Bursts to radiant life on stage in this joyous sunbeam of a production
ArtsHub
The story has always compelled me because it spoke so directly to the conflict I experienced, socially and internally. I was scared to embrace my identity for fear of not being able to access an Anglo-centric world. Josie was the first character I had ever read or seen on screen that understood what it was like. She made me proud to be a wog and I will thank Melina for creating her every single day.
Stephen Nicolazzo, Director, Looking For Alibrandi

**Restricted view seats are still available for $20. Please call our Box Office team during office hours at (03) 9685 5111 to book tickets.**

The beloved Australian classic novel and groundbreaking film comes to the mainstage for the first time.

 

Josie Alibrandi is in her final year of high school. Whip-smart and aspirational, she is a third-generation Italian teenager and scholarship kid, with the shadow of a family curse and a penchant for rulebreaking. Juggling grades, boys, and the claustrophobia of an overbearing nonna and saintly mother, Josie’s life becomes tangled in the webs of class, identity, and family history as she finds her place in a changing world.

 

Iconic novel and cult movie, Looking for Alibrandi is the honest and empowered portrait of 1990s Mediterranean culture that spoke for the first time about systemic racism in Australia from a migrant perspective. It defined a generation and to this day resonates with those caught in the stranglehold of identity and othering in this country. Director Stephen Nicolazzo (LoadedMerciless Gods) brings Melina Marchetta’s best-selling novel to the mainstage for the first time, where Vidya Rajan’s adaptation will join three generations of women in a passionate, heart wrenching, and unmissable rendering of the Australian classic.

 

Starring Chanella Macri (Australian Realness), Lucia Mastrantone, and Jennifer Vuletic (Because The Night) as the Alibrandi women with Ashley LyonsHannah Monson, and John Marc Desengano (The Lockdown Monologues).

Malthouse Theatre and Belvoir present Looking for Alibrandi. Malthouse is supported by COVID-19 Arts Sustainability Fund - an Australian Government initiative.

Campaign image: Kristian Gehradte
Production Images: Jeff Busby & Tamarah Scott

Vidya Rajan Headshot

WRITER

Vidya Rajan

Stephen Nicolazzo Headshot

Director

Stephen Nicolazzo

Kate Davis Headshot

SET & COSTUME DESIGNER

Kate Davis

Daniel Nixon Headshot

COMPOSER & SOUND DESIGNER

Daniel Nixon

Katie Sfetkidis  Headshot

LIGHTING DESIGNER

Katie Sfetkidis

Rosa Voto Headshot

CHOREOGRAPHER

Rosa Voto

John Marc Desengano Headshot

CAST

John Marc Desengano

Ashley Lyons Headshot

CAST

Ashley Lyons

Chanella Macri Headshot

CAST

Chanella Macri

Lucia Mastrantone Headshot

CAST

Lucia Mastrantone

Hannah Monson Headshot

CAST

Hannah Monson

Jennifer Vuletic Headshot

CAST

Jennifer Vuletic

Clarisse Bonello Headshot

UNDERSTUDY

Clarisse Bonello

Cecily Rabey  Headshot

STAGE MANAGER

Cecily Rabey

Harry Dowling Headshot

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER

Harry Dowling

MUSICIANS /

Rosa Voto, Renato Vacirca

CULTURAL & LANGUAGE CONSULTANT / 

Lucia Mastrantone

VOCAL COACH /

Matt Furlani

DIALECT COACH /

Paulo Bongiovanni

BESEN PLACEMENT (COMPOSITION & SOUND DESIGN) /

Aiv Puglielli

BESEN PLACEMENT (SET & COSTUME DESIGN) /

Karine Larché

TRANSLATION /

Moreno Giovannoni

DESIGN INTERN /

Casey Harper-Wood

DIRECTOR INTERNS /

Tansy Gorman, Steph Lee

Event & ticketing details

Accessibility

Wheelchair Access
Audio Described
Auslan Interpreted

Performance Times

PREVIEWS
OPENING NIGHT
TIME TO TALK
AUSLAN INTERPRETED
AUDIO DESCRIBED
CANCELLED

Event notes

WARNINGS

This production contains occasional coarse language, stage violence, references to suicide, smoking of herbal cigarettes, sexual references, staged intimacy, partial nudity, allusion to domestic violence, and haze. For more detailed information, see our full list of content warnings here. 

DURATION

2 hours, 20 minutes (including a 20 minute interval)

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