Milk & Honey & Lemons
Moreblessing Maturure (NSW)
Auslan Interpreted performance Fri 29 May
A Next Wave x Campbelltown Arts Centre co-commission
Presented in association with Hyphenated Projects
Milk & Honey & Lemons takes us into a residential home nestled in the Western suburbs of Melbourne, where the scents of Grandma’s recipes spill into arguments over home country politics, drowning out the new-gen’s new-age sounds. A picture of modern migration, Milk & Honey & Lemons asks us to reckon with the art of survival practiced on our street corners, school yards, and in our minds. All through the lens of a boy. In a hoodie. Of African appearance.
From a boy to nineteen, being grown is pretty full on. It means a lotta things, top of the list: graduating from goon to $7 red wine. This cocktail of naïvety and wisdom from Boy, who’s seen it all, invites us in with one breath and with the next, shuts us out.
Throughout history, we’ve witnessed the Black body repeatedly denied autonomy in the narrative of its existence. What does it mean to come of age when the world has been taught to fear what you’re becoming? In this one-man show, this question leaps out from the theoretical into the lived.
Content Warnings
This production contains mature themes.
Mature themes: discussions and descriptions of self-harm and suicide.
Milk & Honey & Lemons is supported by Sydney Theatre Company and the Victorian Government through the Multicultural Festivals & Events Program.
Special thanks to Aunty Glenda, Prof Christopher Sonn, Dr Jioji Ravulo, Nasalifya Namwinga and the Pola Psychology team, Western Edge Youth Arts, Maribyrnong Council, The Centre for Dramaturgy and Curation, Brunswick Mechanics Institute, Victorian Multicultural Commission and Hyphenated Projects.
Writer & Director: Moreblessing Maturure
Sound Designer & Composer: Benjamin Pierpoint
Projectionist Artist: Nema Adel
Production Designer: Keerthi Subramanyam
Producer: Naomi Valephi
Moreblessing Maturure is a Zimbabwean/Australian inter-disciplinary artist, TEDx Speaker and the Creative Director of FOLK Magazine. Her work across literature, stage and screen has included engagements with Playwriting Australia, Australian Theatre for Young People, and Sydney Theatre Company (STC). She is currently developing new works including Screen Australia-funded series: ‘Afro Sistahs‘ and a new play for Next Wave Festival. Recently she was a participant in Screen Australia’s Developing the Developer workshop and was named Girlfriend Magazine’s 25 women under 25 pushing for change in 2019 alongside features in Vogue Australia, Elle Magazine and Fashion Journal. Recently she has worked with STC, Darlinghurst and Outhouse Theatre Companies as dramaturg, outreach producer and cultural advisor. This work supports the advocacy work Moreblessing carries out within the arts for accurate and diverse representation. She is a proud member of Actors Equity and MEAA’s Equity Diversity and Pride Committees.