Adapted by Michael Mohammed Ahmad & Janice Muller Based on the novel by Michael Mohammed Ahmad
Belvoir presents an Urban Theatre Projects production
THE TRIBE Adapted by MICHAEL MOHAMMED AHMAD & JANICE MULLER Based on the novel by MICHAEL MOHAMMED AHMAD Director JANICE MULLER This season of The Tribe opened in a backyard in Surry Hills on Wednesday 20 January 2016. Composer OONAGH SHERRARD Designer/Operator FRANK MAINOO Belvoir Front of House Coordinator KELSEY LEE With HAZEM SHAMMAS OONAGH SHERRARD THANK YOU The Thyne Reid Foundation is acknowledged for their support of Belvoir’s Western Sydney initiatives. We warmly thank our hosts who provided their backyards for this season of The Tribe: The Buccoliero Family The Weatherall Family Fanny Lumsden, Dan Stanley Freeman & friends Many thanks also to those who offered their backyards: Chris Baker, Ange Becroft, Anthony Blair, Anna Boyd Boland, Irena Dobijevich, Brendan Dwyer, Bec Golsby-Smith, Malcolm Lockie, Sara Lubowitz, Amy Maiden, Georgie Neve, Grant Pirrie Projects, Barbara Squires, Darren Wigley, and Chris & John. Thank you: Bourke St Bakery. PHOTOGRAPHY Catherine Cranston DESIGN Alphabet Studio
AUTHOR & CO-ADAPTOR’S NOTE Michael Mohammed Ahmad After the events of September 11 in 2001, as well as a number of drive-by shootings and gang rapes in Sydney that were attributed to the offenders’ Muslim and Lebanese backgrounds, Arab-Australian Muslim men from Western Sydney became the subjects of fear, suspicion, ongoing negative media attention, and vicious and crude stereotyping. While there have been periods of rest, recent national incidents such as the Sydney siege in 2014 and the Parramatta terror attack in 2015, the numerous Reclaim Australia rallies and international incidents such as the Paris terror attacks in early and late 2015, have continually reignited the tension between Australia’s dominant culture and Australia’s Arab and Muslim communities. These issues coincide with the appearance of Australian films, books and television programs which reinforce the perception of Arab-Australian Muslim men as ‘unlawful’ and ‘ungovernable’ and ‘un-Australian’. Underbelly, EastWest 101, Cedar Boys, The Combination, Convict, Fat Pizza, Housos, Evil in the Suburbs and Drive-by are just some of the ‘artistic’ portrayals of Arabs and Muslims from Western Sydney since 9/11. The ArabAustralian Muslim characters in these texts are depicted in the same dim light – as violent, drug-dealers, sexual predators and terrorist suspects. They are identified interchangeably as ‘Lebanese’ and ‘Arab’ and ‘Middle Eastern’ and ‘Muslim’, leaving
out any differentiation between the many Arab and Muslim identities and communities that exist in Australia, and leaving out, most importantly, the unique ‘Australianness’ of these identities. As well as the over-representation of Arab-Australian Muslim men in these depictions, there is the underrepresentation, and in many cases the complete absence of, Arab-Australian Muslim women in these depictions too. The Tribe is my attempt to counteract the limited and simplistic representation that the Arab-Australian Muslim communities of Western Sydney have received to date, and to offer a broader, more intimate understanding. It is also an act of selfdetermination – a declaration of the right to reclaim and tell our own stories in our own way. Of course this could not have been achieved without the respect and cultural sensitivity of director Janice Muller and the entire production team, who have earned my trust and my support for the many collaborations to come. Thank you for taking the first steps with me into the world of The Tribe. It is the world of a child named Bani Adam, who concerns himself only with mystery and wonder. I pray that you hear my story, told in the true spirit of the great Bedouin poets by my dear friend and brother, Hazem Shammas, with peace and love, and I farewell you in the ancient words of my people: Asalaam Alaikum.
THE TRIBE is my attempt to counteract the limited and simplistic representation that the Arab-Australian Muslim communities of Western Sydney have received to date...
