This article contains reference to sexual violence and trauma and may be distressing to some readers.
This April, catch the world premiere of Aliyah Knight’s SNAKEFACE at Sydney’s Fruit Box Theatre. Through the lens of Greek mythology, Knight interrogates the beauty and brutality of moving through white Australia in a black, queer body.
“SNAKEFACE is a modern retelling of the myth of Medusa from a black, queer perspective,” playwright Aliyah Knight tells Not Safe For Queers. “So, we watch SNAKEFACE between the ages of 13 and 23 navigating what it’s like to exist in a body that’s been marginalised and pushed aside.”
In a short, sharp 90-minute show, SNAKEFACE explores the themes of creation and destruction, sex and romance, and anger and rage. Most interestingly is Knight’s choice to do so by making direct parallels to the story of Medusa.
“A lot of the work I do talks about the feeling of isolation as someone who has moved to a different country and is marginalised in multiple ways,” Knight begins. “So, in that sense, I saw a story of someone who was really pushed into isolation and forcibly ostracised by the people around her who has a lot more power than her.”
“You know, Athena herself is assaulted and taken advantage of by the male gods around her—but also as a goddess, she has the power to silence the mortal woman (as she does to Medusa). I found that really intriguing.
Like all good performance pieces, SNAKEFACE is intentionally and inherently political, drawing inspiration somewhat from Knight’s own experiences with physical, racial, and sexual assault.
“Obviously there are a lot of works talking about sexual assault,” they clarify. “But a lot of those stories generally focus on the perspective of cisgender, heterosexual white women. And I wanted to have a conversation about violence and assault and rage while also taking into consideration the different levels of power and privilege.”
“So, SNAKEFACE looks at how certain women have more power and how they participate in rape culture, but also at the silencing of women around them who have less power—because that’s something that’s really prevalent in the original mythology.”
However, the creation of such a raw and emotional piece of performance art comes with challenges. For Knight, that challenge presented itself in the form of allowing their character to have flaws.
“One of the things I struggled with was allowing this black, queer person the right to be angry, to be messy, and to screw up and be able to grow in a really imperfect way,” they explain.
“You know, one of the main ideas that we explore is who gets to be rageful and who gets to be angry and the consequences of existing in a certain type of body. And as I was writing it, I found myself trying to make SNAKEFACE more likeable, and questioning whether people would still align with her if she did a certain thing.”
“I had to be like, no, this is the point. This character can be all over the place and do the wrong thing at times—and I want people to think about that.”
If you’ve been the victim of sexual harassment, or if you would like to speak with someone about an experience you have had, please call 1800Respect on 1800 737 732 or the Rainbow Sexual, Domestic and Family Violence Helpline on 1800 497 212.
Aliyah Knight’s SNAKEFACE runs from 8 – 27 April at Fruit Box Theatre. Tickets on sale now.