LOOK THE OTHER WAY
It has been a year since a horrible incident occurred at a train station. We see a family grieving someone’s death and a man in jail. But life isn’t black and white and the family of the jailed man is suffering as well. The latest play by the Sydney Theatre Company’s Artist in Residence, Stefo Nantsou, looks at the ramifications that a senseless act of violence has on not only family and friends but also the broader community.
“Normally the stories we hear about young people tend to be one of violence, vandalism or petty theft,” Nantsou says to me. “You don’t get a back story … This play is a look at the deep and meaningful reasons of why they get themselves into trouble.”
The STC and Bankstown Youth Development Service (BYDS) have created a performance that breaks down stereotypes. The play stars five professional actors, including two STC Artists in Residence, and 15 young actors from Sir Joseph Banks High School.
“There is a lot of negative press about Bankstown and Sydney’s West,” Nantsou explains. “But Bryan Brown and Thorpie are from here too. The kids in the show should feel that they themselves have a pathway to a career in the arts.”
Nantsou and actor John Shrimpton (I’m Your Man) ran a series of workshops and have put together a group of people with an exciting range of acting, musical and writing skills. “We’re celebrating Western Sydney’s young people, instead of showing them as victims or perpetrators of violence or people behind the eight ball. It’s celebrating their journey through life and into adulthood.”
Oct 11-12, Bankstown Art Centre, 5 Olympic Parade, Bankstown, $3-5, 9793 8324, bankstown.nsw.gov.au
