State Theatre Company SA. Dunstan Playhouse. 23 May 2025

 

They were tough days for “Wog” children, growing up in the shadow of cocky Aussie intolerance in the last century. Little did they know the cultural swing ahead of them as they inherited the land from their diligent migrant parents.

 

Melina Marchetta lived it and, through Vidya Rajan’s adaptation for the stage, an era of Italian Australians coming of age is now being played out in the Dunstan Playhouse, complete with the family passata ritual.

 

To that end, the stage is loaded with countless crates of ripe tomatoes. Mountains of them. The tomato is totemic to the Italian influence on Australian cuisine and culture. So much so that the set includes the giant steaming steel drum of tomatoes, the fragrance of which pervaded the proximate first night audience members, not so sweetly.

 

Hence, it seems to be a somewhat odd night at the theatre with a State Theatre production largely originating from Melbourne under the directorship of the new Brink artistic director Stephen Nicolazzo.

 

 

It already has had a Melbourne season, one understands, and cast members such as principal Chanella Macri are not new to their characterisations. This shows in their confidence and nuance. Macri, who is Italian-Samoan, and a fine actress, has a beautifully modulated voice and scores some deliciously impish fractures of the fourth wall. She is also eye-catching simply in physical presence albeit the frequent stripping down to rather eccentric undies is puzzling. Nonetheless, she carries it with no-nonsense aplomb and delivers Josie Alibrandi as a smart teenager trying to find her place amid family and school. Not that she appears to be seventeen. Blind casting these days gives audiences some blanks to fill in and, in the costuming of this work, further puzzles about hair, wigs, and gender. That the nonna had really messy hair was a cultural distraction to this nanna who cannot recollect such an untidy Italian widow when she was growing up in an Italian neighbourhood, let alone one who did not wear black. Such discrepancies can be distracting. Also, the body mikes seemed de trop on the Dunstan stage. 

 

Indeed, there are many ponderables here, but not in the acting. The cast, mostly Melbourne-based actors, is superb, albeit the wonderful Lucia Mastrantone, eloquent as Christina Alabrandi, fell into a bit of the “Effie” wog delivery for comic relief as student Sera. Jennifer Vuletic is really touching as Nonna and even more so in song. One wished the director had given her less time pondering photo albums for, indeed, it is a very long and overwritten play, as noted by two coming-of-age teens in the audience. 

 

Adelaide’s Chris Asimos is refined and simpatico in his portrayal of Michael Andretti. He wouldn’t know how to give a bad performance. As for Riley Warner, hot out of WAPPA: he is a keeper. One looks forward to seeing more of his work. Ashton Malcom completes the cast extremely capably as both racist schoolgirl, Ivy and as John, the boy from the posh school. Pity about the wig.

 

This big night out in retro Italian family life is accompanied by a very unusual soundscape from Melbourne composer Daniel Nixon. It’s undercurrent of amorphous semi-industrial thrum was another puzzle and, when music soared for the thrill of a kiss, it was like the movies.

 

So, here we have the first work from our new Brink chief. The bulk of opening-night audience got the laughs and responded to the now classic Australian coming of age story. And no one will ever forget all those tomatoes.

 

Samela Harris

 

When: 23 to 31 May

Where: Dunstan Playhouse

Bookings: statetheatrecompany.com.au