OK… you may have noticed that i haven’t been my usual diligent self, updating all there is to update… being the loudest ranter on the web… perhaps you’ve thought I’ve been laying low. And indeed I have been. And here’s why… Read more
Things that land in my inbox – here’s some great things happening at PlayWriting Australia… Read more
From the moment my 12 year-old palm was pressed onto the tiles of the Sydney Opera House, I was in love. Not just with the architecture – not just with the harbour and the natural beauty surrounding it in the botanical gardens -but the history, the people, the culture. (Yes, I used the ‘c’ word.) It’s a beautiful place – and an interesting place – a new city – with some established traditions, and a sense of urgency Read more
In the half nest of Belvoir’s Downstairs Theatre, there is nothing to give us any sign of what is about to happen. For those that skim programmes in foyers – or flick over postcards – or read reviews or previews, perhaps you already know. I didn’t. I like to sail blind -I always read reviews after the event -because really, they’re not to be trusted – only because words in print (or online) can only barely replicate the moment – mainly perhaps because theatre is not such a linear experience and our language, it seems, is trapped on lines. Trapped in sentences. But the language of theatre, or memory, or feeling – swirls like thick red wine in a glass, leaving the ghost shadow of a sensation. I sail in. Blind. Read more
I don’t see Shakespeare if I can help it. I know, I can hear you tsk tsking. There are many and varied reasons for this – Read more
Try as we might, there is no escaping history. We carry it in our bones, our skin – the wrinkles, freckles, scars carry the impact of a life lived – a life of suffering, struggle that no one can avoid. This tender organ – the largest in our body – constantly shedding, in minute scales – contains our unique genetic information which we leave as a trail where ever we go – like Hansel and Gretel’s bread crumbs. Read 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. Read more
It was a week of watching one man shows… Daniel Kitson, Tim Minchin and Charles Ross. A commonwealth of one man shows, it appears. There is something compelling about the one man format – which is most likely the intricate intimacy of hearing from one person for an hour or so. But despite this intimacy, there is something epic in the feat – for Minchin backed by the Sydney Symphony it is the scale of his wide reaching philosophical perspective, for Kitson profusion of letters which spanned 20 years and for Ross the gravitas, characters and grand narrative of The Lord of the Rings. Read more
Sometimes you need an irreverent night out. Where things are said, that are thought, but not generally acknowledged. Where it all is examined and no holds barred. By this, you could assume that really we live in a fairly oppressive or controlled state. Perhaps we do. But perhaps it’s more surreptitious than we think. Interestingly, freedom of speech has been socially tempered with the rise of being politically correct or even the preference for using euphemistic language in everyday communication. My favourite example of how much we are tempered by language is George Carlin’s piece on euphemistic language – Read more
