It’s Ralph Myers. Put up your hand if you are surprised? No? No? I think Nick Pickard dropped a big hint… Read more

This year I have tried to see a couple of shows that I woudln’t usually see- mainly because, they are at theatres which I don’t usually think to visit- why? Well I’m not sure. I can usually be found whereever the indpendent artists are launching a new show- New Australian writing is my preference- and so I see alot of fringe style shows- alot of emerging work (I have even been known to attend university shows to check out the talent) and shows that are for the hipsters who love to stand languidly in the corner of a foyer with asymmetrical haircuts lightly brushing their eyelashes whilst coyly sipping at a glass of red… and I see things I am curious about…
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Ambition (am’ bish’ un) n, a desire for power, superiority or excellence; strong desire of advantageous or creditable.

You may be aware that there is a red megaphone forging its way through the sea of Independent Theatre right now. The bright red megaphone is attached to the cherry red lips, framed by the flame red hair of Kate Revz. Kate Revz and a collective of emerging theatre makers are the powerhouse which is Cry Havoc. According to their website, programme and publicity materials: Cry Havoc is born out of a desire to share daring re-workings of the “great classic texts” with contemporary audiences. Read more

Less than three weeks remain for Queen Street Studio’s playwrights residency- OFF THE SHELF. And there are four teams working hard in every spare minute of their lives to get a script ready for the showcase.

The teams are given 15 hours of rehearsal time and a couple of months in which they are encouraged to develop a script that they have “shelved” with a director of their choice. Over 30 submissions were received and four will be shown in late November to an audience of industry who provide feedback on the scripts.

The projects for the last Off The Shelf for 2009 are:

“Of the Causes of Wonderful Things” written by Talya Rubin, directed by Nick James

“Wretched Excess” written by Stephen Graham, directed by David Adlam

“Zetland” written by Jasper Marlow, directed by Mark Pritchard

“Combat Fatigue” written by Alison Rooke, directed by Ian Zammit

For more information about the program please visit:
http://www.queenstreetstudio.com/offtheshelf.html

Over the past few months I have been working with Sydney-based band “Greenlight” as a sort of director- an outside eye/ear. I was first approached by the drummer of the band Chris Simon, who I have known for years- (we met playing in a band back in 2000 I was singing and playing tenor sax and we have remained friends, jamming occasionally etc). And I thought I would write a little note about their music.

A blend of sounds part Radiohead and Sarah Blasko- the songwriting is strong- and has something to say. And their song Fish in the vein of rock revenge. Read more

This is a hugely anticipated directorial debut by Griffin Theatre Company’s Artistic Director Nick Marchand. Since Marchand has taken up the position – in 2007- he has not directed more than a short for the company- I regard this as a very clever and generous move. It allows directors in Sydney to have more opportunities and promotes the theatre as a space of generosity. Marchand is primarilly known as a producer, writer and dramaturg and his programming strengths certianly shine because of this background, so I was very keen to see his work first hand. Read more