Callaway Lecture 2024 | Clint Bracknell & Kylie Bracknell

2024 Callaway Lecture | Clint Bracknell & Kylie Bracknell

The Callaway Lecture is one of the most prestigious events on the Conservatorium of Music calendar. Over the last two decades, a host of distinguished speakers have taken to the podium to deliver their thoughts on subjects as broad ranging as the effects of music on the mind, and the place of music in the arts. This year’s lecture is presented by Professor Clint Bracknell and multidisciplinary artist Kylie Bracknell.

Shakespeare on the Noongar Stage: Language Revival and Hecate

Australia is home to incredibly long-standing Indigenous performance traditions grounded in local landscapes. British colonisation and ensuing assimilationist agendas of the twentieth century shattered the vitality of Noongar language and song across the south-west of Western Australia. More recently, conversations with archives, community, and Country have supported the creation of new Noongar songs and performances. This lecture will celebrate the launch of the book ‘Shakespeare on the Noongar Stage: Language Revival and Hecate’. Hecate is the first adaptation of a complete Shakespeare play in one Aboriginal language of Australia and a landmark work of both theatre and language restoration. Prof Clint Bracknell and multidisciplinary artist Kylie Bracknell will speak to the process of developing this ground-breaking work and an ensemble of Noongar language learners, speakers and performers, with song at the heart of its success.

Books will be available for purchase after the lecture!

Clint Bracknell is a Noongar song-maker, composer, and Professor of Music at the University of Western Australia. He investigates connections between song, language, and landscapes, often working on projects to improve Indigenous community access to intangible cultural heritage. Clint performs and releases Noongar music under the name Maatakitj and has collaborated with diverse artists including Kronos Quartet, Angelique Kidjo, and Paul Mac. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and serves as Deputy Chair of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) Council.

Kylie Bracknell is a Noongar actor, director, and writer responsible for ground-breaking productions including Hecate, which The Australian lauded in its ‘Best of 2020’ year-in-review, and the Noongar dub of Bruce Lee’s film Fist of Fury retitled Fist of Fury Noongar Daa. Kylie has over two decades experience working in Australia’s creative industries and is a 2020 recipient of Australia’s prestigious Sydney Myer Performing Arts Award.

Date: Tuesday 7 May 2024

Time: 6:30pm

Location: Callaway Auditorium 

RSVP: [email protected]