Review: LOOKING FOR ALIBRANDI at Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre

Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Friday 23rd May 2025.

The State Theatre Company of South Australia continues its season with Looking for Alibrandi, produced by Brink Productions, written by playwright, Vidya Rajan, adapted from the novel by Melina Marchetta, and directed by Stephen Nicolazzo, the new Artistic Director of Brink. The novel was aimed at young adults and, by the time it was written in 1992, I was long past that definition, having already been working for a quarter of a century. I have, thus, never read the novel, nor have I ever seen the 2000 film, so I had no particular expectations approaching this production.

It is set in Sydney in the early 1990s. Josephine Alibrandi is seventeen, and she is in her final year of high school, a scholarship student looking forward to beginning the next phase of her life, intending to study law at university. It is not that easy, though, as she is caught between two worlds, modern Australia, and Italy of decades ago.

Her Nonna (grandmother) Katia clings to the outdated values of an Italy that has moved on since she migrated to Australia in the 1960s. Australia in the 1990s is a younger, multicultural country with a very different set of values and freer lifestyle, but she still attempts to make Josie conform to those irrelevant, strict values of a bygone era in the old country. Josie’s mother, Christina completes the trio of three generations of women, a single mother at 16, with a physically abusive father who refused to have anything more to do with her. Katia and Christina both have their secrets.

Kate Davis’s set is based in large piles of crates of tomatoes, placed in front of deep red curtains, enclosing a kitchen table, a couple of chairs, and a large drum where the tomatoes are cooking. We find all three generations of women making passata sauce, yes, live onstage. The performance comes with, as my guest humorously pointed out, ‘Smell-o-vision’, with the pleasant aroma of ripe tomatoes drifting from the stage. Lighting Designer, Katie Sfetkidis, uses her skills to define both locations and moods as one scene slips seamlessly into another, and Composer and Sound Designer, Daniel Nixon, adds traditional Italian songs and contemporary music, enhancing the atmosphere. Davis has also designed the effective costumes. Choreography was by Rosa Voto, who is also involved as a musician. 

Chanella Macri plays Josie Alibrandi with considerable energy, and a deep commitment to the character, negotiating all of the ups and downs as Josie struggles to deal with the pressures from her mother and her Nonna, her schoolwork, the unwanted attention of the school bully, and discovering the identity of her father, ameliorated by first love, and her friendships with a couple of other students. She draws forth lots of laughter with her daydream sequences, and occasional asides to the audience, but also handles the most poignant scenes with great skill.

Lucia Mastrantone, as her loving mother, and Jennifer Vuletic, as her Nonna, both bring their characters to life superbly, developing both the comedy and the pathos in their relationships with each other, and with Josie. The three performers establish a strong connection, bringing believability to the family trio. By the end, it is not only Josie who is finding herself, but all three Alibrandi women have faced the past, moved on, and are ready to embrace the future, together.

Vuletic also plays Sister Bernadette at the Catholic school, and Mastrantone also becomes Josie’s madcap and rebellious school friend, Sera Russo, the two of them switching characters throughout the performance with consummate ease.

Another of her fellow school students is the obnoxious, racist bully, ‘Poison’ Ivy, played by Ashton Malcolm, who also cross-dresses to become Josie’s good friend, the tragic, John Barton. These are another two contrasting roles and, as Ivy, Malcolm knows exactly how to get laughs and applause when Josie is pushed too far.

Riley Warner plays Jacob Coote, a student, who is disinterested in academia, and has no plans for advanced study, intending to become a motor mechanic in his father’s workshop. He is the bad boy with whom Josie falls in love and shares her first kiss. Warner’s Coote brings out the insensitive and self-centred nature of the character, but he nicely drops the façade and brings out the other, empathetic side of the character towards the end.

Chris Asimos plays Michael Andretti, a lawyer friend of the family, who is revealed to be Josie’s father. Asimos genuinely conveys that his character has never forgotten his feelings for Tina, as he calls Josie’s mother, and shows his wish to have, at least some involvement with the Alibrandis, by offering Josie help in her chosen career.

Nicolazzo’s insightful direction coupled with all of the fine performances, adds up to a production that, even if you haven’t read the novel or seen the film, is a rewarding evening of theatre.

Photography, Matt Byrne.