Savez-vous que*….

Brisbane has its own French theatre troupe?

Here, Lingua Franca speaks to musician, actor, writer and director Thomas Smith, who wrote BFT’s latest play, Les Uns Contre Les Autres*.

Be sure to right to la fin*. We have two tickets to give away!

LF: Thomas, tell us a little about your background. Where are you from and how did you come to be living in Australia?

TS: I am a "Ch'ti" from Northern France who first visited Australia on a Working Holiday Visa back in 2008. After a year travelling around the country in a van, I spent a few months working in Brisbane... I fell in love with the city and decided to settle here!

LF: Have you always wanted to be a playwright? What propelled you to take this on?

TS: I was introduced to theatre by chance: a friend proposed we audition for Brisbane's first ever French play produced by Growl Theatre in 2015, and it soon became an addiction. Along with five friends, we founded the BFT in 2017. Writing original plays was mainly born out of necessity, after we found out how difficult and time-consuming finding an existing play was - when you have limited casting options and don't necessarily want to produce works from the traditional French repertoire.

LF: How long does it take you to write a play and do you collaborate with other writers? And where do you get your inspiration from?

TS: It's usually an uneven process that's spread over several weeks, with sudden bursts of productivity followed by days of drought. My partner (and BFT's resident director) Isabelle is of precious help as we exchange ideas, she reviews my drafts and provides feedback. Inspiration is a mixed pot of past experiences and random observations: crossing Paris one summer in the Metro led to "Alas April", while the romantic vision people often have of France was "Repeat After Me"'s starting point.

LF: What is this year’s play about and when and where can we see it?

"Les uns contre les autres" is a tragi-comedy dealing with the challenges of long-term relationships and how they can be affected by lengthy lockdowns due to Covid. It will show at the Queensland Multicultural Centre in Kangaroo Point, Brisbane on 14, 15 & 16 October.

Head here for online bookings.

*Did you know that | * Against One Another | *the end

Brisbane French Theatre