The first play in the 2009 B-Sharp season has arrived and it’s as gut wrenching and difficult to watch as many plays have been in this space in recent times. Written by Russian Playwright Vassily Sigarev, Translation by Sasha Dugdale and “Localised” by Ian Meadows and the company, Ladybird is a brave step into a desperate and hungry world.
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If you click on the link on the “What’s On Downstairs” page of Belvoir St Theatre’s website: you’ll be linked through to a grainy, black and white “teaser” of the upcoming show by Vassily Sigarev, “Ladybird.” Read more

Herding Kites: A Celebration of Australian Writing (Paperback)
Marking 10 years of the National Young Writers’ Festival (NYWF), Herding Kites is a new anthology celebrating the breadth, originality and dynamism of Australian writing. Read more

Guidelines for Off the Shelf
About:
Queen St Studio presents Off the Shelf, an opportunity for writers and directors to hothouse a project which is in the early stages of development.

Off the Shelf aims to focus the skills of theatre practitioners on a project of their choice, whilst strengthening relationships between emerging writers and directors. This is a unique opportunity to explore a project which may have been “shelved”, or may even be in seed stage and needs a little bit of time and space to get to the next stage.

We are looking for teams (writer and directors) who:
• Have an unproduced script which is 15 minutes or less
OR
Have a synopsis/treatment for a script, from which they can produce a first draft by March 13th 2009.
• Are interested in working together in a nurturing and collaborative environment to produce a script which will be performed in a studio showing at Queen St Studios
• Can write to specifications whilst being mindful of the production challenges outlined below
• Would like to test an idea or concept in front of an audience scheduled for 22nd May 2009

We will provide
• 15 hours of rehearsal space (starting the 11th April 2009 primarily on weekends)
• Dramaturgy (upon request)
• Opportunity to show your work in front of industry professionals and an invited audience for feedback
• Simple light and sound equipment
• A photographer for promotional photos and archival materials
• Networking opportunities
• Publicity and promotional support including a meet and greet.

You will:
• Provide a first draft of your script (or if supplying a synopsis on application, a first draft by March 20th 2009)
• Be available to attend meetings and scheduled rehearsals
• Be willing to re-draft and refine your script over a four-week period if required
• Stage a showing of the work: whether it be a reading, a moved reading, or a performance, within the technical and practical limitations of the project.

How to apply:
If you would like to lodge an expression of interest to participate in this project please fill in the attached form 5pm 20th March 2009.. Please note each project must have a writer and a director.

If you would like further clarification or information about this project, please contact Augusta Supple. All successful applicants will be notified by email on 31st March 2009

For more information about Queen St Studio please refer to the website: www.queenstreetstudio.com

Night Journeys is a new Greek Australian play by Bill Kokkaris about place, past, memory and the attempts to reconcile all three. Set in a bungalow in Marrickville the play unfolds as it struggles to answer the question “what is the value of a house?” is it the market value? The stainless steel appliances? The location? Or the history it holds?
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Miss Reardon Drinks a Little… whilst set in domestic dysfunction, is a play which according to director Nicholas Papademetriou, addresses the broader issues of “how the world is getting faster, madder and harder.” And if you are looking for a play exploring ideas pertaining to: advancing technology, changing social modes, spirituality, sibling rivalry, co-dependency, paternal abandonment, the education system, vegetarianism (and all its attendant politics), insanity, sexual indiscretions with a student, anal retention and workplace nepotism…. Well…here it is… Miss Reardon has it all… look no further…
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Wharf2Loud is hosting a double dose of plays from the bizarre and beguiling mind of Melbourne based playwright Lally Katz. Known for her absurdist and refreshingly self-referential explorations into unique and disturbing parallel universes, Waikiki Hip does not disappoint.
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Just before I begin this review, I’d like to take this opportunity to offer a moment of space, a bit of time in which we are able to reflect what has brought me to this moment in which I am pecking out a review on the Fondue Set’s latest morsel, “No Success Like Failure”.

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