Fruit Box Theatre presents the world premiere of SNAKEFACE by Aliyah Knight

A NOTE FROM THE WRITER

A few months before I moved from the south-east of England to supposedly sunny Melbourne, I spent a day rolling about in my back garden filming an audition for the arts school I’d end up going to. I had to put together a devised piece, and I decided to make a physical theatre work about the myth of Medusa. Naturally, it was absolutely god-awful. But look at us now.

I fell in love with Medusa from the second I learned of her story. I loved sticky girls; I loved the idea of snakes bursting out of my skull. Tiny know-it-all Aliyah was obsessed with being privy to the ‘real’ story and that it wasn’t really Medusa’s fault – I was one of those little dickheads that’d walk around telling you that Frankenstein actually was the monster, thank you very much. I was such a sensitive kid with big, blistering feelings that never failed to escape me, so I felt so comforted by the knowledge that there were people who got it. People who knew what it felt like to have their skin turned inside out and to be transformed into something that they couldn’t comprehend. 

So, when I sat down to write my first play – as a different person with different memories but the same squidgy brain bits – Medusa felt obvious. And then I got to meet Snakeface. 

On a really broad scale, you could say I wrote SNAKEFACE to talk about sex, power, and the racial politics of violence. You could say that this is a play about creation, destruction, and what it means to exist within a marginalised body and to exhume that body for art – and it is. But SNAKEFACE is also a play about simple, icky, throbbing feelings, about feeling your heart leak onto the pavement when you make eye contact with the right person for the first time, about the light of a disco ball fizzing your skin, about reaching and growing and being. It was imperative to me that, in writing a play about a character’s rage and trauma, I also wrote a play about that character’s anxieties and hormones and ego and joy. To paint the full picture. To allow ourselves to exist in all of our complexities.

SNAKEFACE has simultaneously been the most rewarding, yummy, fulfilling experience, and the most demanding, difficult, and dangerous. I’m so unbelievably lucky to have been on this journey with the most generous of souls who have treated this story with all the love and care in the world. 

Thank you to Maddy and Sean, who have been with Snakeface from the start and without whom I would be a puddle on the floor, to Bernadette for being simply the best, and to every member of this bonkers incredible phenomenal crew – I’m in awe of you all. 

So many phenomenal souls have supported me through the process of making this work. Thank you to all of you from the deepest, gooiest pit of my heart. 

Thank you to my parents and my siblings who are all endlessly wonderful and supportive even when I’m making films about cannibalism. Thank you to my partner Miranda who is set to overtake sliced bread for that coveted ‘best thing’ spot. 

Thank you for watching the show. Thanks even more if you reckon it’s decent. Let’s have fun with it.

Aliyah Knight

—

A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR

Medusa is a figure who has long been misunderstood. She is a survivor of sexual violence. But she is also a character whose rage is her dearest friend when snatching back her bodily autonomy.

So many times throughout this process we were asking ourselves question after question: what does Black queer liberation look like? What does liberation from sexual trauma look like? Is it ever truly possible for a Black body existing on colonised land to be liberated – particularly when as an artist that body is expected to create art by excavating trauma in historically white spaces?

Aliyah Knight has written a gut-punch of a work for their debut that does not make it easy for audiences to dissociate from the conversations on stage. The work at its core is about how to re-write the narrative we have with bodies during our healing journey. From the beginning of the process it was essential that although Snakeface is a victim, the work was not about generalising victimhood. But instead it’s a work about the war on Black bodies and how historically they have become vessels for rape through systemic racism, and commodification. It was also essential to truthfully explore the festishisation of Black bodies within queer spaces. In the work we watch a character try to cope with the violence forced upon their body by becoming a perpetrator of violence themselves. We witness how the decisions Snakeface makes to unleash her rage ravages her own relationship with her body and it truly challenges the audience to ask themselves if they believe that violence for violence is justified.