DIRECTOR & CO-ADAPTOR’S NOTE Janice Muller In 2013 Urban Theatre Projects’ Artistic Director, Rosie Dennis, approached me to work on BANKSTOWN:LIVE. She suggested I collaborate with Michael Mohammed Ahmad to develop a performance text from his debut novella, The Tribe. I read the book and was overwhelmed by the task. I had never co-adapted a script with a living author and was daunted by how delicate that process might be. I knew very little about the specific cultural background from which Mohammed’s stories had emerged and although I had lived in Sydney on and off for over 15 years, I barely knew the places of which he wrote – the suburban streets of Lakemba, the infamous Bellevue in Bankstown. Working with Mohammed turned out to be great fun, a steep learning curve and a privilege. Surprisingly, we worked very quickly. We both love to talk and our all-day work meetings roamed across a range of subjects both political and personal. Mohammed generously shared stories of his family and his childhood growing up in Western Sydney in the 1990s and then, finally, it was all done and we had a script. I was a little sad when we were finished but then along came the witty and hard-working Hazem Shammas, the gentle and wise Oonagh Sherrard and the utterly efficient and delightful human being that is Frank Mainoo. We all shared a sense of care and responsibility towards Mohammed and his words. Sharing The Tribe under balmy Sydney skies in David Cranston’s Bankstown backyard during its original season as part of the 2015 Sydney Festival was a truly amazing experience. Neighbours
In adapting THE TRIBE we talked a lot about memories, ghosts, time travel and magic, and were particularly inspired by Arabic storytelling traditions. and visitors from Sydney and beyond, people who knew their theatre and those who may have never set foot inside one – they all piled into the garden to hear Bani Adam’s story unfold. Bani Adam is the eyes and ears of Mohammed Ahmad’s wonderful book. He’s the enigmatic adult sifting and turning the memories of his boyhood amidst the chaos and community of his large extended family and he’s the small boy quietly observing the world around him. At the centre of his world is Tayta, his golden-skinned grandmother, the source of love and knowledge, connecting Bani to his ancestral past and to the inner life of his imagination. Bringing The Tribe to Surry Hills feels a little like bringing the stories full circle, a reminder of the history of this suburb. More than 40 years ago Mohammed’s grandparents arrived from Lebanon to live in a house in nearby Alexandria. In adapting The Tribe we talked a lot about memories, ghosts, time travel and magic, and were particularly inspired by Arabic storytelling traditions. Bani Adam is a natural storyteller and tonight he’ll be here to share his stories with you in this suburban backyard.
urban theatre projects Urban Theatre Projects embraces big ideas and universal themes to create contemporary work that reflects the voices and faces of Australia – here and now. Urban Theatre Projects takes work out of the theatre and into the everyday, re-imagining what theatre can be. Based in Bankstown in Sydney’s south-west, the company works with diverse artists across artforms to create site-specific and distinctive experiences that connect people across cultures, generations and geographies. Urban Theatre Projects plays a vital role in Australia’s cultural landscape. The company has created over 90 new Australian works in its 35-year history and has been presented at venues and festivals nationally and internationally to critical acclaim. UTP is the recipient of a Sidney Myer Award in recognition of the company’s outstanding contribution to theatre.
