Grace Tame is coming to Canberra – and it’s on her terms

Posted on 12 August, 2024

Three years after she was thrust into the limelight as Australian of The Year, there are very few people who don’t know the name Grace Tame.

Amongst those people, there are even fewer who don’t have an opinion on the activist and advocate. But regadless of your opinion, there’s no denying that the change she’s made when it comes to conversations surrounding sexual abuse in Australia is staggering.

A firm believer in owning every part of her story in her own words and terms, following the release of her memoir The Ninth Life of a Diamond Miner in 2022, Grace is stepping back into the public eye and onto the stage for a live show. And like Grace herself, it’ll be anything but tame.

Touring around Australia and stopping in Canberra for one night only on Sunday 29 September, Lightening The Load With Grace Tame promises to be an unforgettable evening as Grace looks back on her experience of surviving the public eye and ahead to the future.

For anyone wondering, the author, artist, critical thinker, and ultramarathon runner phrases it best herself: “Lightening the load is a diplomatic term for ‘taking the piss’.”

“It’s going to be an honest reflection of what that experience is like to be thrust out of obscurity into a role that you have very little preparation for,” she says.

“[I’ll be] reflecting on things like that, reflecting on my specific experience of doing the work that I do in child protection and navigating the media’s treatment of advocates like myself – as a woman, as an autistic woman, and as somebody who is trying to shed light on something like child sexual abuse…and then I’ll looking to the future, what we’re going to do from here.”

Discussing everything from the paradox she feels as an introvert who countless people have formed a parasocial relationship with, to offering a sneak peek into her ongoing work – both professionally and personally – Grace won’t be holding back.

Bringing her authentic self to the Canberra Theatre Centre stage, she feels she must be completely candid about her experience of entering the public sphere at the age of 26.

“I think it’s really important to be honest with people about what that experience is like and not to make light of the subject matter, but to come at the experience with lightness and humour,” she says.

“It’s not that we’re laughing at it or about it – we’re laughing with each other where we can and we’re having that communal experience of sharing, loving, and being together.”

Also discussing the triumphs and challenges of establishing the Grace Tame Foundation, and the ongoing fight against child sexual abuse in Australia, along with some tongue-in-cheek comments (because if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry) to Grace ‘lightening the load’ means sharing and connecting with people.

That’s why, to her, a stage show was the obvious choice for divulging this part of her story.

“For me, the meaning of life is not that complicated…it’s to share these experiential souvenirs that we gather throughout our lives, like absorbing the places that we visit, the art that we witness or create,” she says.

“A life lived in isolation isn’t a life lived at all.”

While it will be an evening of laughter, Grace also hopes that audiences will take away a feeling of reassurance, and connection from her show, along with the knowledge that they’re not alone in whatever circumstances they’re experiencing.

As for what’s next? Never one to slow down, there’s plenty planned for the future.

Eventually stepping back as CEO of the Grace Tame Foundation and moving into a new role  – something Grace says she has chosen to do because she wants to bring in someone with governance experience and not because it’s a “fraudulent organisation that doesn’t have our sh*t together” as she feels has been insinuated in some corners of the media) – there will be a new strategy, new projects, new campaigns, a new education framework and more.

Currently co-writing a book with Campbell Wilson, a Monash University Associate Professor in Information Technology, Grace is also turning her sights to online child exploitation and how to combat it.

But to know the nitty gritty details on how Grace is building a brighter future, you’ll have to go to the show.

“You have to find other people who are just as prepared and passionate as you are to fight this fight,” says Grace.

“Look at the world we live in…look at the potential for human evil we can see everywhere, in every corner of the globe. You’ve also got to remember that there is an equivalent level of potential for human love and brilliance. I do believe that can triumph over the former.”

Uplifting and scornful, Lightening The Load will be as muti-layered as the woman herself.

And as one of Australia’s most powerful voices speaks up again, it’s a show not to be missed.

Photography: Kishka Jensen. Supplied.