Broome woman steps off mine site in debut play, FIFO: Fit In or F**k Off!

Nyul Nyul woman Melody Dia was sitting in the audience of the stage performance of Bran Nue Dae when she first fell in love with storytelling. Now, decades on, her own work FIFO: Fit In Or F**k Off has become the second-ever play to be published by Magabala Books. The first was Bran Nue Dae. FIFO: Fit In Or F**k Off chronicles the hard, erratic life of the fly-in, fly-out worker, showcasing unflinching truths from the female and Aboriginal perspective. The play follows two sisters, Mary and Janey, as they navigate the reality of FIFO mining employment. Mary and her partner Jono at first seem a picture-perfect family, an image which has been fed by Jono’s new promotion at the mines and Mary’s glamorous materialism. Then there is the juxtaposed life of Janey and Brad who have a tumultuous relationship often chronicled on Janey’s YouTube channel, ‘Janey in Da House’. But it soon becomes clear that Mary and Jono aren’t so perfect, and Janey and Brad are more like them than it seems. The author walks with a humorous gait through often heartbreaking subject matter, mostly inspired by her own experience. Much of Ms Dia’s family worked on the mines, including her uncle, mother and sister. This gave her a first-hand experience of the impact FIFO work has on those left at home. And Ms Dia is no stranger to a mine site herself, having spent time doing FIFO work in Fitzroy Crossing, working in kitchens. “It was two weeks on, one week off,” she said. “I had a young son at the time, so when I was away, he would stay with my sister.” Having seen the industry from both perspectives, Ms Dia’s characters are strong and well established, each different versions of herself. “They’re all facets of my own imagination and story,” she said. “I can relate to Jono a lot, being the breadwinner — as a single mom, providing and having to sacrifice that time away from the family to get where you need to be, but also coming home and feeling disconnected. “I can also relate to Janie. She’s made this world to escape her own life, stuck in her house and stuck in the effects of having money but not using it wisely.” Ms Dia began writing FIFO while part of the Goolarri Writers program in 2014. “I was taught me to write what you know. And I know women, I know crazy women,” she said. The play was selected for the 2019 Yellamundie First Nations Play Festival as part of the Sydney International Arts Festival, directed by Rachel Maza. And in October 2020, it was premiered on the stage by Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company and Goolarri Media. It is Ms Dia’s hope that the play will be used in schools and enjoyed not only around the Kimberley, but Australia. FIFO: Fit In Or F**k Off can now be purchased online at Magabala Books.