Two of Melbourne’s leading Black theatre-makers, Jamaican/Australian writer/performer and Besen Emerging Writers recipient Amarantha Robinson (Oshun, La Mama) and Ghanaian/Australian director Effie Nkrumah (Who No Know Go Know, Malthouse), come together to create ILARUN: The Cutting Comb – a bold new work that merges history with Afro-futurism in a richly evocative narrative.
Set on a Jamaican plantation, ILARUN interlaces mysticism and metaphysical elements to explore themes of resistance, transformation, and self-reclamation. Inspired by the legendary Nanny of the Maroons (c.1686–c.1760), an enslaved woman who led a rebellion to free her people, the play envisions a world where Black women’s sexual fluids are harvested for power, blurring the boundaries of time and space. The story moves between the colonial past and the contemporary present, driven by the rhythm of West African drumming and the vibrancy of Caribbean culture.
Humorous, visceral, and thought-provoking, ILARUN delves into the mythological construction of race, the fetishization of Black bodies, and the rediscovery of one’s true self. At its heart is the ilarun – a Yoruba hair-combing instrument symbolising change – known today as the Afro-pick.
“ILARUN is theatre at its most potent: it transports, entertains, educates, and provokes,” says Robinson. “It offers a fresh perspective on our racialised past while exploring the complexities of Afro-diasporic identity and spirit in today’s world.”
The ensemble cast features veteran Australian film and television actor Syd Brisbane, Alpha Kargbo, Amarantha Robinson, Rufaro Zimbudzi, and William Hall. Syd is known for his roles in Deadloch (2023/ 2024), Conspiracy 365 (2012), Let Me Not (2007) and The Saddle Club (2008).
December 5 – 15
fortyfivedownstairs
