You work as a campaigner with the Refugee Council Of Australia. What does this involve?

The Refugee Council is a peak body, so we work with our members, people with lived experience seeking asylum and our supporters to achieve just and fair refugee policy in Australia. My role focuses on how we can work with people to build power to affect change. This happens both online through social media, petitions, emails to MPs etc, and offline through community meetings, street stalls and large public actions.

Through this work what is the most inspiring thing you have experienced?
Through my work with the Refugee Council and other connections and friendships, I have been surrounded by questions and reflections about identity, belonging and what it means to be ‘Australian’. I was at a workshop once, most of the participants were people who had the experience of being a refugee. We were sitting in a circle and everyone introduced themselves with these deep stories about who they were, their history, their family – and all I had to share was that I was an activist and theatre-maker. Then I thought – what does that even mean? What does that tell people about me?

La Nonna has really been an exploration as a third-generation settler-migrant of lineage, family and culture – something I think a lot of people in Australia feel very disconnected to.

What is something each of us can do that would help the Refugee Council?
I believe in people power, and we are always constantly trying to build our movement for change. The best thing people can do is sign up and get involved when they can.

People can join the Refugee Council here: https://action.refugeecouncil.org.au/join and if they have the means, we are entirely supporter-funded, so donations are always welcome: https://action.refugeecouncil.org.au/donate

I often think the best thing we can all do to shift the debate and politics in Australia towards people seeking safety here, is to talk to our friends and families about it. My tips here are to ask more questions than give answers. “How do you feel about people seeking safety in Australia?” “Does your family have a history of migration to this country.” “How do you think it would feel to flee your home due to war, crisis or poverty?”

These kinds of questions immediately get people practising the kind of empathy I think we need more of in this country. 

Tell us a little about your Nonna

My Nonna was born in Messina in Sicily in 1932. World War II fast approached and she left her home at the age of 10 as Sicily became the frontier between the fascists and the allies. Her family moved north and tried to build a life in war-stricken Italy. As with many southern Italians, she made the decision to come to Australia in 1957 when she was 25 years old. She had two children with her, and had two more not long after arriving in Australia. Including my father.

Today she has 19 grandchildren and continues to be the glue that holds my father’s family together – and this glue is almost always in the form of delicious, lovingly prepared meals.

What first inspired you to write about her?
I went to this student environment conference a few years back and one of the presenters who was an Arrernte woman from Central Australia – a traditional owner – she spoke about elders, expressing concern that younger generations didn’t respect their elders. This prompted me to think about my elders, my lineage and history. I started asking questions of my Nonna, of her life, her beliefs, and I started to paint this really rich picture of her and my family. It gave me a lot of answers about who I am.

The show is really a reflection of all that.

What is the one memory above all others of your Nonna?

I think I have a very special relationship to my Nonna. When the marriage equality plebiscite was happening, I decided to give her a call. I was feeling quite emotional about the whole thing, not because I am particularly concerned with being able to get married, but that it felt like a kind of  test of how much my family and community accepted me and my queer peers.

When I brought it up, she almost didn’t even let me finish asking the question before saying “I vote a yes for you and your sister”. That was a pretty special moment, and I really felt her love and connection.

What do you want audience to take away from the show?
Being an activist, there has always been a call to action built into the show. We really want people to leave asking questions about their own elders, their family, their lineage. Our team believes that if people in Australia were a bit more connected to their pasts, to this country’s past, that we might be able to move towards a more just society for the first people’s of this land and its newest arrivals.

I also hope people leave feeling satiated by the love, the stories and the actual food we will be serving them!

What is the most valuable piece of advice that you have been given?
Know yourself.
 
If you could send out a tweet that would reach the entire world, what would it say?
The time for a global matriarchy has come.

LA NONNA
DATES: Thursday September 12 – Tuesday September 17
TIME: 6.45pm (60 min)
VENUE: Rattlesnake Saloon, 140 Lygon Street, Carlton VIC 3053
TICKETS: Full: $35 / Concession: $25 / Group 6+: $25
BOOKINGS:​ ​melbournefringe.com.au/event/la-nonna/​ ​or call 03 9660 9666

CAST & CREW
Written & Performed by ​Samuel Dariol In collaboration with ​Anna Cerreto
Directed by ​Lana Nguyen
Produced by ​Adam Grima
Original Dramaturgy by ​Justin Nott & Lana Nguyen
Images by ​Robert Smith & James Etheridge

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