Return Sydney season of Bran Nue Dae cancelled

The Indigenous musical Bran Nue Dae, currently on its 30th Anniversary national tour, is the latest production to have its Sydney season cancelled by Opera Australia because of the COVID-19 restrictions.

Scheduled for a return to Sydney as a co-presentation with Roslyn Packer Theatre, it was due to run from 17 April to 3 May after a successful run in Parramatta in the Sydney Festival and then at the Perth Festival earlier in the year.

The announcement follows the cancellation of the remainder of Opera Australia’s Sydney Summer Season, the Melbourne Autumn Season and the hugely popular Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour.

Opera Australia CEO Rory Jeffes said this was a major disappointment for the Company and in particular the talented young cast of Bran Nue Dae who were keenly anticipating their debut on the Roslyn Packer Theatre stage.

“Thankfully this great young cast have already performed to enthusiastic audiences and rave reviews in Sydney and Perth, and we hope that the tour will resume once the COVID-19 crisis has passed.”

“However we know this is still incredibly disappointing for the entire Bran Nue Dae Company and we will be working through all our options to ensure the well-being for all the cast, crew and creatives through this crisis.

“I’d like to reiterate our earlier request that patrons holding tickets for any of our shows that have cancelled to consider, where possible donating the value of the ticket back to the company or exchanging for a voucher for a future performance to help us navigate the uncharted economic waters that lie ahead,” he said.

The Bran Nue Dae Tour will hopefully resume later in the year when it travels to Brisbane, Melbourne, Geelong, Canberra and Adelaide.