Anisa Nandaula will make her Wonderland Festival debut with 'The Grass Is Dead On The Other Side'.
The show explores an apocalyptical world... Zombies are in control and no longer need to kill for brains; they spread ignorance and are lead by power-hungry politicians.
In the forms of poetry, rap and hip hop, the show combines storytelling and theatre. Here, Anisa Nandaula (creator, poet and performer) talks about the show.
Your passion essentially lies in poetry. What has it been like to bring that to the stage in a theatre context?
As a slam poet who is usually confined by 2-3 minute time limits, theatre has allowed me to break loose and craft an entire world filled with intricacies. It has also allowed me to incorporate a plethora of emotions in a single art piece. Usually, my poems focus on a single emotion like anger or sadness, however, theatre has allowed me to more honestly convey the human experience through having serious and heart-wrenching scenes but also funny and silly scenes.
You founded local collective Voices Of Colour. Tell us more about that.
Voices Of Colour is an initiative founded by myself, Alaa Osman and Jonathan Sri. We are dedicated to elevating the voices of artists of colour. The only difference between artists of colour and everyone else is opportunity and this is what we provide. We run workshops, grant artists a platform to share their work and connect them to opportunity. We have been doing this for the last three years and running events once a month.
Where did your decision to begin the collective come from?
My sister and I went to our first poetry event and were the only people of colour in the room. We could not relate to the stories being shared nor did we feel welcome to share. We had a vision of creating a space where multicultural youth could not only feel welcome but supported. This is something that we both yearned for but did not exist. Jonathan Sri approached us having had a similar experience; he mentored and guided us through our first few events.
What is your greatest achievement in the world of poetry?
My greatest achievement is probably winning the XYZ poetry prize. This is not because of the award itself but because it was the first time I began to see myself as a 'poet'. To me, a poet is not someone who has a way with words but rather someone who has a way with honesty and wears it like a second skin. For that particular award, I shared an incredibly personal story about love and loss and for the first time in my career; I wore honesty like a second skin.
You'll be presenting 'The Grass Is Dead On The Other Side' as part of Wonderland Festival. Can you talk a bit about the story of the show?
The play follows the journey of two siblings whose village has been stormed by an army of bloodthirsty zombies. As the only survivors from their village who have not been killed or turned into a zombie, they devise a plan to save their homes and the rest of their people. In order to do this, they must find out their enemy's weakness through becoming a zombie. However, will they be able to regain their humanity once they've stuck their heads into the mouth of the beast.
Though it's very theatrical and very 'zombie apocalypse' it also has those themes of politics, race and more. How have you embedded those deeper themes into a theatre work?
I have embedded these themes by using the metaphor of a zombie apocalypse to represent both the brutal cultural erasure of Indigenous people during colonisation but also the cultural erasure of migrants and refugees who come to Australia in search of a better life. One of the scenes shows the process that the main character must take to become a zombie and this consists of changing his skin, hair and voice in order to be accepted. These were the same practices done to gauge whether Indigenous people were civilised or uncivilised and whether migrants or refugees have integrated into Australian society. My personal understanding of racism is an intergenerational virus that eats at every part of your body and steals ones ability to think. Hence the zombie's main goal is to feed on the villagers' brains. Assimilation and racism leave you dead inside while still walking as if you are inhabiting someone else's body, this is seen through the lifeless zombies in the play. Behind every joke, dance, song and metaphor is an insight into society.
Why do you think this show is a good fit to be part of Wonderland Festival?
I think it is a great fit because it brings something new to the festival. Not only will the play leave you with a smile on your face through its comedic nature, but its delicate balance between comedy, reality and a post-apocalyptic world adds another layer to the festival. Diverse stories and perspectives are always integral to every festival and that is what this play brings.
Who do you think will be most affected by 'The Grass Is Dead', and why?
I think a range of people will be touched in different ways. As a person of colour, deciphering my experience as a racialised body was quite difficult but storytelling allowed me to do that. I hope young people of colour will watch this play and be inspired to go home and dissect their own experiences. I think they will also be touched and pushed towards a path of greater understanding and allyship.
The audience has just left your show. In an ideal world, what are they thinking and feeling?
In an ideal world, they are feeling horrified by the impacts of racism and fired up to make a difference in whatever way they choose. They are feeling empowered by the power of art and considering how they can share their own stories. Lastly and most importantly, the play will leave them feeling lighter because of its balance between serious themes and comedy.
