Perth Poetry Festival 2026

Shadow Walk

Site-Specific Poetry · Walking Performance · Multimedia

Date: Friday, 18 September 2026

Time: 10:30 am

Meeting Point: Blue Room Bar, The Blue Room Theatre, Northbridge

Date: Saturday, 19 September 2026

Time: 6:30 pm

Meeting Point: Kaos Room, The Blue Room Theatre, Northbridge

Step out of the theatre and into the city.

Shadow Walk is a site-specific poetry journey through Northbridge, transforming streets, laneways and overlooked urban spaces into places of performance, memory and discovery.

Beginning at The Blue Room Theatre, audiences will travel approximately 1.5 kilometres through Northbridge, encountering poets and performances along the way. The city becomes part of the work as poems emerge from unexpected places and respond to the landscapes, histories and lives around us.

Drawing together poetry, movement, imagery and sensory elements, Shadow Walk invites audiences to slow down, tune their senses and notice what is usually passed by.

Featuring

Nidal Saeed
Huda Elhag
Bec Bowman
Deanne Leber
Maree Dawes
Natascha Balak
Mar Bucknell
Xavier Stone

About the experience

This is not a seated poetry reading. The audience moves with the performance.

Approximately 90 minutes
Approximately 1.5 km on foot
Multiple poetry performances at locations throughout Northbridge
Outdoor and urban performance spaces
Poetry, movement, imagery and multimedia elements
Limited to 30 audience members per session

The precise route is part of the experience and will be guided on the day.

Tickets

$10 per person

Places are strictly limited to 30 people for each walk, so advance booking is recommended.

What to bring

Please wear comfortable walking shoes and dress appropriately for the weather. You are welcome to bring a notebook, phone or camera to document the places and details you notice along the way.

Please arrive at The Blue Room Theatre at least 15 minutes before your session. The walk will depart promptly and latecomers may not be able to join once the group has left the starting point.

Content information

Performances explore lived experiences and themes including mental health, homelessness, chronic illness, trauma and domestic violence. Some material may be confronting for some audience members.

Accessibility

Shadow Walk is a moving performance covering approximately 1.5 km through streets, laneways and public spaces in Northbridge. Please contact WA Poets Inc before booking if you have mobility or other access requirements so we can provide further information about the route and assist wherever possible.

Weather

This event includes outdoor performance spaces and will proceed according to weather conditions. Ticket holders will be contacted if weather requires a change to the planned route or other event arrangements.

Acknowledgement of Country

This event takes place on Whadjuk Noongar Country. We pay our respects to Elders past and present and acknowledge that this always was and always will be Aboriginal Land.

Walk the city differently. Follow the poetry into the shadows, laneways and overlooked spaces of Northbridge.

Visit perthpoetryfestival.com for the full festival program and more information.

Book your place for Shadow Walk.

Contact the host of Shadow Walk | Perth Poetry Festival 2026