Australia is a beautiful sun drenched land, full of promise and richness, but scratch the surface and just below you will find some pretty ugly truths some would much prefer to see swept under the rug. There’s perhaps no greater truth that is as ugly as our treatment of refugee’s. Indefinite detention a likelihood many face after escaping unimaginable realities most here in Australia could not begin to imagine.
Welcome to Nauru, a tropical island full of palm trees, phosphate mines, coconut water and kids. Set against a backdrop of handmade costumes and colonialism, We All Know What’s Happening is an absurd, true story about Leonardo da Vinci, the Pacific, seagull shit and state-sanctioned abuse. Part school musical, part history lesson and part political probe, this is a new performance being presented at Arts House, Samara Hersch has created this new work, and spoke with TAGG about it’s probing nature and the direct correlation between our current treatment of refugees and colonisation.
Samara what power or perhaps strength is found in the voice children, that is different to those of adults, and the conversations we have?
Children have a strong idea of justice and fairness. They challenge our complacency as adults. The kids in this work range from 10- 18 years of age – yet they all share a clear understanding of how important it is to take responsibility for one’s actions as well as the importance of speaking up against injustice.
How would you personally describe the relationship between Australia and Nauru?
Our relationship with Nauru is complex and like many colonial relationships fraught with a history of exploitation. We have tried throughout this work to stress the vulnerability of Nauru and it’s inhabitants and to redirect the gaze onto Australia and other colonial powers that continue to take advantage of the country.
Talk to us about the creative process that went into creating this work?
Last year we did a call out for children who wanted to be involved in a performance and who were specifically interested in human rights and refugee issues. We ran a number of workshops with support from Save the Children. This work has developed in collaboration with a group of those children through improvisations, discussions and research.
What should Audiences expect from this performance?
This work plays with a range of theatrical tropes including musical theatre and school history lessons. It is satirical, ridiculous, moving and intentionally political. There are all sorts of absurd true facts about Australia and Nauru that you would never expect.
What do you hope for audiences to take away from this work?
We hope that audiences walk away feeing motivated to keep this important conversation alive and to realise the power we have to speak up against injustices occurring in our name. We hope people feel inspired to take action and challenge our own complacency.
We All Know What’s Happening opens this month at Arts House on Wednesday the 19th of July for more info or to book your tickets click here
