Looking for Alibrandi, Belvoir Street theatre co-production with Malthouse theatre, 1 Oct - 6 Nov 22

 

An adaptation of a classic novel that's had a hit movie adaptation and has remained on school reading lists for the better part of three decades, this is a good old populist hit. Some interesting choices make this more than just a simple regurgitation of all the classic bits, though - starting with the casting of Chanella Macri as Josie - the Italian girl coming of age in the 1990s, third of a series of three women whose emergence into sexuality and adulthood has disrupted their lives and those around them. Macri is not your standard wish-fulfillment teen - she's a very realistically sarcastic, moody, and tough in a way we don't normally see. Vidya Rajan's adaptation feels funnier than I remember the 2000 film being, letting Josie narrate her story and be at the centre at all times. It does mean some elements get sidelined - the story of John Barton, the rich white boy who Josie loves from afar whose personal issues end tragically no longer feels as centred, possibly partially because it's difficult these days to have much sypathies for the rich white boys no matter how much personal angst they might be carrying. 

The two males of the cast play single roles - Ashley Lyons as the returning Michael, rediscovering his daughter and the woman he left behind and realising how far they've both moved beyond him, and John Marc Desagno as the goofily working class Jacob Coote, giving surprising wisdom in the second half of the show. All the other women double-or-triple - Hannah Monson embodying Anglo Privilege both as Barton and as his female equivalent, bitchy Ivy; Lucia Mastrione giving great supportive mum as Christina and enjoying the chance to steal large amounts of scenes as Josie's ebullient friend Sera; and Jennifer Vuletic playing both imposing Nonna and the stern-but-compassionate Sister Bernadette.

Stephan Nicalozzo directs on a simple staging that combines transitioning the scenes with letting the characters make passata - flashing around the various locations and keeping Josie's experience central (including on-stage costume changes). It's a very audience-pleasing production that only in the second half really starts to engage in the darker undercurrents of the material but it does the job of engaging the audience with an emotionally rich story of identity, humanity, and growing up.