Lost cities, lost knowledge, being Samoan, not being Samoan enough, being a younger, being new to writing, this-that (gucci hat).
Atlantis began, without me realising it at the time, when I met Jacynta Fa’amau in 2019, a climate expert and activist who isn’t (I could hardly believe it) white. Up until that point, I had always considered climate change firmly in the palagi realm—one of those issues you can worry about if you aren’t concerned with feeding your family or police brutality. Then I met Jacynta and I had to reevaluate. So by 2021, I knew there was only one avenue I was interested in examining for my Suitcase Series pitch. Why was I in my early twenties before I realised there were BIPOC climate activists, leading the charge against this global crisis? Why was an issue so disproportionately affecting First Nations cultures and communities, so devoid of their voices and presence?
I was pretty sure my pitch wouldn’t be successful—people aren’t usually into being reminded of systemic violence and oppression they contribute to, even artists. But Malthouse said, ‘Sau. We’ll help you tell your story.’ and the rest is history.
I, unlike the leaders and intellectuals I studied in my Atlantis research, am not a climate expert or anything close. What I am, amongst many things, is a daughter of Samoa and a storyteller from way back. This story is about trying even when it seems hopeless and stepping into our roles as intergenerational guardians of culture and knowledge. It is an invitation to look at the climate crisis through an Indigenous lens, recognising traditional systems, experience and practises.
Atlantis is my first play as a writer. It has been carefully and lovingly knitted together by myself and Mark Pritchard over the last year and a half. And given into the expert hands of Isabella Vadiveloo who has held the work and the outpouring of personal experience that comes with it, with generosity, vision and so much heart and artistry. As has Kira, Karl, Kevin and the whole creative team. I hope you enjoy the show, I hope it reminds you to be brave, and I hope I honour those I am from.
Climate justice is Indigenous liberation.
Acknowledgments My deepest gratitude to Jacynta Fa’amau for her generosity and expertise as a climate warrior and Samoan woman.
To my mentor, dearest mate and dramaturg, Mark Pritchard, for championing the work from the start and guiding me throughout the process with supreme care, humility and expertise. Thank you for your patience, hard work and always having my back.
To John Marc Desengano, Slone Sudiro, Sina Brown, Shabana Azeez, Michael Logo, and Karl Richmond for their artistic expertise and generosity of personal experience in the development of this work.
To the Council of Deens, for being my ground zero of support, love, championing and dramaturgy.
To my partner and other half, James Mafiti. For his unwavering support and love and for walking alongside me on my journey back to Samoa.
Chanella Macri / Writer
I can honestly say I have never laughed so hard in a rehearsal room as I have making Atlantis . The actors and I would often come in the next morning, complaining of aching abdominal muscles from the antics of the previous day. This was not the experience I anticipated for a show about facing the reality of climate change, and the toll it takes on vulnerable communities. What Chanella has done in such a masterful way, is write deep care and courage into the facing of enormous, complex subject matter. She has invited us to be ourselves, and to hold each other, in equal measure—to find answers through connection and community.
The actors and I took this incredible offer and found each other, every day, just as we were. We bonded over having first and second-generation migrant experiences, too much or not enough anxiety about climate change, the actors and Chanella generously shared experiences and perspectives specific to growing up in Pasifika communities and more than anything else, we embraced and celebrated connection by making each other laugh. I cannot thank them all enough for trusting me with this story, and all the stories and experiences they brought into the room, that are now woven in throughout the play.
It’s hard for me to think about climate change without becoming overly nihilistic—what place does a theatre director really have in solving a problem this big, and caused by such faceless, aggressive greed so out of my control? But when I turn towards my communities—my families, my rehearsal rooms, my friends —when they make me laugh, and I make them laugh, those greedy, faceless climate changing powermongers have got nothing on us. We’re coming, ready or not.
Isabella Vadiveloo / Director
FIONA M c GAUCHIE (CHAIR)
MICHAEL KANTOR (DEPUTY CHAIR)
JADA ALBERTS
DEBORAH CHEETHAM AO
DEBBIE DADON AM
ANDREW MYER AM
SUE PRESTNEY
PAMELA RABE
MARY VALLENTINE AO
ALAN WONG
MATTHEW LUTTON
SARAH NEAL
BRIDGET BALODIS
KAMARRA BELL-WYKES
ANNIE BOURKE RA CHAPMAN
LAURA HALE
MARLINE ZAIBAK
NESS HARWOOD
LIZ WHITE
ALLIE STAPLETON
CONNIE STELLA
DAVEY SIMMONS
JULIA ANTIQUE
TAMARAH SCOTT
TS PUBLICITY
GRAPHIC DESIGN
HOURS AFTER DEVELOPMENT
ALEX BELLEMORE PATRICK CRUMMY EDUCATION
LYALL BROOKS
PRUE SUTHERLAND
FIONA WISEMAN
PAUL BUCKLEY
EMILY BURKE
PERRI CUMMINGS
BRONYA DOYLE MELLITA ILICH MIN KINGHAM
ISA MUNHOS EMMA WHITBY LIZ WHITE
BLAIR HART
BAIRD M c KENNA
DEXTER VARLEY
TIA CLARK
ZOE RABB
ROB BALLINGALL IVAN SMITH BRENDAN JELLIE DELIA SPICER GOFFREDO MAMELI ELIZABETH WHITTON LENNON FOWLER
EMMA CORBETT
STEVE HEARNE
RYAN JONES
DEZI BOYLE
MITCHELL BROTZ
LOUISA CARPINTERI
DANIELLE GODER
ZOE HADLER
CATHERINE HAMILTON
SOPHIE M c CRAE
HAYLEY NEWMAN
LEAH OLIVERIA
JULIE O’REILLY
CLAUDE SARMIENTO
LUCY SEALE
EMMA SHAW
FLYNN SMEATON
BARNEY SPICER
SHANNON STEVENS
RILEY STOW
KENNY WAITE
OLIVE WEEKS
HAYLEY WOLTERS
ANTIGONE YANNOULIDIS
Malthouse