Rage is a powerful force. And it deserves to be felt. We hope that Snakeface’s story shows that the solution is not the erasure of rage, of trauma, but instead, a call to value Black joy as much as the pain. That it is in this co-existence that a process of reclamation and self-liberation can begin.

Thank you to my brilliant team for giving everything to this project. Independent theatre is run off the artistic dedication of a village who are not always remunerated for their hard work - so if you see them please do congratulate them. Thank you to Aliyah for trusting me with this story. I cannot wait for the world to know your name. Thank you to Belvoir for hosting us, all of our community partners and to the incredible Fruit Box team who have backed this piece from the very beginning of its journey.

Bernadette Fam

MEET THE TEAM

  • Aliyah Knight

    Performer & Writer

    Aliyah (they/she) is a Black, queer storyteller working on Wangal and Gadigal land. They make art where the personal meets political, exploring what it means to exist as the other through the straddling of horror and humour. As a playwright, Aliyah's work includes SNAKEFACE, THE DOG HOUSE (Recipient: Performance Space's Stephen Cummins Residency, 2024) and Four Legs Good (ATYP's National Studio Program, 2023; Commissioned for ATYP's Intersection Festival, 2024; Published by Currency Press). Aliyah was also a member of ATYP’s Fresh Ink cohort for 2024. Aliyah's first musical A Tiny Doll's House was co-created and co-written with Andy Freeborn and produced by the Hayes Theatre Co. as part of their inaugural Festival of New Work.

    Aliyah's short film Consume had its world premiere at the Melbourne Queer Film Festival 2024 and is programmed for the Final Girls Berlin Film Festival 2025 and the AGNSW x Sydney Mardi Gras' Queer Art After Hours 2025. Their other film work includes The Swell (Finalist: Queer Screen Pitch Off, 2024; Recipient: Queer Screen x Screen Australia Gender Matters Taskforce Professional Development Prize, 2024), as well as a horror feature originally developed through Sydney Film Festival x For Film's Sake's 2024 Platform: Lab incubator.

  • Bernadette Fam

    Director & Dramaturg

    Bernadette (she/her) is an interdisciplinary dramaturg, director and theatre-maker. She is passionate about exploring the intricacies of identity, belonging and cultural connection in Australia’s current socio-economic landscape and de-colonising processes of new work development. From 2022-2024 Bernadette worked as the New Work Manager for Malthouse Theatre. Previously she has been a Literary Associate for Belvoir Theatre Company, a Griffin Studio artist and is currently a Creative Producer at Green Door Theatre Company. 

    As director, Bernadette directed the award-winning Masego Pitso in Chewing Gum Dreams by Michaela Coel (Green Door Theatre Company/Red Line Productions), Blacklisted (Rogues Projects/Hayes Theatre Company) and Hometowns (Q Theatre). She has directed new work developments for Malthouse Theatre, Green Door Theatre Company, Critical Stages Touring and Griffin Theatre Company. She has also assistant directed on productions at Sydney Theatre Company, Malthouse Theatre, Hayes Theatre Company and National Theatre of Parramatta. As Dramaturg, Bernadette has worked with a range of companies including but not limited to Sydney Theatre Company, Playwriting Australia, Western Edge, PYT Fairfield and Antipodes Theatre.

  • Madeleine Gandhi

    Producer

    Madeleine (she/her) is a theatre producer, non-practising lawyer and co-founder of LGBTQIA+ Sydney-based theatre company Fruit Box Theatre. She has served as General Manager of Darlinghurst Theatre Company and social enterprise Stage A Change, which aims to create and sustain professional opportunities for artists of colour across Australia.  
     
    Madeleine has developed and produced work – from independent one-person shows through to commercial musical tours – at the Sydney Opera House, Comedy Theatre, Home Of The Arts (HOTA), Griffin Theatre Company, Belvoir 25a and Kings Cross Theatre. Outside the performing arts, Madeleine sits on the board of literary journal The Suburban Review and has a strong background in commercial law, charity governance, public policy and federal law reform.
     
