Black is the New White

by Nakkiah Lui

2 October — 9 November 2019

Southbank Theatre, The Sumner

A mix of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and Meet the Fockers, Nakkiah Lui’s smash hit comedy is set to delight Melbourne audiences.

Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, including a 20-minute interval

Event Passed
Explore
This is rated 4 out of 5 stars

'the hilarity in this warm-hearted, swift-witted comedy doesn’t stop until the curtain falls.'

The Age
This is rated 5 out of 5 stars

'The whip-smart script, elegant staging and glorious cast come together in a Christmas comedy that’s very much a story of our times'

ArtsHub
This is rated 4 out of 5 stars

'it’s hard not to admire this distinctively Australian play, with all its daring intelligence and mischievous humour.'

Herald Sun
This is rated 4 out of 5 stars

'howlingly funny'

Time Out, Melbourne

More Information

Charlotte Gibson is a lawyer with a brilliant career ahead of her. As her father Ray says, she could be the next female Indigenous Waleed Aly. But she has other ideas. First of all, it’s Christmas. Second of all, she’s in love. The thing is, her fiancé, Francis Smith, is not what her family expected – he’s unemployed, he’s an experimental composer… and he’s white! When the families come together at the Gibson’s ritzy holiday home, the stage is set for a riotously funny struggle for dominance where insults fly, secrets come flooding out and sacred cows of all descriptions are mercilessly skewered.

It’s Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, crossed with Meet the Fockers. Following two sell-out seasons at Sydney Theatre Company, Black is the New White is the hit new Australian comedy set to delight Melbourne audiences. Award-winning writer and TV personality Nakkiah Lui shows why she is one of this country’s most incisive comedy writers, with a home-grown satire that is both subversive and thoroughly entertaining.

STC Associate Director Paige Rattray directs an array of brilliant, eccentric, loveable characters in this laugh-out-loud romantic comedy.

STC POS        Melbourne Festival 2018


A Sydney Theatre Company production, presented in association with Melbourne International Arts Festival

Commissioned by STC with the support of the Malcolm Robertson Foundation. Original production supported by the STC Donor Syndicate and Presenting Partner Allens.

Melbourne Theatre Company acknowledges the First Peoples of Country of the lands on which Black Is The New White is created, performed and shared. We pay our respects to their ancestors and Elders, and to our shared future.

 

Accessibility

  • Wheelchair Accessible

  • Hearing Assistance

  • Audio Described

  • Tactile Tour

  • Open Captioning

Performance Type Performance Date(s)
Audio Described Saturday 19 October at 2pm
Tuesday 22 October at 6.30pm
Tactile Tour Prior to the Saturday 19 October performance at 1pm
Open Captioning
via screen
Saturday 26 October at 2pm
Tony Briggs

Tony Briggs

Ray Gibson

Luke-Carroll.jpg

Luke Carroll

Narrator

Vanessa-Downing.jpg

Vanessa Downing

Marie Smith

Artwork for Geoff Morrell

Geoff Morrell

Dennison Smith

Artwork for Tuuli Narkle

Tuuli Narkle

Rose Jones

Melodie-Reynolds-Diarra.jpg

Melodie Reynolds-Diarra

Joan Gibson

Tom-Stokes.jpg

Tom Stokes

Francis Smith

Artwork for Miranda Tapsell

Miranda Tapsell

Charlotte Gibson

Anthony-Taufa.jpg

Anthony Taufa

Sonny Jones

Paige-Rattray.jpg

Paige Rattray

Director

Renee-Mulder.jpg

Renée Mulder

Set & Costume Designer

Ben Hughes

Ben Hughes

Lighting Designer

Steve-Toulmin.jpg

Steve Toulmin

Composer & Sound Designer

Julia-Patey.jpg

Julia Patey

Tour Director

Charmian-Gradwell-600x800.jpg

Charmian Gradwell

Voice & Text Coach

The Sumner

140 Southbank Boulevard

Southbank, Victoria 3006