After five years away from Perth, Bangarra Dance Theatre returns with Illume — a transcendent new production that fuses dance, visual art, and original music into a richly layered meditation on light.
Presented by Bangarra and the Arts and Culture Trust, Illume is abstract storytelling at its finest, tackling ancient skylore and the cosmological wisdom through this deeply moving dance theatre.
Created by Mirning choreographer and Bangarra Artistic Director Frances Rings in collaboration with Bard visual artist Darrell Sibosado, Illume casts light as both subject and medium, exploring how it connects the physical and spiritual worlds in First Nations culture. It’s a work that pulses with pattern, energy, and spirit; a visual and sonic journey through time and tradition.
But Illume is not simply a celebration of light. It also holds space for darkness. The work interrogates the destructive impact of artificial light pollution — how it erases the dark night sky, severs connections to Country, and threatens the transmission of Indigenous celestial knowledge. Through powerful imagery and choreography, the work poses an urgent question: in the face of the current climate crisis and cultural loss, can ancient knowledge still show us the way forward?
This is a performance that rewards both the heart and the intellect — striking in its aesthetics, bold in its ideas, and grounded in the extraordinary creative force that is Bangarra.
How to get tickets
Whether you’re a long-time supporter of the arts or newly curious, Illume is an opportunity to experience Indigenous storytelling at its best. Tickets are limited, so get in quick.
When: July 10 – 13
Where: Heath Ledger Theatre, State Theatre Centre of WA.
Tickets are available here.
The perfect date night
A night at the theatre is the perfect setting for your next date night — there’s just something undeniably romantic about well well-choreographed dance. And with Northbridge right on the doorstep of the Heath Ledger Theatre, extending the evening is effortless.
Begin with dinner at No Mafia, where house-made pastas and bold Italian wines set a relaxed yet stylish tone. Or, for a more intimate mood, Shadow Wine Bar is always a good pick — moody, elegant, and consistently impressive. After the performance, wander down to Tiki as FK or Bivouac Canteen & Bar for a nightcap, where you can digest both the wine and the work, and let the conversation flow.