    Awarded the Paramount Scholarship by the Pinnacle Foundation, she is currently studying  a Masters of Arts & Cultural Management at the University of Melbourne with the goal of embedding workplace safety, innovative business strategy and inclusive pathways in Australia’s cultural sector.

  • Fetu Taku

    Movement Director & Choreographer

    Fetu (she/they) is a movement coach/choreographer, teacher and womxn residing in Sydney, Australia. Originally from Christchurch, New Zealand, she has taught both nationally and internationally in countries including China, Japan, London, Spain, Austria, Estonia and the Philippines. Fetu has trained with some of the world’s best choreographers: Paris Goebel, Caetlyn Watson, Kiel Tutin, Pania Taku, Stacy Peke.. She earned her Certificate IV in Performing Arts (2013) at the esteemed dance institution, the Urban Dance Centre, Sydney, Australia. Fetu is a multidisciplinary artist and developed her own creative training program in 2020 which showcases this breadth of talent and skill. Through this program, The Dark Angel Project, she has created a space combining her dance experience, choreography and teaching in a holistic program.

    Participants receive physical and mental training, strengthening of movement and an opportunity to build resilience through breaking and pushing through barriers over the course of the program. Fetu is committed to cultivating dance / movement spaces through her artistry in community and commercial platforms.

  • Keerthi Subramanyam

    Set & Props Designer

    Keerthi (she/her) is a Sydney based set and costume designer for live performance. Keerthi has designed set and costumes for Belvoir’s Nayika A Dancing Girl and Lose to Win, Darlinghurst Theatre Company’s Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner,Murder for Two at Hayes Theatre Chewing Gum Dreams at the Old Fitz, Chop Chef at Riverside Theatres, and designed the costumes on Belvoir’s At What Cost and Never Closer. Keerthi has been an associate designer on a wide range of theatre shows including Sydney Theatre Company’s Grand Horizons, Belvoir’s Jungle and the Sea, Wayside Bride, Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, Boomkak Panto, Cursed!, and Hayes Theatre Co’s Young Frankenstein. 

    Keerthi is one of Belvoir’s Artistic Associates and has also worked as their Props Supervisor since 2023.

  • Wanyika Mshila

    Costume Designer

    Wanyika (she/her) is a Kenyan born trans-disciplinary artist, who describes herself as an Afro-Creative, and over the years has taken different forms of expression and direction - including dance, choreography, fashion and costume design, styling and Community Engagement. She has worked with several theatre companies such as; Riverside Theatre Parramatta, Griffin Theatre Co, Belvoir Theatre Co, Darlinghurst Theatre Co, Old Fitz Theatre and Sydney Opera House. As well as community organizations such as STARTTS, SSI, Blue Peony Foundation, MRC Parramatta, Inner West Council, African Women’s Dinner Dance, Africultures Festival, to name a few.

  • Wendy Yu

    Projection Designer

    Wendy Yu (she/her) is an Australian choreographer and new media designer specialising in projection design for public spaces. Her work integrates motion tracking, visual design and 3D animation to create immersive projection-mapped installations. Yu’s projection designs have been featured in international light festivals such as BLINK Lights Festival, KINOMURAL, and Illuminate Adelaide. She has also collaborated with major brands and organizations, designing projections for Adidas Basketball (2022), the Boston Rose Kennedy Greenway (2022), and the CW network’s Naomi (2022). Her work has earned her the International Chinese Outstanding Youth Award (2023) for Acts of Holding Dance and recognition in the Think Youth Shanghai International Digital Creation, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Competition (New Media Arts Division, 2022).

  • Rachel Lee

    Lighting & Video Systems Designer

    Rachel (she/her) is a lighting designer and artist based in Naarm and hometown Singapore. Rachel designs across several companies and festivals including Melbourne Theatre Company, Malthouse Theatre, Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre, GWB Entertainment, Darebin Speakeasy, APHIDS, Stephanie Lake Company, Lucy Guerin Inc, Major Festivals across Australia and various installation works across Flash Forward (City of Melbourne). She has been awarded the Green Room Award for Best Production.

