Entertainment
29 June, 2025
Moving story of belonging
FEATURING a cast of mostly immigrant and refugee first-time actors, ‘Resist the Switch’ showcases Grace Andrew’s remarkable storytelling through a moving story of identity and belonging that moves you to the core and challenges our internalised racism.
As a new Congolese student, Kabili – played by Tuyisenge Jacques Alphones – arrives at the school, the African-Australian students start to wonder how long it will take for the new kid to lose his ‘Africanness’ and completely assimilate.
As bets are placed by his new classmates on how long it’ll take Kabili to become just another black student, his unapologetic pride will challenge the status quo.
At school camp, tensions between Kabili and Chika – brilliantly played by Jessica Gihozo Mupenzi – come to a head, as her ability to switch between her African and white Australian worlds are challenged by Kabili.
Resist the Switch’s message is delivered with dexterity by a young cast, some of them first-time actors, who past the rough-around-the-edges nature of their acting instinctively guide us into their world.
The omnipresent narrator Cynthia, played by Kayla Zamimba, breaks the fourth wall and challenges the audience while our protagonists analyse if it’s worth sacrificing their uniqueness and identity to belong to a country that still looks at them like dangerous black men and angry black women.
As a migrant it’s inevitable to see yourself in our two conflicting characters Kabili and Chika. Who hasn’t disguised their accent to fit in or to avoid being seen as less capable or less educated? Who hasn’t kept quiet at least once while their name was butchered to not make things uncomfortable?
Through Chika’s eyes, if you become one of them then you won’t be bullied, mocked or disrespected but through Kabili we’re reminded that our identity isn’t about making others feel comfortable, it’s about being unashamedly yourself and sticking to the values that have made you who you are.
Resist the Switch is also unapologetically African and not delivered to us on a silver platter, it’s made for our African community by the African community.
The play features musical numbers in African languages, traditional stories and voices we rarely hear or see on stage bringing to life the vision of the director.
I was moved to my core, I held tightly to the parts I could relate to as an immigrant while reflecting on the things that as a non-African woman I may never fully understand.
Resist the Switch challenges your internalised racism and stereotyping as you see the teens navigate a world that’s not made for them and that is constantly pushing them to make themselves small for the comfort of a society that’s afraid of anything different.
Even though we finally see our characters reconcile with their origins and identity, Resist the Switch reminds you that it doesn’t end there, that these teens will have to constantly fight to preserve their identity and values.
