City joins forces with Perth Festival for Djoondal

The City of Joondalup has partnered with Perth Festival to bring the world premiere of Djoondal to the banks of Yellagonga Regional Park in Joondalup.

Lake Joondalup will take centre stage in February for the opening event of Australia’s longest-running multi-arts festival.

The 2023 festival theme is Djinda/Stars and, over three nights, this commissioned work will use cutting-edge technology and ancient storytelling to tell the story of Djoondal, the spirit woman with the long white hair who is said to have created the Milky Way above and whose connection to the area gave Joondalup its name.

Audiences of all ages are invited to attend the three performances from Friday 10 February – Sunday 12 February.

Spectator entry is free.

Perth Festival has previously produced major free public events such as The Giants in Perth CBD, Highway to Hell along Canning Highway and Boorna Waanginy: The Trees Speak at Kings Park.

Ian ‘Moopa’ Wilkes will lead a team of visionary artists from across generations to celebrate the connection between children and elders – koolangka and our deman – with lights, lasers and drones accompanied by ancient and futuristic music.

Joondalup Mayor Albert Jacob said the spectacular free event would be unlike anything ever seen in Joondalup before.

“We are proud to partner Perth Festival to bring this significant Indigenous cultural event to Joondalup,” he said.

“The area surrounding Lake Joondalup was, and continues to be, a very important place for the Mooro Noongar people and is a fitting location to host an event of this magnitude as we celebrate the culture, history and achievements of our First Nations people.”

Wilkes said: “Lake Joondalup has always been our mirror to the stars; the telescope to the Milky Way.”

“We are re-telling an old Noongar story using modern technology. Music and sound is our story, the lasers are our spears, lights are our paint and the drones are our dancers in the night sky,” he said.

Perth Festival Artistic Director Iain Grandage said: ‘It gives us great joy to be able to bring a large-scale Perth Festival free public event to the City of Joondalup for the first time.”

“Perth Festival 2023 is a celebration of the stories of this place. We are thrilled to be telling this Djoondal story for as many people as possible in this very special location that links the stories of the stars with the natural beauty of the lake itself.”

The event is not ticketed, more information can be found by visiting: https://www.perthfestival.com.au.