Underbelly Arts has nothing to do with the TV show. It won’t confront you with guns or nudity – frankly, it’s too cold. It’s an arts festival. An arts festival which dares to ask two key questions: more…
Tag Archive for 'Caleb Lewis'
In my office – the front room of my Petersham art deco apartment – stands to attention the fading gilt spines of my collection of Little Golden Books. more…
Since the dissolving of Belvoir’s B-Sharp Season, there has been a flurry of activity in Independent venues in Sydney as theatre’s try to catch quality artists before they disappear. more…
Playwrights are my rockstars.
Some of them even wear leather jackets (Caleb Lewis), some of them are dashing silver foxes who used to wear leather jackets (Ned Manning), some of them are bright eyed stylish ladies (Tahli Corin) and some are just so unbelievably cool they make you want to move to London and start a new life (Suzie Miller)… I love them. Not just those mentioned above – but the whole colossal lot of them – fiercly, funny, articulate – and as is the lot for many playwrights – extraordinarily hard working and patient. more…
For those trying to guess or track some sort of rhyme or reason to the theatre going habits of Augusta Supple – it could appear as compelling a question as where does the other go when it’s missing, or even how did even the most unpopular types of apples get so expensive? more…
It’s not a secret. There is an abundance of short form theatre proliferating on Sydney stages. And it’s not just in the independent and amateur sector – with two of Sydney’s main stage companies turning to short form theatre to fill their season – Sydney Theatre Company’s Money Shots (6, 15 minute plays about money) and Belvoir’s The Kiss four short plays bundled together from Australia and beyond to examine The Kiss. more…
Yesterday, amid the heat of Sydney’s summer, the Sydney wharfs were buzzing with people. Lachlan Philpott (fabulous and celebrated writer and leader of ATYP’s Fresh Ink program) addressed a throng of young actors on the eve of their opening night of Tell it Like it Isn’t… ATYP classes were being picked up by supportive parents. Sydney Dance Cafe was hosting the usual lithe bodies and one on one conversations. The water. The heat. I was setting up Playwriting Australia’s banner with the lovely General Manager Elizabeth in preparation of the launch of the 2011 Play Festival season. My phone was buzzing with texts from friends and colleagues wanting to tee-up coffee dates and industry chats… more…
I’ve been very occasional with my posts haven’t I? Tardy to say the least… you see I have wrapped up in Brand Spanking New – my major project which is at the end of every year and now we are two performances away from finishing Brand Spanking New 2010. Week 2 of the 2 week season is in full swing and has been enjoying healthy houses at the new theatre – full of punters and writers curious to see what’s on, who’s in, what’s hot!
It’s always interesting for me to hear the response from plays I programme – last week a rather rambuncious satire by Phil Spencer conjured audible gasps from audience members who found it offensive (indeed that is the point of that play – to expose our sensitivity to language and our desire for self-sensorship). This week we have another opportunity for people to be outraged by ideas with a bit of social commentary by the one and only Alana Valentine starting the show. more…
Since April, I have been reading, researching, approaching playwrights… It’s what I spend most of my time thinking about… I talk to them, I read plays, I see plays, I hang out at playwriting courses… I see readings, I hold readings… all in the name of BRAND SPANKING NEW. more…
2011: A Year in Review/s
Well thank goodness that’s over! I don’t know about you, but 2011 was a weird one. more…