A ‘Looking For Alibrandi’ Stage Adaptation Opens In Melbourne This Weekend

A stage adaptation of the seminal 1992 book Looking For Alibrandi is opening in Melbourne this weekend, and frankly, we’re not mad about it.

For kids who grew up in the ’90s, Looking For Alibrandi was probably one of the few pieces of Australian storytelling that spoke to those of us with migrant parents, so for many of us, both the book — and of course, the cult 2000 film — holds a special place in our hearts.

The new stage adaptation, which opens in Melbourne this weekend, introduces us to a new cast of Alibrandi women, led by Chanella Macri as Josie. Her mother Christina will be played by Lucia Mastrantone, and Nonna Katia, by Jennifer Vuletic.

Macri has both Italian and Samoan heritage — so it will be interesting to see how this additional element of her identity is incorporated into a 2022 stage adaptation, especially when the landscape of Australian racism is not what it was 20 years ago.

“I grew up in a very different world from Josie,” Macri, who is 25, told The Guardian. “By the time I was growing up in primary school, high school, being Italian wasn’t such a negative thing. Being half-Samoan, being brown, was much more of an issue for me growing up.”

The stage play is reportedly the first time novelist Melina Marchetta has given an adaptation her blessing in more than 20 years. “I think I needed distance from both the novel and the film that have very much defined my life,” she said.

She added that part of what made her say yes was the “very funny and honest and smart” writing of playwright Vidya Rajan, who was tasked with the challenge of bringing the 30-year-old novel to the stage.

“I was determined to keep my distance, so that Vidya and [director Stephen Nicolazzo] could make Alibrandi their own.”

Looking For Alibrandi is running at Melbourne’s Malthouse Theatre from July 9 to July 31. Buy Melbourne tickets here.

It will also play at the Belvoir in Sydney from October 1 to November 6. Buy Sydney tickets here.