Entertainment
20 June, 2025
Migration and belonging set the tone
A TALE about identity, migration and belonging is debuting on the stage tonight at Bulmba-ja Arts Centre when Resist The Switch – a tale of a group of African-Australian teens preparing for a school camp – showcases its message of cultural awakening.
A dynamic ensemble cast of 17 performers presents a story richly embedded in ancestral folktales and razor-sharp dialogue in Resist the Switch, a play born out the Ubuntu Theatre Project led by JUTE Theatre Company in partnership with Centacare FNQ and Cairns African Association.
The play will be on for two nights only today and tomorrow from 7pm.
Resist The Switch is a funny and unflinching and it peels back the layers of identity, migration and belonging. As a group of African Australian teens prepare for a school camp, tensions bubble beneath the surface. Between code-switching and culture clashes, TikTok and traditional fire stories, they wrestle with the unspoken rules of survival in a country that’s still learning how to see them.
“Resist the Switch stems from a conversation I had with participants of the Ubuntu Project,” said playwright and director Grace Edward.
“We were talking about our experiences going through high school and even primary school in Australia and although I’ve been out of high school since 2011, their stories were similar to mine.
“As a writer it made me think deeply about what that truly means and why these experiences haven’t changed in the 14 years since I graduated, still seeing the same discrimination and racist ideologies and beliefs circulating in these spaces.”
To buy tickets, visit https://bit.ly/45sqhQ2