  • Marco Cher-Gibard

    Sound Designer

    Marco (he/him) (b. Auckland, 1983), is an artist who works with sound and performance to explore contemporary culture, expression and experience. His award winning compositions and sound designs have been presented and recognised at home and abroad at festivals such as the London International Festival of Theatre (UK), Vienna Festwochen (Austria), Holland Festival (Holland), Theatre der Welt (Germany) and Melbourne International Arts Festival (Australia). Recent awards include the Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement in Theatre and the International Ibsen Award with Back to Back Theatre as well as the Green Room Awards for Sound Design.

  • Justice Georgopoulos

    Production / Stage Manager

    Justice (he/him) is a Stage Manager living and working on Gadigal land. He holds a Diploma of Communications (Theatre Media) from Charles Sturt University and a Bachelor of Performance and Theatre (Theatre Making) from the University of Wollongong. His stage management and operator credits include; The Great Australian Play, (Montague Basement, Redline, 2022), All His Beloved Children (KXT, 2023), Gillian Cosgriff’s Actually Good (Bondi Festival, 2023), Shitty (Belvior 25a, 2024), Incredibilia (The State Libary of NSW, Riverside Theatre, 2024), Werewolves (Bondi Festival, 2024), Helios (Bondi Festival, 2024), Arlington (Seymour Centre, 2024), Seventeen (Seymour Centre, 2024) and Hamlet Camp (Carriageworks, 2025).

  • Sean Landis

    Marketing Manager

    Sean (he/him) is a director and producer with a collaborative practice that prioritises and celebrates queer storytelling. As the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Fruit Box Theatre, he has led the development of nine original productions since their launch in 2022.

    Sean's recent directing credits include Cruise (KXT on Broadway, 2025), French Letters and Leather Cleaner (KXT, 2023), and Back to Birdy (Sydney Mardi Gras, 2024) which was a finalist in the Time Out Awards Best Play Critic’s Choice Category, and won Best Play in the People’s Choice Category. In 2021 he was recognised by Out for Australia’s “30 under 30 Awards” for his work to platform diverse LGBTQIA+ voices in theatre.

    Sean also works as the Marketing Manager at Performance Space, and hold a Bachelor of Arts (Media Studies) and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Sydney.

  • Rachel Seeto

    Associate Director & Producer

    Rachel (she/they) is an interdisciplinary artist and actor, holding a Bachelor of Fine Art (Painting) from the National Art School. Her practice unravels our relationship to memory, personal and shared archives and what attachments linger with possessions, places and people. When she’s not creating with her hands she’s creating for the stage as an actor, last appearing in productions such as Misery Loves Company (KXT), Dumb Kids (Legit Theatre Co.), Too Human (KXT), Moon Rabbit Rising (Little Eggs Collective), and as assistant director for Rhomboid (KXT) and Misc. (Panimo).

  • Kelly Dezart-Smith

    Community Engagement Lead

    Kelly (they/them) is a curator, creative producer and writer living on Gadigal country. They work across contemporary art, performance, visual culture and nightlife. Their creative practice aims to centre care, bla(c)k dreaming and narratives of individuals and communities who are systematically marginalized.

    Their hope is through the sharing of the latter stories and artwork we can move towards a more just and equitable world.

  • Courtney Henson

    Access Coordinator

    Courtney (she/they) is a driven performer, researcher, and access co-ordinator with a passion for performance, not-for-profit work, and disability advocacy. They recently graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Hons. 1st Class) after completing their thesis on Social Performance and Disability.

    They have extensive experience working with artists and not-for-profits and have a desire to address the inaccessibility of the Australian theatre and performance sector through their research and accessibility coordination work.

