“Food transcends language barriers.”
That’s the idea that sprang to mind when Georgina Baveas set out to make her pitch to the Melbourne Fringe Festival’s panel.
Selected as one of seven shows for the Frisk program, Soula’s Kitchen is Baveas’ graduate performance with Melbourne University’s Victorian College of the Arts.
Inspired by her Greek heritage and upbringing in northern Australia, Soula, played by the 28-year-old, starts off as a Greek-speaking old woman, and as she assimilates into her new surrounds from one stage change to the next, ends up in her 20s.
Set in Soula’s dining room, the concept of the show in the theatremaker’s own words “is to look at how Greeks have assimilated into Australia, exploring what we let go of and what we hang onto, and how we’ve changed in Australian society”.
Although she’s certain Greeks will get a lot out of the show, with part of the performance in Greek, those with no knowledge of the language shouldn’t fear.
“People want more of what they can’t understand because there’s so much else in our humanity that connects us to each other, and that’s really coming across in the show. I think it’s a different kind of gift to experience that,” Baveas explains.
The food aspect – Soula will be cooking live on stage – coupled with exaggerated bodily gestures and universal facial expressions is guaranteed to bridge the divide.
“Everyone’s got the theia or the yiayia who likes to force feed you and gets deeply offended when you don’t eat, so I guess that’s a big part of it: how much it means to a Greek woman for you to eat her food,” Baveas says with a laugh.
Though she was conscious of “never wanting to play the stereotype”, the artist now recognises the honest place from which stereotypes can be derived.
And with all the characters depicted through Soula based on real people, Soula’s Kitchen is an honest portrayal of Baveas’ observations.
But how does one get into the zone of playing an 80-year-old Greek migrant?
Aside from drawing upon personal experiences, Baveas conducted a number of interviews with her father and extended family and friends, whom she says “have so many great stories”.
“There are so many moments from my life that are in the show; conversations and people I’ve grown up with, mainly the women,” she says.
Although the audience can expect many laugh out loud moments, there are also points where the subject matter “hits home”.
“As an older woman, Soula talks about what she has lost leaving Greece. So there are those sensitive moments to contrast the comedy,” she says.
Along with her studies in theatre, Baveas has had a long love affair with the arts in general. Holding a background in fine arts, with a talent for jewellery making, her Greek background is something that proves an inspiration time and time again.
But this time it’s leading her to a stage recognised both in Melbourne and abroad, for which she feels “incredibly lucky and a bit spoilt too”.
Set to be an intimate performance with an audience capacity of 15 per show, although she doesn’t wish to give too much away, as Soula’s guests you can expect lots of mezedes. And vegemite as well.
Soula’s Kitchen will be performed as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival, from 24-27 September, 2015. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.melbournefringe.com.au/ and follow the links.
