Black is the New White by Nakkiah Lui.
Directed by Paige Rattray. Designer. Renee Mulder. Lighting Designer. Ben Hughes. Composer and Sound Designer. Steve Toulmin. Sydney Theatre Company. The Playhouse. Canberra Theatre Centre. March 28-31. 2018
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
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| The cast of Black is the New White. Photo by Prudence Upton |
After being enthralled by the
Sydney Theatre Company production of Black
is the New White by award winning indigenous playwright, Nakkiah Lui, I
decided to make a return visit during its sadly too short season at the
Playhouse at the Canberra Theatre Centre. This hilarious, sad and perceptively
biting tale of race, privilege, politics, family and ambition has lost none of
its freshness and brutal honesty. The cast approach the roles with total
conviction and commitment to the issues that are hurled between characters
during a Christmas get-together of the family of legendary black activist, Roy(Tony
Briggs) with his arch political rival and nemesis, Dennison Kennedy (Geoff
Morrell) , his wife, Marie (Vanessa Downing)
and son, Francis (Tom Stokes), who is engaged to Roy’s lawyer daughter,
Charlotte (Shari Sebbens) . The revival
is worth the return to see Nakkiah Lui take over the role of Charlotte’s
fashion designer, Rose from Melodie Reynolds-Diarra.
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| Tom Stokes, Luke Carroll and Tony Briggs. Photo. Prue Upton |
Luke Carroll (call me the Spirit
of Christmas) plays the narrator of this explosive comedy, keeping the audience
up to date and glued to the action with a spritely sense of impish mischief.
His cheeky delight in revealing the secrets, flaws and inevitable consequences
of his characters’ follies and foibles ensures that we don’t take the
characters too seriously, while Lui’s Christmas cracker paced plot compels us
to consider the conflicts, arguments and consequences with an earnest
consideration of our own opinion. Lui sets her audience up for a rollercoaster
ride of laughter, tears and judgement. Her plot twists and turns, arousing
comedy in one instant as a naked Francis surprisingly appears before
Charlotte’s astounded father (Tony..) and mother Joan (Kylie Bracknell –
Karrljilbra Karrdn )and then creates inevitable tension when the uncomfortable
young suitor attempts to shake the father’s hand. Lui then releases the tension
with a series of comical gaffes and politically incorrect jokes that do nothing
to relieve the atmosphere.
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| Anthony Taufa, Nakkiah Lui and Geoff Morrell. Photo: Prue Upton |
Black is the New White is a play for our time with issues and human
relationships for all time. It would be easy to dismiss the play as riddled
with clichés. Privileged black girl, Charlotte is in love with white struggling
composer boyfriend, Francis. Aboriginal
leader with a Martin Luther King complex, Roy, reaps kudos from his black wife,
Joan, who writes his speeches for him. Francis is the son of Dennison, white
former liberal minister, racist, mysoginist and intolerant of his son’s
classical avant-garde musical talent and survival on a Trust Fund, set up by
his grandparents. Sisters Charlotte and Rose are chalk and cheese, and Sonny,
Rose’s husband, Sonny (Anthony Taufa) has turned to Jesus after his preacher
father’s death and wants to become a missionary, while Rose wants to keep the
race alive with beautiful black babies. Cliché or not, the plot splendidly
exposes popular attitudes, prejudices and family conflicts with razor sharp
wit, incisive irony and a delicious dismantling of façade with a swipe at
bloated ego and hypocrisy. The audience
stops laughing long enough to take stock of serious implication. Shakespearian
in its antitheses, Black is the New White
brings tidings of comfort and joy as we see opposing forces collide and
in the end thaw and resolve into amnity and family conviviality and acceptance.
This is after all a morality fable and it all ends happily ever after.
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| Tom Stokes,Vanessa Downing,Shari Sebbens, Geoff Morrell and Tony Briggs |
Black is the New White is a minted coin of conciliation. It shows
what is, and what could be in a land of Epiphany. Realization flies about the
stage as Christmas food is flung in all directions during a cathartic
abandonment of rivalries and resentments. Unfulfilled Marie comes out. Sonny
learns that as the revered Aboriginal captain of the Wallabies he was actually
Tongan and Ray and Dennison resolve to create a treaty to right all wrongs. The
stuff of fairy tales? Perhaps, but the power of Lui’s play is the vision to see
what is and prophesy what might be. That is what makes this new play a
scintillating, provocative and revelatory comedy of manners for all
Australians. If laughter is the best medicine, then Black is the New White has cured a thousand wrongs and administered
the power to initiate some rights. Perhaps then we can make white and black
right together.
Directed playfully with
infectious joy by Paige Rattray, cast and creatives revel in the vitality,
humanity and intelligence of this romp into taboos and the issues that keep us
apart and possibilities that could bring us together. Lui knows too well the
seriousness of her theme, but has the wisdom and the talent to understand the
power of laughter to lead blacks and whites towards a brand new day.
Black is the New White has left Canberra but if it passes your way
on its tour, it is a new Australian play not to be missed!