Looking for Alibrandi hits the stage, and Yassmin Abdel-Magied talks about a revolution

When it was published in 1992, Melina Marchetta’s debut novel Looking for Alibrandi resonated with a generation of young people who felt othered for their difference. The novel became an instant classic and has been studied in high schools across Australia. The film adaption in 2000 also became a classic, starring Pia Miranda as the protagonist, a year 12 student named Josie Alibrandi, grappling with bigotry against Italian Australians, the HSC, and boys. Now in its 30th anniversary year, another adaption, this time for the stage, has made its debut. We speak with the play's director Stephen Niccolazzo, a longtime fan of Looking for Alibrandi, and Vidya Rajan, a comedian and theatre maker who wrote the adaptation. Plus, it’s been 5 years since Yassmin Abdel-Magied’s ANZAC day Facebook post ignited a national media storm. Abdel-Magied was the very picture of an Australian multicultural success story. A young Black muslim Queenslander, trained as an engineer, media friendly, who just happened to be extremely photogenic and fashionable. She was a rising media star who’d published a memoir at 24, and a sought after speaker and presenter of an ABC television program. The she wrote a public request on ANZAC Day asking Australians to consider the lives of asylum seekers, refugees, and other displaced people, which triggered a tsunami of media criticism, and online abuse. It’s one of many topics Yassmin Abdel Magied reflects on in her latest book, an essay collection called Talking About a Revolution. Show Notes: Looking for Alibrandi on Stage or Book Yassmin Abdel-Magied - Talking About a Revolution