Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Monday 18 July
6:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Thirty years after Looking for Alibrandi’s release, the beloved novel is being adapted for the stage. Celebrate Alibrandi’s enduring story in a special discussion about the journey from page to screen to stage.
Looking for Alibrandi broke new ground with its honest and empowered portrait of an Italian-Australian teen coming of age in 1990s inner Sydney, speaking authentically about systemic racism in Australia from a migrant perspective. For generations of teens, the beloved novel (and later cult movie) is a foundational story. Its exploration of family, womanhood, first love, identity and othering still resonates with readers today, 30 years after its release. Now, Melina Marchetta’s novel has been adapted for the stage. In this special collaboration between the Wheeler Centre and Malthouse Theatre, Marchetta joins playwright Vidya Rajan, director Stephen Nicolazzo, and the film’s star Pia Miranda to discuss Looking for Alibrandi’s journey from page to screen to stage, the art of adaptation, and the enduring impact of this Australian classic. Hosted by Brodie Lancaster.
Presented in partnership with Malthouse Theatre
The bookseller for this event is Hill of Content Bookshop Illustration by Megan Herbert
Featuring
Melina Marchetta
Melina Marchetta is an internationally bestselling and award-winning author in more than twenty countries and eighteen languages. Her seventeen books range from beloved young adult fiction and fantasy through to contemporary ...
Pia Miranda
Pia Miranda is one of Australia’s best loved and critically acclaimed actors. Since bursting onto the big screen in the much-loved film Looking for Alibrandi, Pia has become part of Australian film and television history and a ...
Stephen Nicolazzo
Stephen is a theatre maker, director and co-founder of queer theatre company, Little Ones Theatre. He is also co-artistic director of Western Edge. Upcoming: Looking for Alibrandi (Malthouse Theatre, Belvoir) ...
Vidya Rajan
Vidya Rajan is a writer and performer currently based in Australia working across screenwriting, theatre, comedy, and digital space. A former writer-in-residence at the Malthouse Theatre, graduate of the VCA, and a recipient of ...
Brodie Lancaster
Brodie Lancaster is an author and essayist from Melbourne. Her work has appeared in publications including the New York Times, Vogue Australia, the Guardian and New York magazine. Her first book, the pop culture ...