Following hit seasons across Australia, the provocative, laugh-out-loud Aussie rom-com Black Is The New White will finally come to State Theatre Company South Australia in November, with renowned actor Miranda Tapsell leading an all-star cast.
The Sydney Theatre Company production from award-winning playwright Nakkiah Lui (ABC’s Black Comedy) has been a phenomenon since its 2017 debut, selling out theatres across Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne.
Directed by Paige Rattray, the production features a star cast including Tony Briggs (creator of The Sapphires), Luke Carroll and Vanessa Downing.
Tapsell (Top End Wedding, The Sapphires, Love Child, Doctor Doctor) plays Charlotte Gibson, a brilliant young Aboriginal lawyer who’s bringing her new boyfriend home to meet the family at Christmas time.
However, Charlotte’s fiancé, Francis Smith, is not what her family expected: he’s unemployed, he’s an experimental composer… and he’s white. Inviting Francis and his conservative parents to the Gibson family Christmas is a bold move with all sorts of unintended consequences. Secrets are revealed, prejudices outed and old rivalries reignited.
Out of this classic meet-the-parents scenario comes a madcap and heart-warming comedy that has left audiences across Australia on their feet.
“I wanted to present a family of Aboriginal people that hasn’t been seen before in the Australian canon – not just in theatre, but in any form,” Lui says. “That is, an Aboriginal family who have money, who are not oppressed but who are culturally quite strong. For me, that is quite similar to what I grew up with – a regular family who were political and culturally connected to their community.”
Paige Rattray says a play like this comes along “once in a lifetime.”
“It has been an incredible privilege to work on. The cast is ridiculously talented, as well as being hilarious, and Nakkiah is a downright genius. We are very lucky to have her writing for our stages.”
Black Is The New White is on at Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre, from Nov 13 to Dec 1. Tickets at www.statetheatrecompany.com.au
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