What do you connect with most in the story Laurinda?
I think firstly I connect with the migrant experience. My dad is Indian. He is a Telugu. He grew up in Malaysia and came to Australia in the 1950s to complete his final year of high school. He then went on to study at RMIT and that is when he met my mother. My mum and her family lived through the Second World War in Liverpool, England and migrated to Australia in the 1950s. A mixed race relationship was not common in Melbourne in the 50s and was very frowned upon by much of society. I see my parents as being revolutionists! They were brave and courageous. They dealt with a great deal of racism but stayed true to themselves and forged a path for many.
We were brought up with a real sense of social justice. My parents took very different approaches to dealing with racism and injustices. My dad's approach was the silent protestor. There was a milk bar near RMIT. He would go into the milk bar each day, but the owner refused to serve him, so Dad just kept going back in day after day and stood at the counter politely and waited to be served. Eventually the owner relinquished and sold my dad the paper. For my dad, this was a win. He continued to buy the paper there each morning for his entire degree and in fact the owner and Dad became quite good friends. My mum's approach was much more – all guns blazing. I remember her storming into my primary school on numerous occasions to set them straight on their lack of diversity and other injustices.
I think I'm a mixture of them both. Sometimes I'm the silent protestor but at times I'm all guns blazing. If an injustice is connected to me directly, it's usually a quiet, slow burn, but if it affects those in my community, be that my family, my colleagues or my students, I'm all guns blazing. Each night when my character Trisha says, ‘I've been thinking about how brave Lucy was’, I think of both my parents and how brave they were.
I also connect with the importance of finding your voice and believing in yourself, and with the importance of one's community and the strength that comes from family, colleagues and friends.
Georgina Naidu (centre) with Gemma Chua-Tran, Chi Nguyen and Jenny Zhou in Laurinda. Photo: Jeff Busby
What attracted to you to this production?
I was involved in the second development of Laurinda, and I loved the people involved, as well as the material. I was so excited to be offered a role. I felt honoured to be a part of an all-Asian cast and to work on such a powerful script. Laurinda felt very important, and I really wanted to be a part of it. It has been such an honour to part of this production and to share this play with audiences.
Can you describe the experience of being part of an all-Asian Australian cast?
There was an immediate connection with the cast and creatives of Laurinda. Often, each of us are the only Asian person involved in a work, so to be in the Laurinda room was amazing. There was a sense of home and safety, a real generosity, a shared understanding about the themes of the play, and we took care of each other when the material got difficult. I'm also happy to say we all had a deep understanding of the importance of the snack table!
Georgina Naidu (right) with Ngoc Phan in Laurinda. Photo: Jeff Busby
What do you hope audiences go away feeling or talking about after they have seen Laurinda?
I like to think of my younger self coming to see Laurinda. I wish I had been given the opportunity to experience this play. I want young Georgina to come away feeling validated, seen, celebrated, inspired, and ready to feel she has a right to be in any room, to be at any table and for her opinions to be heard. I want her not to feel she has to apologise. I want her to know that it's ok to be brave and bold and fearless. I want her to quote Lucy whenever the going gets tough!
Published on 7 September 2022
