When Broadsheet gives Zindzi Okenyo a call, she’s holding her four-month-old baby in a brief break from rehearsals, down at Sydney Theatre Company in Walsh Bay. She’s directing Sydney Theatre Company’s drama Sweat, an explosive play about steel factory workers in the US, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage.
“The driving force of the play is compassion and curiosity,” says Okenyo. “It’s really rare, I think, to see a piece of writing with people from all walks of life – class, race, family histories – and you get a real insight into each character, you get an insight into why they’re in pain.”
Okenyo took on the role as director after reading the “extraordinary” script. “It’s set in 2008, in Reading, Pennsylvania – a swing state for politicians – and it’s also very specifically American, but in rehearsals, in the lead up to opening, it couldn’t be more relevant and devastating.”
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SIGN UPPaula Arundell and Lisa McCune star in the Australian premiere production, which opened in November and runs until December 22. Here, Okenyo shares how she likes to spend her downtime in Sydney.
Zindzi! Tell us a bit about yourself.
I grew up living all around Australia; I lived in Tassie through high school, then I came to Sydney when I was 18. I came to study acting at Nida and I’ve been based here ever since. Sydney is my home.
What do you love about Sydney?
My favourite thing about Sydney is daylight savings and balmy afternoons. We’re so privileged in this country, but also in this city, to have so much space and that does a lot for your mental health. I’m working down the wharf and there’s so much water around, so much space, and that aspect of Sydney is pretty hard to give up.
Do you have a favourite restaurant?
Ester in Chippendale. The blood sausage sanga is pretty amazing.
When you want to impress someone, where do you take them?
To Fred’s in Paddington. That’s where my wife and I go when we want to treat ourselves. It’s where we went after doing IVF, when we were waiting to find out if we were pregnant. That place is so impressive; it’s homely and exquisite and the team is so skillful.
Where do you go for coffee?
My go-to is Barrel One in Potts Point.
Where do you like to shop?
I don’t shop often – I’m trying to be a little more sustainable. If I’m splurging I’ll go to Incu, otherwise I’m thrifting. There are amazing volunteer-led op shops in Abbotsford and Haberfield.
Where do you go to escape the city?
To Tassie. I’ll go to my brother’s bookstore, Black Swan Bookshop in New Norfolk, where my family is based. Also, my partner and I like to head anywhere with a tiny home. We’re about to go on a trip with Unyoked. I love city life but I love the chance to slow down too.
Who makes Sydney a better place?
I live in Potts Point but on the edge of Kings Cross, and it’s been really amazing getting to know the community. The Cross has a really rich history, and then with our lockout laws, it’s been about shoving out people who built the Cross and its club culture. There are a lot of characters, but everyone is so lovely. If you drop by the Wayside Chapel, there are people with incredible stories. I feel very lucky to be living there. It’s rich with lots of characters and it’s very unique to Sydney.
Is there an essential Sydney play?
Big Girls Don’t Cry at Belvoir. It’s a new work directed by Ian Michael, and it’s set in Redfern on the precipice of the referendum [of 1967, which granted Indigenous Australians constitutional rights]. It’s all about Black people loving each other and falling in love, and community striving and leaning on each other through that big time of change.
Sweat is on now at Sydney Theatre Company until December 22.
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