It was opening night of Stories from the 428 when James Waites pressed a signed copy of his hot-off-the-press platform paper into my hand. I had seen chapters develop over the previous 5 months- heard of the interviews as they were taking place- and watching/listening as the story was unfolding. He pressed it into my hand, like a nervous teenage boy gives a love letter to the one he loves- nonchalantly, yet with the type of urgent tenderness that says “I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams…” and he said, don’t read it in bits. Sit down over easter with some chocolate and read it in one go…
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A post-event note on Stockholm- which I did manage to see- I scraped-in and sat in some dodgy seats in the last week of the production- I was largely curious to see what the fuss was about- why it had disappointed so many- why some complained of it being over-produced… why some complained of a glib script… why some complained that the actors were satisfactory as actors but not as dancers- and if any of this matters in the larger scheme of the story.

This is not a review- if you want a review- check out the SMH- or the STC website… this is my response, a personal response to Stockholm, not a review. Read more

I love new work.

I love spotting talent.

Like a botanist naming the trees he walks by. Like a child pointing at a train and saying “train”. I spot talent and point at it and say “talent.” Then by naming it… by pointing it out, I am compelled to share it. I love sharing talent. It’s thrilling.

I love finding talent. I unashamedly and publicly call it “treasure hunting”… (I have also been called the new work “truffle pig”- nosing out the good stuff from the earth… I love it.) I love when a new script lands in my inbox- with a note from a writer (usually littered with disclaimers and a few “don’t worry if you are too busy” lines…) it is a thrill- I just don’t know what I am going to find- the next Vanessa Bates? The Next Joanna Murray-Smith? The next Andrew Bovell? The next Caleb Lewis? It’s exciting and an honour to receive a script. I love being warmed by a story in play form, and the heat of my laptop and a cup of tea (I have been indulging in alot of Rooibos of late- too much some could say)… the three warm makers in which I delight. Read more

First Published on www.australianstage.com

Dave Bloustien is an award-winning comedy writer, “grand-champion improvisor, lover, fighter, candlestick-maker, amateur sleuth, and professional derring-doer” according to his website- it also turns out he studied Philosophy- and it’s a good thing too- his show for the Sydney Comedy Festival “A Complete History of Western Philosophy” is based on it. Read more

The promotional poster for Henry Rollins’ Frequent Flyer tour says “Knowledge without mileage equals bullsh*t” and has Rollins depicted as a screaming torpedo- speeding across the city skyline. It’s a great poster- and reflects the show beautifully.

Before now, I had not ever encountered his work- not in any conscious way- I just spend a huge amount of my waking hours seeking out new experiences- recently I have embraced visual art as my new obsession- and have been consuming history and theory of art in vast binging quantities, insatiably slurping it up with an unquenchable desire to know, see, understand, experience more… Mostly I spend my time reading new plays- I read everything I am emailed by playwrights… and other things too- scientific papers, the back of cereal boxes, letters to the editor, shopping lists left on trains- anything… and before now, I had heard of, but not seen Rollins- I had heard of but not seen his band/s- ignorant. Utterly ignorant of what I was missing. Read more

Every now and then I like to mix up the type of shows I attend.

Sometimes I surprise myself with my choices of what to see, what to review… one occasion was seeing The Shaolin Monks perform a martial arts show at Luna Park- another was seeing The Waifs at the Metro- another was Tripod’s Christmas Special in the Speigletent. Every now and then I like to break out of traditional theatre, new writing and Australian writing and peek into another world. Read more

In the dizzying haze of Stories from the 428- I didn’t get out much to other theatres- I spent alot of my time with a laptop on my lap top or gesticultating wildly at actors (and occasionally chasing them around rehearsal rooms)… and so was mildly shut off from my regular review circuit. During that time, however, one play was mentioned to me in passing by people who had access to “the outside world” as I remembered it- and that play was none other than Tom Holloway’s Love Me Tender. Read more

Blood Wedding by Lorca is one of the classics- written during the Spanish Civil War- inspired by a newspaper article written about a bride who ran off with her former lover on the night of her wedding- explores the perils of repressed passion. It is a steamy, sexy and violent play which exposes the dark undercurrent of desire in the face of duty/obligation. Read more

I know nearly nothing about Bob Dylan… nothing special anyway.. nothing that doesn’t float around in the universal collective consciousness… I’m no scholar and I’m no enthusiast. But that’s a-ok because “The Chronic Ills of Robert Zimmerman AKA Bob Dylan (A Lie)- a theatrical talking blues and glissendorf” is according to the programme, no tribute show. Read more

It’s been a week since week 2 of Stories from the 428 closed- and I thought it would be nice/handy or interesting to write a little reflection on Week 2- and perhaps on the whole reflection of the project. I am in the process of de-briefing with all the directors about the project (and the process) – and this is always an important part of everything I do- it helps steer my projects, my design, my plan and focuses my passion for new work. Read more