'Saddle up for the next big Black musical. Set in a small town in the northwest of Western Australia in the 1960s, Panawathi Girl overflows with wild joy as hippies and cowboys, politicians and protesters fuel an all-singing, all-dancing night of entertainment.
'Written by David Milroy, the much loved playwright behind Waltzing the Wilarra, and featuring an all-star cast of WA talent, this music-filled journey is brimming with heart and humour. Follow our heroine Molly Chubb from the big smoke back to the small country town of her birth as she searches for her place in the world.
'Set amidst a time of great political change, this bold new production from Yirra Yaakin will have you questioning if much has changed at all, even as it has you tapping your toes and yearning for more.' (Production summary)
Presented by Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company. Performed during the Perth Festival at His Majesty's Theatre, 8-13 February 2022.
Director: Eva Grace Mullaley.
Musical Director: Wayne Freer.
Assistant Director: Adam Edwards.
Choreographer: Janine Oxenham.
Set Designer: Bruce McKinven.
Costume Designer: Lynn Ferguson.
Lighting Designer: Lucy Birkinshaw.
Sound Designer: Jeremy Turner.
Dramaturg: Sally Richardson.
Cast: Grace Chow, Peter Docker, Luke Hewitt, Chris Isaacs, Geoff Kelso, Angelica Lockyer, Nadia Martich, Lila McGuire, Gus Noakes, Teresa Rose, Maitland Schnaars, Manuao TeAotonga, and Wimiya Woodley.
Band: Ric Eastman, Adam Gare, Lucky Oceans, David Milroy, and Wayne Freer.
'A coming-of-age musical exploring the history of Australia’s race relations.'
'Viewing David Milroy’s new musical Panawathi Girl, the production is inevitably refracted through the fame of Jimmy Chi’s equally ground-breaking 1990 Perth Festival premiere Bran Nue Dae.' (Introduction)
'Viewing David Milroy’s new musical Panawathi Girl, the production is inevitably refracted through the fame of Jimmy Chi’s equally ground-breaking 1990 Perth Festival premiere Bran Nue Dae.' (Introduction)
'A coming-of-age musical exploring the history of Australia’s race relations.'