bush set (designed by Fiona Bruce), birds twittering in the background, this group of youngsters is transfixed.

Written by award-winning composers Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse, with Lauren Davies, this heartwarming production seamlessly threads Noongar and English through voice and song to reveal how Bardinar (Western Rosella) got his colours.

Led by the wonderful Williams (I could listen to her sing the periodic table) and with Julianna Marie and Jarred Wall also admirably playing multiple parts, bedecked and bedazzled barna (animals) strut their stuff ahead of a campfire dance.

It seems everyone is dressing up but Bardinar (voiced by Jarrad Imman), who keeps insisting he has plenty of time to decide what to wear. “Don’t know why you mob are stressing,” he says from his perch at the back, projected in plain white on the wall.

Michelle Ward’s costumes are gorgeous. There are audible gasps from the audience when Maarli (Swan) unwraps to reveal her black feathers and bright-red bill. And again when Bindi Bindi (Butterfly) opens her arms to reveal those wondrous wings.

There are bursts of laughter when the shiny yellow and green Kooyar (Frog) family wheels in a pram laden with bubble-clad babies, increasing as Dad mumbles about staying home (“but there are 10 of them!”).

Encased in vibrant shades of red and blue, besties Kooba (Red Robin) and Djer-Djer (Blue Wren) have a dig at plain old Bardinar – “he should change his name to Boredinar,” they laugh. Even the wise Koolbardi (Magpie) cops some stick for being on the bland side.

The same cannot be said for cocky Djidi Djidi (Willy Wagtail). With rock-star delusions, he amps up the volume and brings some interesting dance moves, much to the delight of the crowd.

But what about Bardinar? He’s really feeling the pressure now and wondering if perhaps he left his run too late. But, no, for all their ribbing, his friends have left threads of colour behind for him. It is going to be one magnificent transformation.

Aliwah Bardinar!  is a joy from start to finish. In taking a unique Noongar story and infusing it with humour, music and dance – not to mention a riot of glorious colour – the team has created an original children’s production worthy of a long life. One that introduces a new generation to an ancient culture in the most engaging way, treating the young audience as part of the gang and encouraging them to join the chorus with projected lyrics.

The sweet and funny songs are lifted by angelic voices from the Aquinas College Schola Cantorum and the performers backed by UWA music theatre students, who are clearly having a ball. With so many moving parts, the show is superbly led by director Matt Reuben James Ward and conductor Pia Harris, two of the creative forces behind Breaksea.

The story has also been informed by the audience it so richly rewards. Aliwah Bardinar! began life as a three-month residency at Hilton Primary School, culminating in a school production that was then developed further at the 2024 AWESOME Arts Festival. The result is clearly worth all that love and attention.

When the lights go up at Heath Ledger Theatre, little voices can be heard singing “Aliwah Bardinar” as they leave the theatre, an ancient language soaring anew. May stories like these continue to spread their wings across the state.

‘Aliwah Bardinar!’, presented by the 2025 AWESOME Festival and Barking Gecko Arts, was at Heath Ledger Theatre from September 30-October 2. Keep an eye on Breaksea’s website for future productions.