‘Dear Brother’ // Queensland Theatre

‘Dear Brother’ was deeply-rooted.

The banks of Maiwar have been a meeting and story place for tens of thousands of years, and situated right on the river bend is the Bille Brown Theatre, where ‘Dear Brother’ makes its debut. Country and story align in this space, and the offering from Queensland Theatre as a part of Brisbane Festival cracks this space wide open.

‘Dear Brother’ follows three interweaving stories of young men chasing their dreams and coming-of-age in a world of power systems that fight against them. It is a sometimes brutal and deeply felt depiction of masculinity in a society that suppresses and conforms. Touching on the justice system, fatherhood, gender roles and duty to culture, the scope of the work is as wide and manages to make audiences invest in each character’s trials and tribulations. 

 With an outstanding ensemble including Tibian Wyles,  Lenny Donahue (both of whom are the playwrights), Benjin Maza and Kelton Pell who deftly incorporate dance and text to deliver a theatrical form not seen before on the Queensland Theatre stage. Wyles, Donahue and Maza, as the three young men are a trinity of at once hilarious and heartbreaking performances. Pell, who shifts between playing elders in the young men’s lives, brings immense gravitas and spirituality to his roles. Led by Isaac Drandic as director, the piece speaks volumes with its tonal clarity and thematic devices. 

Set design by Kevin O’Brien and costume design by Delvene Cockatoo-Collins follows this thread of intertwining culture and manhood in contemporary Australia. The stage is set with towering tree trunks lit from within, that evoke images of a city skyline or a vast bushland. The men are costumed in modern attire, befitting of the arts subjects they study, with touches of textile that ground each man deep within country. 

The writing style of Wyles and Donahue sits authentically within the voices of young men, bringing the characters to undeniable life. In collaboration with BlakDance, the use of movement in the work compliments the simplicity of the text brilliantly. Choreography by Waangenga Blanco blends contemporary dance with Indigenous dance motifs, which each cast members perform as an integral part of these men’s stories, instead of something separate to their narratives. The story is so compellng that the 90 minute runtime almost undersells the story – some more time to tease out the storylines further would not have gone astray. 

This work is a powerful result of the collision of young artists and cultural practices that have existed for over 60,000 years on this land. It at once reflected where this land has been, and the young men that will carry it into the future, depicted with brutal honesty. The creative team and cast is led by some of Queensland’s finest emerging and established artists who are boldly bringing First Nations stories to the stage. Collaboration between an array of First Nations voices here sing in a chorus. 

‘Dear Brother’ is another entry in the excellent canon of First Nations stories that Queensland Theatre have produced this year. The works headed up by diverse storytellers within the company have consistently felt fresh, rebellious and dynamic. With the recent appointment of Drandic as the head of First Nations programming at Queensland Theatre, this trend is hopefully set to continue into their 2025 season.

‘Dear Brother’ performs until Saturday, 28th September 2024 at the Bille Brown Theatre. For more information visit their website.