Wilman Noongar director Ian Michael said he cast three First Nations women in the lead roles of The Bleeding Tree to highlight the level of violence against Indigenous women.

In the re-imagining of Angus Cerini's award-winning play, the story tells the tale of vengeful matriarch played by Karla Hart (Noongar), and her daughters played by Ebony McGuire (Noongar) and Stephanie Somerville (Martu), who take revenge on their abuser.

The heartbreaking murder ballad, set in a rural town in Australia, explores the darkness of domestic violence, shared pain and isolated suffering, through the "voices" of the three First Nations women.

Michael said the significance of casting Indigenous women speaks directly to the statistics of abuse being skewed towards First Nations women.

An Aboriginal woman is 45 times more likely to experience domestic violence than a white woman.

"I was very deliberate in putting three black women in these roles because it meant while they were three women that were fighting for their lives and each other, they come from women who have been fighting for their lives for hundreds of years for their culture, and for land and their community," Michael said.

"I wanted to make it political because this is what is happening in our country right now. I also wanted to give these three actors the space and opportunity to do a play like this. Theatre is quite a white space and I wanted it to be as black as it could be."

Michael said while the subject matter may be confronting, ultimately the play is a blackly comic tale of survival, love, resilience and strength.

A story of three fierce females fighting back.

"It is a big play full of big ideas and important discussions and conversations that we need to have as a country," he said. "Theatre is such a powerful tool and can be such a powerful experience for people, especially for people that don't go to the theatre. "Hopefully the play will be a way into a conversation or build on the conversations that are already happening."

The Black Swan State Theatre Company of WA and The Blue Room Theatre collaboration is Michael's directing debut.

The 33-year-old said when he first heard of The Bleeding Tree he knew one day he would bring it to life.

"I couldn't put it down - I mean it's a 70-minute play so it's a small, but it immediately got underneath my skin," he said. "I could feel the words pumping around my blood. It's a play that grabs you and doesn't let you go until the very end."

And Michael's reworking of the play is sure to get bums on seats.

"I think it's Banjo Paterson meets Nick Cave, meets Tarantino," he laughed. "There is no shying away from the incredible words and the language of it and the violence is there as well. "It feels like a great responsibility telling this story and a real privilege to be in a room with really strong, smart women."

The Breeding Tree runs at Studio Underground, State Theatre Centre of WA, from April 29 to May 14.