Biographies MICHAEL MOHAMMED AHMAD Author / Co-Adaptor Michael Mohammed is currently the director of SWEATSHOP: Western Sydney Literacy Movement, and a doctoral candidate at the Western Sydney University Writing and Society Research Centre. His essays and stories have appeared in the Guardian, HEAT, Seizure, SBS online, The Lifted Brow and Coming of Age: Growing Up Muslim in Australia (Allen & Unwin). The Tribe is Mohammed’s debut novel and earned him the 2015 Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist of the Year Award. JANICE MULLER Director / Co-Adaptor Janice is currently a Director in Residence at Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne. She is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts and the University of New South Wales. Her recent credits include the premiere season of The Tribe at BANKSTOWN:LIVE 2015 Sydney Festival (Urban Theatre Projects); dramaturg Mantle (My Darling Patricia, Campbelltown Arts Centre) and The Piper (My Darling Patricia, Carriageworks, 2014 Sydney Festival & 2015 Edinburgh Fringe); project initiator and curator Quay to the City, a theatrical walking tour in The Rocks (ATYP); and project curator White Rabbit, Red Rabbit by Nassim Soleimanpour (Malthouse Theatre). Janice’s other directing credits include If The Truth Be Told by Margaret Hickey, (Milawa, Victoria); A Woman in Berlin (co-
adapted with Meredith Penman, Old Fitzroy Theatre and Malthouse Theatre); ABC RN Airplay (winner, New York Festival’s Radio Awards 2012); X-Wohnungen Suburbs 2005 (HAU Theater Berlin); The Country (B Sharp); Crave (B Sharp/The Storeroom Melbourne). Janice was assistant director on Death and the Maiden (Melbourne Theatre Company) and The Winter’s Tale (Bell Shakespeare). She was part of MTC’s inaugural Women Directors Program in 2014. Janice received the inaugural Playwriting Australia Dramaturgy Fellowship in 2006, VCA’s Keith & Elisabeth Murdoch Travelling Scholarship in 2003, and was invited to participate in the Royal Court’s international residency program in 2001. FRANK MAINOO Designer / Operator Frank is a theatre practitioner and performance-maker. Since completing a Bachelor of Creative Arts (University of Wollongong, 2007) Frank has been a key member of performance collective Team MESS (Killing Don, This Is It and BINGO UNIT). Frank has regularly worked and toured with companies including Urban Theatre Projects, version 1.0, Belvoir, Performing Lines, Branch Nebula, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, ICE (Information and Cultural Exchange) and PACT Theatre in lighting design, technical and production management. In 2010 Frank received a fellowship grant to attend Theaterformen (Braunschweig, Germany) and was invited to participate in The Art of Play with Chiara Guidi from Societas Raffaello Sanzio at
Campbelltown Arts Centre. Frank has appeared in Rosie Dennis’s Driven to New Pastures, Life As We Know It and Martin Del Amo’s Mountains Never Meet. His solo and collaborative projects include Confine Me, Hit Me I&II, The PostColonial Traveller, Browner Than Black, The Secret Name and The Birds. HAZEM SHAMMAS Performer Since graduating from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Hazem has worked on many productions with major theatre companies in Australia. In 2014 he appeared in the title role of State Theatre Company of South Australia’s production of Othello. His other credits include Mother Courage and Her Children, Scorched, Antigone, Paul, Gates of Egypt, Peribanez, Stuff Happens (Belvoir); The Tempest, A Comedy of Errors, Macbeth (Bell Shakespeare); The Call (Griffin Theatre Company); Criminology (Malthouse Theatre); The Girl Who Cried Wolf (Arena Theatre Company); and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Arts Radar). Hazem’s work with Urban Theatre Projects includes Buried City (UTP/ Belvoir/Sydney Festival) as part of 2012 Sydney Festival, as well as the first season of The Tribe for 2015 Sydney Festival. Hazem held a regular role in Underbelly lll as the notorious Kings Cross nightclub owner Bill Bayeh, as well as appearing in the TV series East West 101, At Home With Julia and All Saints. Hazem’s feature films include X, directed by Jon Hewitt, Marc Gracie’s The Tumbler, and Alex and Eve directed by Peter Andrikidis. Hazem is also a founder and director of
Poetry in Action, a national touring theatre-in-education organisation that teaches poetry, literacy and the arts to high school students across the country. OONAGH SHERRARD Composer Oonagh studied composition at Sydney University with Peter Sculthorpe, Ann Boyd and Ross Edwards. Her recent work includes music for the multi-platform documentary RETROSPECT: War, Family, Afghanistan with ABC Online, ABC Radio National and UNSW’s icinema, the short film Ashok Roy: Surmani: Pearl of Melody for Parramasala’s Film Festival, and Ashok Roy: From India with Love for ABC Radio National.
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