She ran away. He ran amuck. And one day they ran into each other.
A Blak Comedy about Life, Love, and being more than “Chopped Liver”.
After huge success in 2007, Chopped Liver returns to South Australia in 2008, tackling a serious disease with a dose of serious humour.
In 2005, Melbourne based Indigenous theatre company, Ilbijerri, teamed up with the Victorian Department of Human Services, the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, and the Hepatitis C Council of Victoria to develop a play that would communicate Hepatitis C prevention and education messages to the local community. The result was Chopped Liver, which has gone on to tour to over fifty communities and prisons in Victoria and South Australia over the last two years.
This year, with interest continuing to grow, Ilbijerri has joined forces with key state and local health bodies in NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia to send Chopped Liver out on its biggest tour yet.
The show is Deadly. The Virus doesn’t have to be.
“Brilliant, rough, real and just right.”
“Encore, Encore!! Bloody fantastic.”
“You mob are great!”
“Powerful Stuff... Thank you.”
“DEADLY!!!”
Review by HCCSA Staff
Understanding the myriad of complex issues that surround the hepatitis C virus can seem like a lot of hard work. Sometimes it’s just too hard. Fortunately, Lynne (Nikki Ashby) and Jim (Isaac Drandich) from the Blak Comedy Chopped Liver are on the road again, and will be in SA from 25 August to 5 September to entertain audiences and bring light to the human experience of being affected by the hepatitis C virus.
Kamarra Bell-Wykes wrote Chopped Liver for the Ilbijerri Theatre Company, and explains that her intent was to communicate to her mob about what is really going on with hep C: “That blakfellas have so many health issues already; so it’s just another one to add to the mix.”
The minimalist set and costume design allows the focus to remain upon the drama and comedy between Jim and Lynne. The relationship between design and the play’s comedy stemmed from the idea of stand-up comedy, which relies on a performer and a mic on a stage, to evolve as a work that “is more in the inherent way that blakfellas have of humour, rather than stand-up comedy”, explains Bell-Wykes.
The humour is in the characters’ relationships, which delivers a play that shatters social boundaries and employs the space to create awareness about hep C prevention, treatment and support.
Ilbijerri’s 2007 Chopped Liver Tour was a great success. Some of the comments from the 2007 audiences reflect Bell-Wykes’s intent to raise awareness about hep C was well received:
‘That was 2 deadly. Keep up the great work. This is just what our people need to get greater understanding of these kinds of diseases. Thanks 4 coming here.’
‘Great to see a play set in a Nunga way of doing business.’
‘Awesome play, need more community to see this.’
‘Aafter a while it seemed so real, like I was there with it. I really enjoyed it and would definitely watch it again. Thanks for making us aware.’
Chopped Liver is an extraordinary play, and Ilbijerri Theatre Company continues to produce innovative Indigenous work about the lives, culture and history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The Hepatitis C Council of SA is grateful to be able to work with Ilbijerri Theatre Company to help educate and inform audiences about a virus that directly affects more than a quarter of a million Australians, and is one of the leading causes of liver transplantation in this country.
For more information about Chopped Liver and performance dates and times contact the Hepatitis C Council of SA on 8363 8443 or www.hepatitissa.asn.au.
Maggie McCabe
