I’m Not a Racist, but …
by Richard Lawrance
Multicultural Youth Theatre, SA
Directed by Tessa Bremner
Cast: Vicki London, David Saddler, Aimee Thomas,
Nicolas Primaro, Raphael Nguyen, Peter Nguyen, Ha Tran.

On the face of it the flyers for the Multicultural Youth Theatre’s production were not promising. (Narelle is fifteen, alone and pregnant. Cong and Trinh are trying to hack it in this strange new country. Dog Track’s in debt and on the run and Petar’s caught between the Kolo and the disco. They’re Nips, Wogs and Doggers just like you.) A bit self-conscious and sub-Holman; someone called Narelle for Heaven’s sake, and enough plot-lines for six months of soapies.

However, I’m Not a Racist but . . . proved to be one of the nice surprises of Come Out. The project began when Parks Community Arts Co-ordinator, Ron Hoenig, hatched plans for bringing together a range of ethnic groups in Adelaide’s Parks area for a community theatre piece. Then playwright, Richard Lawrance came in and researched and wrote the script based on contact with residents and actors.

Hoenig would be the first to admit that not everything went absolutely according to plan. The local community, while providing the raw data for the play, was not exactly over-supplied with actors so further auditions were needed to bring in other actors from around town. The finished product, nevertheless, is convincing in detail and in the commitment of all involved. Lawrance used his time in the Parks well and he and the actors have both credibly and creditably brought their experiences to the stage.

The play threads the lives of Anglo-Australians, Serbians and Vietnamese as they, individually andcollectively, encounter not only the brutality of overt racism but its more insidious subtleties when community identity hardens into exclusivity and custom into rituals of rejection. In I’m Not a Racist, but . . . the Serbian community, 40 years on in Australian society, is contrasted with the most recent migrations of Vietnamese. Attitudes and modes of adjustment are examined and we are shown the human costs when Narelle and Cong go to the pub together and when Petar and Binh confront the declared and undeclared impediments to their courtship. The Multicultural Youth Theatre approach the subject with freshness and candour. They do not spare us the ugly facts of racism in this city and they certainly don’t pretend to have easy answers. Friendships curdle, intimidation succeeds and prejudice continues to enclose and enfeeble communities unable to forget or adapt. But there’s an undertow of determination and hope, both in the play and in the performances, which gives the production genuine conviction.

Director Tessa Bremner has coaxed good performances from players of varying talents. Vicki London as Narelle, David Saddler as Petar and Aimee Thomas as Vesna, all work well and Nicolas Primaro shows a lot of promise in the wit and menace he brings to his villains. Vietnamese actors, Raphael and Peter Nguyen and Ha Tran are memorable for the sincerity and delicacy of their stage presence. While not skilled in stagecraft, they nonetheless give the play depth and authority.

I’m Not a Racist, but . . . has been well-matched to the talents and experience of the players and Tessa Bremner has made good theatrical use of religious ritual such as Serbian Name Day celebrations and Vietnamese lantern ceremonies. The Multicultural Youth Theatre have given us a play which is both instructive and provocative and a production which, because it is real for the players, registers vividly for us as well.

“I’m Not a Racist but…” Lowdown, Vol.9, No.3,May, 1987, p.36.