There could be no better shape, than the one in its title, to symbolise the pure joy of connection composer Clint Bracknell is anticipating to experience at Song Circle over five nights at Supreme Court Gardens.
Directed by his partner Kylie Bracknell, Song Circle’s continuous celebration of Noongar culture and heritage is one of three after-dark free presentations programmed for EverNow, a festival in Kambarang — the wildflower season of birth, new life and renewal in the Noongar calendar — presented by Perth Festival Special Projects from October 4 to 9.
It is joined by a return of Boorna Waanginy: The Trees Speak to Kings Park, and Fire Gardens at Government House Gardens, featuring firelight, kinetic sculptures and live music created by French artistic collective Compagnie Carabosse.
Perth Festival fans will already be familiar with previous works by the couple — who create under their Boomerang and Spear production company — including Kylie’s co-translation and direction of Hecate, a reimagining of Macbeth into Noongar language with Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company in 2020, and their multi-sensory experience Noongar Wonderland at Perry Lakes for Perth Festival 2022.
“Some of the songs that were at Noongar Wonderland will be at Song Circle, but the style, everything is wholly fresh,” Mr Bracknell, a professor of music at University of Western Australia, said.
“For Noongar Wonderland, Kylie and I were in Brisbane, so it ended up being a bit of a dance music-oriented presentation to make up for our absence in a way, bringing that energy through the big beats. Song Circle is all completely live and the presentation is going to be quite different.
“We’ll be performing in the round for a start and that idea of a circle will echo through everything that we do. So no matter what angle you’re looking at it from, you’re going to experience something different each night.”
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Performing under his musician name Maatakitj, Bracknell will be joined by percussionists Arunachala and Talya Valenti with a cast of singers and dancers including wife Kylie, Rubeun Yorkshire, Ebony McGuire, Bobbi Henry, Jack Collard, Janine Oxenham, Rachel Collard, Della Rae Morrison, Charley Caruso, Simon Stewart, Shaquita Nannup, Lila McGuire and Dylan Collard.
Performances run for 15 minutes, every half hour from 5.30pm to 10pm, October 4 to 8, surrounding audiences with a burst of light, dance and music energy. The songs performed in Noongar emerge from the composer’s Restoring on Country Performance research, honouring animals and the surrounding landscapes.
“It’s been a long, long journey to build capacity in language and in Noongar song and that’s something that’s still continuing,” he said.
“So really Song Circle, for us, is a beginning, but it’s also a continuation of what’s been happening since Hecate and long before, during the whole journey of Noongar language revival, since at least the 1980s.
“We’re standing on the shoulders of giants in many ways and the nannas who taught Kylie (Noongar language), one or two of them are still around. This is her fulfilling their wishes to keep things going in the way that she was instructed to bring everyone together.”
He believes Song Circles’ inclusion in EverNow is a chance to develop distinctly Noongar art forms that have not been nurtured as much as they have needed to be in recent years.
“We know all about the history of language suppression and people not allowed to corroboree or be really culturally expressive for a long time in this place,” Bracknell added.
“So it’s a big investment in heart and soul and particularly developing younger people who really want to get in tune with that vibration.
“The main message is that it’s something fresh, but it’s also about opportunity for people who are engaging in language and cultural practice in the arts to get involved on the ground level, so we can all build together.”