Words by Your Local Hok.

The fabulous Steven Oliver and snazzy pianist Michael Griffiths bring you Bigger and Blacker, a Faboriginal Fabaret filled with thought-provoking original songs, insightful raps, and groovy hip shaking and dancing.

Bigger and Blacker follows the story of Oliver’s upbringing, the cultural and intersectional difficulties which he has faced as a gay Aboriginal man, and the derogatory mainstream media representations of Aboriginal people.

Each of Oliver’s songs emphasises the disproportionate representation of Aboriginal people in our community, including having the highest incarceration rates and lowest mortality rates when compared to the general population.

Oliver also delves in to the difficulties and tokenism he has faced in his career, of which he is well known for being on ABC’s Black Comedy and SBS’s Faboriginal.

Oliver’s infectious stage presence is simply spectacular. He is a natural performer and his pizazz in his many talents are so damn flawless, playing the maracas, guitar, and of course with himself at any moments he gets on stage.

Griffiths is a brilliant pianist and feeds off of Oliver’s sassiness throughout the show, especially when they perform the song Faboriginal and face off with Oliver’s famous scene ‘what’s this then sl*t’.

In amongst all the fabulousness of the show, Oliver delivers various cultural awareness lessons, such as the significance of singing and songwriting in Aboriginal storytelling, how to place a curse and make someone fall in love you at the same time via song, and the meanings of the terms muya and gammon.

Being a minority within a minority, Oliver dissects this aspect of his identity critically. He explains to us that within the gay male community, there are gay men hating against other gay men due to his race, of which the community is dominated by white men. He also shares his personal story of coming out to his mother and fearing that he would be rejected by family.

Throughout the show, you will find that one minute you are laughing your head off at Oliver’s shenanigans, and the next minute your eyes will be opened by the messages of significance weaved in to each of his songs.

Bigger and Blacker is both a cabaret and educational show which will leave you feeling wholeheartedly entertained and drive you to stand beside Aboriginal people and continuously work towards reconciliation.

Rating: ★★★★★