  • Laura Farrell

    Voice & Dialect Coach

    Laura (she/her) is a Voice and Dialect Coach living and working on Gadigal land. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Voice from NIDA, a Post Graduate Diploma in Voice from the Victorian College of the Arts, and a Bachelor of Music Theatre from the Victorian College of the Arts. Laura is also a certified teacher of Knight Thompson Speechwork and Vocal Combat Technique. She is a lecturer for NIDA’s BFA and Diploma actor training programs and the resident voice and dialect coach at Belvoir St Theatre. For Belvoir, recent coaching credits include August: Osage County, directed by Eamon Flack (2024), Counting And Cracking, directed by Eamon Flack (2024), Never Closer, directed by Hannah Goodwin (2024), Lose To Win, directed by Jessica Arthur (2024), Holding The Man, directed by Eamon Flack (2024) and Master & Margarita, directed by Eamon Flack (2024).

  • Erica Lovell

    Vocal & Dialect Coach

    Erica (she/her) studied English Literature, Media & Communications, and Theatre & Performance Studies at UNSW, where she graduated with Distinction. She holds a Master of Secondary Education, which she puts to good use supporting young people in the public education system to develop the skills they need to tell their stories and change the world. She is the Lead Teaching Artist at Poetry In Action, where she directs annually (Elements of Rhyme, 2020, Unlocking The Poetry Code, 2021, The Poet’s Quest, 2022, and International Anthem, 2023) musically directs education program productions, coaches singing, and co-wrote with Lizzie Schebesta the company’s first work featuring writing exclusively by women Herstory 101, currently touring schools nationally.

  • Shondelle Pratt

    Wellbeing Consultant

    Shondelle (she/her) is a Western Sydney interdisciplinary artist, and internationally certified intimacy director, coordinator and pedagogue. With a 30-year career in the arts, she has worked with Australia's leading theatre companies and is passionate about the actor’s process, consent, advocacy and inclusion in sculpting vulnerable storytelling. Shondelle is focused on learning programs and rehearsal room/theatre methodologies which are inclusive of artists with lived experiences of divergency and multicultural/ intercultural practices that provide support to artists, crew and creatives alike, within the industry. Shondelle is a proud member of MEAA and lives and works on the lands of the Dharawal People.

  • Teniola Komolafe

    Photographer

    Teniola (she/her) is a portrait, stills, theatre, and editorial photographer based in Sydney. She was born in Nigeria, raised on both the east and west coasts of America and now call Australia home. She has had the privilege of meeting many different individuals and because of that, her honest love for people and the stories they share has grown immensely.  Past clients and publications include Peppermint Magazine, Netflix, Vogue Australia, Google, Darlinghurst Theatre Company, B&T Magazine, ABC Arts and Dropbox.

  • Abraham de Souza

    Photographer

    Abraham (he/him) is a photographer with an extraordinary passion for capturing bold dance and striking human movement. With over twenty years of experience, Abraham has brought his creative sensibilities to bear on all types of photography.

  • Mia Schirmer

    Cinematographer

    Mia (she/her) has a passion for great visual storytelling and all things camera.

    I’m dedicated to crafting images, loving what it takes technically and creatively to shoot amazing, heartfelt content. Since completing the Bachelor of Arts: Screen Production at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS), I have had experience shooting short films, documentaries, music videos and commercials. Along with being this passionate about creative practice, being a bit of a camera nerd helps as well.

    When not thinking about shooting, I’m thinking about the ocean, light rail, plants, fancy camera tech, good beer and big windows.

  • Fletcher Scully

    Assistant Stage Manager

    Fletcher (he/him) is the self-proclaimed voice of a generation and word count’s worst nightmare, hailing from Warrane/Sydney. Spanning genre, form and role, Fletcher has over twelve years’ experience in the creative and performing arts and is a graduate of WAAPA’s BPA. Though the written and spoken word are his first loves, he is also skilled in behind-the-scenes production roles. His works can be slightly audacious in his nostalgic sentimentality but he makes up for it with his refreshingly awkward honesty and shameless silliness. Currently, his focus is on exploring Queer and Native joy and unpacking international familial relationships.