A new play about decorated Australian nurse Vivian Bullwinkel will launch the Australian War Memorial’s new theatre in July.

The six-hand play, by WA writer Jenny Davis, is 21 Hearts: Vivian Bullwinkel and The Nurses of the Vyner Brooke, premiered for the community organisation Theatre 180 in Como, Perth, in April last year and is based on the true story of the 21 nurses murdered in the 1942 Banka Island massacre after surrendering to Japanese troops.

Executive producer and lead actress, Rebecca Davis, who plays Bullwinkel, said: “The Australian War Memorial stage is where Vivian’s story belongs…We remember the women for what happened, yes, but we also remember them for who they were – brilliant, brave, cheeky, kind.”

Directed by Stuart Halusz, the WA production has been made possible by Department of Veterans’ Affairs and was, Australian War Memorial Director Matt Anderson said, a deliberate choice as the first live production in the new theatre.

21 Hearts: Vivian Bullwinkel and The Nurses of the Vyner Brooke, Australian War Memorial, July 23-August 3.