With SISTREN, her razor-sharp, heart-thumping debut play, Iolanthe is coming for the canon — and she’s bringing the divas with her. Set in a South London school and fizzing with rage, joy, and divine absurdity, SISTREN follows Isla and Violet: two hyper-bright, hyper-fabulous teens who refuse to shrink.
Co-starring Iolanthe's real-life ride-or-die Janet Anderson, the play is a love letter to chosen family, rebellion, and the kind of friendship that feels like world domination. Presented by Griffin Theatre Company and Green Door Theatre for Griffin Lookout, this is the bright future of Australian theatre — slick, subversive, and unapologetically extra. Ahead of the show's highly-anticipated after party (happening this Saturday 12 July, with DJs Baschoe, Kilimi, BRINA and performers Basjia, Lynn Harries, Tiana Shade and Faggy McQueen), we caught up with Iolanthe to talk connection, absurdity, and the pressure to prove one's self.
This is your debut play, but SISTREN feels so fully formed. What was the first image or feeling that sparked its idea?
I think it's already so full because the essence of SISTREN has been existing rent-free in my heart, life and mind for a long time. Endless hours spent watching Broad City with Janet [Anderson, Iolanthe' co-star in SISTREN and IRL best friend] in our old share house definitely cemented the idea that "two fabulous besties taking on the world" will always be entertaining. I think it's just about trusting the chemistry between us, the complex way we view the world, our ridiculous humour and the fact that society is gagging for a black girl and trans girl world domination arc. Hats off to Ilana and Abbie though, their dynamic really affirmed something for me.
You’ve described Isla and Violet as “a lethal combination” – what makes their connection so potent to you?
Oh yes, they're supremely lethal! To what? The system! To the powers-that-be which encourage herd mentality, quietude, rule following, and straight-up dullness. Isla and Violet are the kind of girls who'll ask an endless barrage of questions until they're fully satisfied with the answers provided. SISTREN is set in a public school in South London, in which the girls, despite being hyper-intellectuals teeming with talent, are constantly being behaviourally sanctioned. From my lived experience, being in places of such rigidity is only ever bettered by a companion. The potency of their connection is the fact that, amongst the overwhelming feeling of being misunderstood and misrepresented. There's always one other diva in the room that just 'gets it'. In my real world relationship with Janet and in our fictional SISTREN relationship, she's always that other diva in the room. Sweet relief.
"There's always one other diva in the room that just 'gets it'. In my real world relationship with Janet and in our fictional SISTREN relationship, she's always that other diva in the room. Sweet relief."
There’s a strong sense of autobiography and alternate reality in SISTREN. How much of yourself did you pour into the world you built – and where did you hold back?
This is something that was in constant flux during the writing process. Some of the earliest drafts of SISTREN felt so deeply personal that it was difficult to distinguish where Iolanthe stopped and Isla started. I'd definitely give credit to my incredible dramaturg, Dylan Van Den Berg, for helping me tow this line of autobiography versus fiction. There was a big 'lightbulb' moment mid-way through the writing process where I refined my intention: to confront truthful experiences and emotional responses from my real life by fictionalising all narrative aspects about it. For example, the raw feeling of discomfort that I'm discussing is real, but all the names, places, ages, and details surrounding it aren't. Once I came to this epiphany, everything flowed much smoother.
Authenticity is something that I really admire and respond to in other peoples' art, and therefore, SISTREN was always geared towards truth telling. I think the desire to articulate experiences that myself and my besties know all-too-well but yet are still erased or untouched inside theatres was at the forefront of my mind.
You’ve spoken about the pressure to 'prove yourself' as a young Black writer. How did you feel like you subverted that expectation in the creation of this work?
Honestly, I think I had to lock in with full self-belief that the work I've made is explicitly for black girls and trans girls, and if other communities want to engage with it, they're welcome to, but any desire to please them has to be quietened. It's an impossible task to make authentic, de-colonial work that satisfies all members of society. When I really consider the artistic works that profoundly move me, it's often because its creator had girls like me in mind.
When I think of Solange and her music, I think of all the specific lyrics she offers to black girls, the drum patterns that encourage us to whine our waists, the videos with all black casting that accompany her sound. Her target audience is super specific, and as a fan, I feel heard and seen by that specificity. So, I guess I chose to do the same with SISTREN. The 'proving yourself' thing is a frustrating aspect of being a creative in so-called-Australia, I can't lie. With limited funding for the arts, it feels like you're caught in the loop of "You'll get the grant if you have experience, you'll have experience if you get the grant". It's so tiring!
The play is intensely visual, right down to the two-part trailer. Why was visual language just as important as the script in telling this story?
