Bran Nue Dae

While in Australia, I watched Bran Nue Dae on DVD, with Mum and Dad. I knew nothing about the film except that it is Australian and stars Jessica Mauboy (and the latter was simply word association, because I knew nothing about her).

It turned out to be a musical (it was originally a stage musical) about an aboriginal boy who runs away from his boarding school. It took full advantage of the ability of musical theatre to produce completely bizarre moments interspersed with somewhat serious storyline and themes, for an overall impression that was primarily comic but with just a hint of reminder about the real problems facing many aboriginal people in Australia.

I have some Australian friends and many musical friends in Cambridge, so I thought they might like to see it with me. I discovered that it was to open in American cinemas last weekend, so I decided to organise a group to go and watch it. We ended up with eight in total, a bit of a mix of friends from different places, though with a distinct MITGSP theme.

I sat at the end of our row (probably a little too far forward: I was tossing up between immediately in front of and immediately behind a smaller group that was already there), so I listened to hear the reaction coming from my left during the show. I was pleased to hear plenty of chuckles at what I thought were funny moments. I think people really enjoyed it: I had made sure people knew what to expect, because it could be disappointing if you were expecting something more profound instead of just a bit of fun.

We then went to The Friendly Toast for dinner: I was pleased that all eight were able to continue the party there. Dinner did not come quickly, but just pleasantly slowly, so we were able to enjoy friendly conversation. Despite the fact that the average person (other than me) only knew half of the others there, the chatter was continuous and lively.

Overall, I was really struck by how happy it was to be with a group of friends for a Sunday afternoon. I may have mentioned this previously, but I have noticed before that at my first semester at a new university I notice what the academics are like, while from the second I primarily notice the new friends I have made. This has been a real feature of my last eight months or so here, and I value so much the friendship of all those with whom I spend pleasant times like Sunday.