Black Is The New White
Image: Anthony Taufa, Melodie Reynolds-Diarra & Shari Sebbens.
Photo: Rene Vaile
Returning to the stage as part of a national tour is the Sydney Theatre Company’s romantic comedy, Black Is The New White. Giving insight into the show is Shari Sebbens, who plays Charlotte Gibson, the daughter of a very affluent influential Aboriginal power couple. “She is at a cross road where she is questioning her privilege a lot and her family’s role in the community and how she can contribute with empowering her community and it raises questions for her about her father’s own involvement in the Aboriginal community and his journey as well”.
The smash hit is by Nakkiah Lui, a young leader in the Aboriginal community with a stack of credentials behind her, receiving the following shout out from Shari, “I’m a believer in, the greatest way to empathise with someone is to share a laugh with them and after that you open each other up to be vulnerable. This is something Nakkiah does so well, laughter is a great equaliser, so there are some great flat stick moments and some low brow moments and there are some great gags that she knows will get the audience feeling safe to enter our family home and spend a night at the Gibson’s.”
The subject matter of the production is a classic and Shari was kind enough to give her thoughts on why it is so successful at drawing in an audience stating, “I think it’s the fact that it’s a bit of a Trojan horse. It’s in the genre of rom-com but this is feel good and think hard. Not just because of Aboriginal issues but what are each of us doing with our lives. Are we being brave? Are we making the right decisions for the right reasons? But we can also laugh with everybody at the same time.”
So why should people go out and see this show? Shari replied, “If you want to have a laugh and a fun night out, it’s not a heavy issue based play, if you want some of the biggest belly laughs and if you’ve got a family and you can identify with a dysfunctional one, come along and have fun.”
Until Mar 10. Roslyn Packer Theatre, 22 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay. $81-$108+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.sydneytheatre.com.au
By Riley Hooper
Black Is The New White will then head out on tour to the following locations.
Parramatta. Mar 21-24. Riverside Theatre. Tickets & Info: www.riversideparramatta.com.au
Canberra. Mar 28-31. The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre. Tickets & Info: www.canberratheatrecentre.com.au
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