Since the 457 visa was abolished and replaced by the government in April, there have been a great number of different reactions from political parties, community leaders and the the wider public with contradicting opinons from the two sides of the fence.
Among the many responses ‘Citizen 457’, a dance show produced by Melbourne based company called In Helvetica, is likely to be the most creative and original.
"Citizen 457 is a dance response to the legislation that our Government is currently forcing us to swallow," Toni Main, In Helvetica.
The show will be presented as part of the Spring Explorations series at La Mama Theater in Melbourne, where SBS Italian met two of the show's three performers, Sara Di Segna and Toni Main.
In the words of the project's creators, ‘Citizen 457’ is an improvised dance-theatre show that investigates current challenging issues.
As they explain it some of the questions they aim to raise include:
"What does it mean to be an Australian citizen for an Australian-born person compared to what it means for a migrant?"
"What does it mean to belong to a nation and what differences are there between citizens and migrants?"
"Where does the distance between people start? And finally, is there a reason at all to speak about ‘borders’ today?"
Performer Sara Di Segna of the In Helvetica group says, "We have investigated the issues of immigration and citizenship starting from my own personal experience as a migrant under a 457 Visa and relating my story with the perspective of my Australian peers."
In Helvetica Source: Courtesy of In Helvetica
On stage, the dance performance sees an Italian and an Australian questioning each other, through both movement and acting.
The show raises many questions but has no clear cut answer Sara says she sees it "as an exploration."
For Toni, the show is a chance to put in front of the audience the burning issues of today’s Australia, by mixing darker moments with some comedy.
One example is the opening scene, where the citizenship test has been transformed into a quiz show, similar to ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’, a clear hint to the Government's proposal to make the citizenship test more difficult.
Along with the two performers on stage, a third member of the company, Gene Holland, will be accompanying by playing live music through the show.
Listen to Sara Di Segna's full interview (in Italian) with SBS Italian below:
The many questions and reflections born on stage are based on the dialogue between Sara’s experiences as an Italian migrant and her Australian counterpart Toni.
As Toni tells SBS Italian, the project was born by chance "while In Helvetica was working on a children's show, what was happening into Sara’s personal life had such a strong impact on her that it kept bringing us back to the topic, discussing the latest news on citizenship and immigration legislation."
In helvetica, an independent performance ensemble based in Melbourne. Source: Courtesy of In Helvetica
Listen to Toni Main's full interview (in English) with SBS Italian below:
Sara arrived in Australia with her partner six years ago on a Working Holiday Visa, they also worked through the required 88-day farm job in the Northern Territory to renew her Visa in order to remain in Australia for another year.
Once back in Melbourne, Sara’s partner, a well-trained chef, was offered a sponsorship under the 457 Visa scheme.
From that moment began what Sara calls their "cavalry:" they transferred the sponsorship from one employer to another three times, hoping to establish themselves.
"A frustrating path of getting closer and stepping back because we wanted to develop our professional experience, not a mere passage towards citizenship," as Sara explains. If all goes according to plan, the couple will be able to apply for permanent residency in August 2018, in the meantime Sara confesses they are sailing in rough water.
“The perception of our peers in Italy is that we took the easy exit from a challenging situation by leaving our country, but they have no idea of the level of compromises and sacrifices you have to make,” says Sara.
Engaging in a creative way with her struggles to achieve a more stable situation in Australia helped Sara to keep the right distance and look at her experiences in a medium-long term perspective.
On the other side, for Toni it has been as important to see the real life effects of the changes in legislation, through their impact on Sara.
Toni says that through the show, the company was “finally creating a landscape to start a conversation."
For her personally she says it was "a way for me to express my feelings, while many Australians were feeling a sense of loss."
By staging ‘Citizen 457’ Sara and Toni aim to create a vital human approach and a space to listen, understand and engage between those who are welcomed and those who welcome.
Watch a previous story by In Helvetica below:
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