DEBORRA-LEE IN THE ’HOOD
Actress, activist and director, Deborra-lee Furness brought her creative skills and advocacy for foster kids and adoption to the set of Neighbours. Interview by Matt Myers.
Actress, activist and director, Deborra-lee Furness brought her creative skills and advocacy to the set of Neighbours.
DNA: How did you find the experience of directing on a show as iconic as Neighbours? Deborra-lee Furness: I found it exhilarating. I find any new creative experience exhilarating and directing soap opera is like being thrown in the deep end and having to swim very fast to stay afloat.
TV shows like this move at breakneck speed and I would recommend the experience to anyone wanting to be a director. You need to think very fast on your feet and make sure you have done all your preparation, so that you are ready for any curve balls that come your way, and they will… from a downpour of rain for an exterior location to a pandemic that threatens to stop production.
I also loved that I got to do double duty. While stretching my creative chops I had the opportunity to bring awareness around foster children and the challenges they face. The more awareness we bring to this issue, the faster we can move to improve policy and methodology to ensure children belong in loving, permanent families. What did you think of the overall storyline in the Neighbours episodes? I thought the storyline showed the truth of this journey of foster care; it was not just sugar coated. I might add that our team at Adopt Change was instrumental in advising and nuancing the characters and story. Through Matt and Takaya’s characters we got to see the challenges they faced in the process of opening their hearts and home to a young boy. Ezra did a wonderful job, bringing great vulnerability to his character. We get to see how extremely difficult it is to feel alone and abandoned showing up in a strangers’ home.
What kind of message do you hope viewers received from the fostering story?
I hope they were able to have an insight into how difficult this issue is and that their understanding of this community is expanded and afforded a deeper insight. When you are confronted with the nuances of each individual story, it’s hard not to be empathetic.
What message would you give to LGBTIQ people in regard fostering or adopting? Every child needs a nurturing, supporting, loving family environment so I would encourage the LGBTIQ+ community to embrace the opportunity to foster or adopt a child if this was something they wanted to do. Adopt Change would be happy to offer support and guidance with the process.
I would encourage the LGBTIQ+ community to embrace the opportunity to foster or adopt a child…