Interpreting shapes

Tell us about your character in a nutshell.

I play the aggressively poetic twin brother Scotch. What drives him is his idea of what he thinks poetry is and how amazing he thinks his art is. Whether it’s good or not is very debatable. I have found it quite challenging to navigate some of the content of Scotch. He sits in a space that is misogynistic but also innocent. Creative but aggressive. Marrying these sides of him to create someone real for an audience has been an amazing opportunity. 

How have you found working with Aleshea Harris’s script?

I feel really grateful to be able to work with Aleshea Harris’s words and this calibre of writing, particularly this early in my career. From a typography sense, it’s very clear that something needs to be done by visually looking at the words on the page and how they’re set. You can tell where your character needs to go. But at the same time, it’s not prescriptive. It’s not telling you your character needs to be doing this. It invites you to take a look at what the shape is, and how you interpret that is completely up to you. Which offers a lot of space for creativity. It’s such a gift. And it’s made my job so much easier.

Darius Williams in rehearsals for Is God Is. Photo: Joshua Scott

What resonates most for you within the show?

From the very beginning, and even as we’ve been exploring it, I’ve been drawn to the questions the play brings up about justice. Does the blind pursuit for justice create unjust people? Does one action that is outside of justice make someone a bad person? The play asks a lot of the audience from a ‘whose side are you on?’ perspective. That to me is very exciting. I resonate with the idea that every side of an argument is correct depending on a character’s belief. The play offers every piece of the puzzle, it’s up to the audience to put it together. 

What’s unique about Is God Is?

The show does a really good job at turning the classic, well-loved genre of revenge tragedy into something that’s modern, darkly comedic and nuanced. I think audiences will be able to latch on to that classic genre of the twin’s journey and how they fight to get certain things. But at the same time, I think they’re still going to be surprised at the way it's constructed, and the characters that we meet along the way. We meet some very real characters at very UNreal times in their lives. This show balances on the tightrope of epic and brutal realism at times. It doesn’t pull any punches. Just when you’ve relaxed into a character’s larger than life story, Aleshea reels you back in with often heartfelt and memorable truths about what led them to this point. 

What do you hope audiences are left with after they see the show?

I hope that audiences come away from this show with a newfound empathy for victims and people affected by the cycles of violence. No matter what walk of life you come from, so many people are confronted with violence or conflict. This show, in particular, sheds light on some things that universally we’ll be able to ponder on. Hopefully audiences will come out and go, ‘Okay, I haven't thought about that this way’ or ‘That perspective is very new to me.’ It leaves a lot of room for audience interaction and I’m looking forward to having some chats with people in the foyer.

Masego Pitso as Racine and Darius Williams as Scotch in Is God Is. Photo: Pia Johnson

The play shifts from dramatic, darker moments to lighter, comic moments quickly throughout. How do you approach acting during these quick transitions?

To begin with these shifts were quite daunting. Switching from moments of levity to tragedy is always difficult, but as we got up on the floor, it became easy. There seemed to be no other way to tell this larger than life story. Finding comfortability in these transitions is also a huge testament to Shari and Zindzi’s direction.  

This is your Melbourne Theatre Company debut. What has surprised or challenged you, or been different about working on this show?

This play is like nothing I’ve worked on before, so the content is very different. Working with Melbourne Theatre Company has always been a long dream of mine. It’s a bit surreal actually taking to the stage. I don’t know that I’ve actually taken it all in yet. On top of that, being surrounded by such hard working and talented crew and creatives has made the experience one to cherish. I couldn’t have thought of a better group to debut with and I can’t wait for audiences to see this show and this team shine!