A Shifting Heart

A Shifting Heart is about an Italian family the Bianchis. Consisting of Maria, her Momma and Poppa and younger brother- Gino, and how they try to adapt in Collingwood, Australia, during the 1950s. They live with Maria’s Australian husband, Clarry Fowler who too undergoes racial prejudice until Gino dies because of it. The main theme is clear and simple. Beynon wants the reader to realize that xenophobia (the fear of strangers and foreigners) exists in various family relationships.

I believe that what Richard Beynon was trying to achieve with his first play (A Shifting Heart) was to educate the reader or actor or audience and project a greater level of awareness about racial discrimination. Because not only did it affect the immigrants of the 1950’s, it also currently occurs in 2008 and in all the years between. In the text there are certain insults or stereotypes put in place which are spoken by both of these characters subtly and bluntly. Subtle are Leila’s (friendly neighbour on the right), Mr Wilson’s (shop owner) and Clarry’s jokes, but such acts differentiate the Bianchis from the society, just like the names “Momma Macaroni” and “oppa Spaghetti” do e.g. when Clarry joked to Poppa:
“If they’re all like you, Pop, no wonder the Roman Empire packed up”. Clarry is essential to the play giving it a genuine Australian influence. Whether it’s his border-line binge drinking, his loud larrikinisms and his sometimes inappropriate sense of humour. It is his input that makes the play characteristically Australian.

In my opinion the hatred bubbled because of the war that killed many ANZACs and left countries resources depleted, economies a mess and legal systems crumbling. This then created an influx of immigrants, racial hatred and xenophobia that is expressed subtly and bluntly. The Australians of Collingwood have already experienced so much hurt and change that they refuse to accept anymore. They take it out on the immigrants who have journeyed from their war stricken countries, to seek refuge in the somewhat touched but untouched Australia. So as a result of
that the immigrants are treated poorly among the community.

My group were given an extract from the play A Shifting Heart. Maria has had enough with the way the locals are treating her and her family. She unloads all of her stress about her unborn baby. About the sacrifices she has made and what she has gone through to get to where she is now and what lies ahead. At first Clarry is oblivious to the obstacles and set backs that the family endures. As the story progresses, the threats become more serious but he still tries to take care of Maria and the family business. Momma is a typical Italian mother. She just tries to make ends meet and hold the family together. Although Italians are stereotyped to express their emotions openly, there is a great sense of closeness among the Bianchis. Each member loves each other; sometimes overdoing it e.g. Clarry arguing with Maria about overprotecting Gino.

There is a scene at the start where a balcony is needed and we used one of the ballet bars to illustrate the higher ground. We also used costume e.g. I was wearing a chequered flannel shirt and looked really scruffy to illustrate a sort of Bogan personality that Clarry’s lines portray. Rehearsals were used quite affectively as when the day came to perform there were only a few minor mistakes which we easily overcame. I thought that we performed the scene very effectively. It flowed and slowly heightened until the climax.



I believe that through the use of rehearsals, good commitment, costume and space we performed very well. We only had a few minor hiccups with our lines but it still flowed as if there weren’t any. I am very impressed with my group members because they made the extra effort. Both had to speak in Italian with accents and they pulled it off like they had learnt it all their lives

When we performed I was so nervous, then half way through my nerves just disappeared and that was when my character truly started to take shape. Especially in the part where tension grows unbearable between Clarry and Maria. I wasn’t nervous anymore and I was able to concentrate and really become involved in the character. One of the weaknesses in our performance was that we probably could’ve done with another rehearsal of our lines and maybe blocked a little better. At times I found myself lost on set and I wasn’t as confident in my character as I could’ve been.

The Shifting Heart has successfully portrayed the theme of xenophobia and racial hatred as well as family relationships. Although racial prejudice will be in Australia’s history forever, we have come a long way in tolerance to form a multicultural country. It is the change in people like Clarry who has given immigrants a chance to be treated equally as he states: “JUST THE SAME AS US”.
However, one lingering thought remains in my mind: everyone is born on the same planet. If it’s hard to accept people just because they’re from another country, what will happen when we find life on Mars?