Review by Greg Gorton
Oh My God I’m Blak! is a vibrant cabaret, telling the semi-autobiographical tale of a Torres Strait Islander, her family, and her daughter's search for identity. This one-woman show is filled with pop songs of the 20th century played live on stage, interspersed with beautiful monologues that take us on a journey well worth taking.
As I sat down in the black box theatre that is La Mama’s Courthouse, I couldn't help but be impressed by the set before me. Devoid of needless clutter, its deceptive simplicity was both efficient and effective. Stage left sat a small drinks bar, much like one found in a pacific island resort. On it sat bottles empty and full, while above, written on wood, is the word “Paradise”. This simple set piece is filled with so much foreshadowing and clear visual metaphor.
On the other side sat the talented guitarist, Gary Watling. He is casually plucking at strings with an air of relaxed confidence.
These two sides are glued together by a small straw mat in the centre of the stage - a powerful signal of domestic life, with faint overtones of religious faith and supplication.
The star of this show is Miela Anich. Playing Menan, a woman who tells the story of her mother coming to Australia from Thursday Island, her struggles here, and the legacy she leaves her daughter. Anichs's performance is brimming with charisma, and her positivity infects the audience from the very first song. While I am no expert when it comes to singing, I can say I was personally captivated by her voice. I can also say that it is rare one experiences a truly spontaneous round of applause, which happened twice during the night.
Anich's chemistry with musician Watling, during their few interactions, also makes for enjoyable moments and left me wanting more.
While the song choices for this cabaret have spider-web-thin links to the story, and sometimes will make you uncomfortable if you to attempt to connect lyrics to narrative, I think most audiences are more likely to struggle with not being able to sing along. From “Girl from Ipanema” to “My Island Home”, the songs are quite recognisable and very catchy.
For me personally, though, the song that hit home most was “Old T.I.”. A folk song from the Torres Strait, and sung with bilingual lyrics, the obviously deeper connection between it and the character of Menan made it all that more moving a piece.
It’s worth noting here that the sound engineering for this production is amazing, especially when considering the venue. The lighting design is also brilliant in its subtlety and thoughtfulness. While La Mama is sadly not suited for projected images, the intention of the displays was there, and I can imagine the effect they would have in a better venue.
The show was written by Maryanne Sam, Patricia Cornelius, and Irine Vela. The story is closely based on Sam’s own life and relationship with her mother, and the autobiographical nature of the work is definitely part of its strength. The story stands centre, rather than the songs, and the prose has a beautiful, lyrical, quality of its own. It is tempting to wonder if the show would not have been more powerful with Sam’s words alone.
While overall a high quality production, there are small things that bothered me at times in the structure and writing of the piece. The timeline of events, especially when time has moved forward dramatically, is sadly not signposted as well as it could be, while sometimes the secondary characters and their relationships are unclear. The more compelling conflicts do not arise until well into the second half of the play, and are quickly resolved in less than a minute. This last issue, of course, may be seen by many as a strength. After all, this is a play of celebration of an incredible woman, rather than something more negative. It should also be noted that I appeared alone in these small bothers, and at no point did they get in the way of my enjoyment.
Oh My God I’m Blak! Is a celebratory exploration of identity and familial love, a story of the challenges faced by many of our first nations’ people, and a personal tale of a young woman finding her place in the world. It is presented as part of La Mama’s Festival of Mother Tongues. It sadly only runs for one week so I’d recommend booking tickets now.
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