I think my desire to build a striking visual world for SISTREN is also in relation to the 'proving myself' trope. What I mean by that is, SISTREN’s target audience was always fabulous individuals. And if you’re truly fabulous, your standard for style is higher, and I wanted SISTREN to cement itself as an example that theatre can be cool and 'cunty' in so-called Australia, because too often it feels archaic.
As an avid cinephile, I know that a glamorous teaser video would appeal to me, so the most honest thing to do was lean into my own taste. The show itself is so visually rich, Kelsey Lee’s incredible lighting scheme and Emma White’s set was constructed as a physicalisation of the characters’ fantasy and so the creative opportunity there was limitless. I love hearing how audience members gasp when they enter the space!
You're writing and starring in SISTREN opposite your real-life best friend. How did your off-stage chemistry shape the storytelling on-stage?
Having undeniable chemistry with Janet helps so much! It was relieving to turn up to the first day of rehearsals with full assurance that our dynamic of playfulness, dependency, rawness and adoration already exists. As actors too, I think this allowed us to go further because the foundation was solid from the outset. During show season, it’s also a really comforting thing to rely on, especially on the nights when I’m exhausted or have other things occupying my mind. Knowing that someone is holding me as Iolanthe and as Isla is… sisterhood!
You’ve hinted at SISTREN being adapted for television. What would you want to preserve – and what would you expand on – in that transition?
Yes! Writing SISTREN for TV was the idea from the very beginning. I am a huge admirer of the work of Michaela Coel and Phoebe Waller-Bridge and their incredible debut plays (Chewing Gum Dreams and Fleabag) developing into equally incredible television. Without a doubt I want to preserve the dynamic between Isla and Violet. The charisma, the charm, the way they riff off each other, their love and their complexity. But I am so keen to change and adapt the circumstances, situations and other characters that exist in their cinematic universe. Inspired by Donald Glover’s Atlanta and Julio Torres’ Fantasmas, and I’m keen to lean into the absurd with the SISTREN TV edition!
"Without a doubt I want to preserve the dynamic between Isla and Violet. The charisma, the charm, the way they riff off each other, their love and their complexity."
Let’s talk about the afterparty – pole performances, lip syncs, a femme fantasy come to life. How does this celebration reflect the heart of the play?
With the afterparty, I just asked myself: what would Isla and Violet’s ideal night look like? Unsurprisingly, it looks a lot like Janet and I’s perfect night out… life imitates art I suppose! It’s really about spotlighting black and trans joy, honouring the beauty of our bodies and expression, our reverence and our deep-rooted hunger for a good time! I want black girls, trans girls and Mob to be prioritised entry, but this space (of course) is welcome to anyone who felt loved and held in the SISTREN show and who aligns ideologically with the themes of the work.
Community seems to pulse through everything you do – from your collaboration with Trav Leslie to your work with Griffin’s Lookout program. What does creative community mean to you right now?
I'm increasingly noticing that people hold very different definitions of the phrase ‘creative community’, so this is a great opportunity to clarify my usage of it. It sounds kind of verbose but I actually think it’s really useful to distill what I often use as a flippant phrase into tangible meaning.
My current definition: A collective of individuals that extend further than geographic locality, and rather, interact based on the mutual experience of pursuing creativity. All parties have a vested interest in collective gain and participate in actions of kindness, charity, support, accountability, protection and growth. All forms of discrimination and biases are excluded from said ‘community’, and there is a shared understanding of intersectionality politics and how it relates to the multitude of experiences within the one collective.
Something that I can honestly say is that SISTREN was created, uplifted, bettered, glamourised, promoted and loved by my creative community that entirely fulfills the above description. It sounds big-headed but I mean it so truthfully; the people around me are talented beyond compare and I feel really humbled that so many creative minds came onboard this project. Shout out Trav Leslie, Ian Michael, Dylan Van Den Berg, Karen Leong, Laura Mazikana, Rob Tennent, Lynn Mathuthu, Eden Kinlock, Joy-Della El Tom, Michael Sun, Ellie, Coco Smith, Charlotte Edwidge, Daniel Herten, the Green Door girlies… the list goes on and on and on. How fabulous!
If SISTREN had a manifesto, what would its first line be?
It would simply say: “Diva’s rise.” 'Nuff said.
SISTREN officially opens on 28 June at Old Fitz Theatre, and runs until 12 July, followed by an afterparty the same night from 10pm–3am. Tickets for the afterparty available to purchase now. Tickets to the play are now sold out, but keep an eye out on the ticketing page for limited additional releases.
PHOTOGRAPHY Aunty Shiv
TALENT Iolanthe
FASHION Charlotte Edwige
HAIR Laura Mazikana
