Southbank Theatre Excursion

On May 10, the Unit 3 Literature students went to Southbank Theatre to watch a performance of the creatively woven play, ‘Melbourne Talam’. The play follows the lives of three Indian immigrants living in Melbourne on visas, and their journey to finding their rhythms, their ‘talam’. It portrays Melbourne as the antagonist, ‘making the familiar strange’, exploring the struggle to belong and the necessity of companionship. The play is set on Flagstaff Station where the three characters’ lives intersect, but with changes in lighting and music, we are taken to their homes in India. The three actors play multiple characters, bringing them alive with simple costume devices and many different accents.

We attended a pre-show talk introducing the themes, setting and other aspects of the play. After the performance, we stayed on for an insightful Q and A session with the actors, director and the playwright.