Hello again. Long time no see.

I'm back. I think. I may even try to establish a new website as this looks terribly old.

In the meantime, here's a little foray I took into the world of ABC's The Drum.


More to cultural capitals than a new musical theatre

If you had a sense of deja vu reading the comments last weekend by musical theatre producers John Frost and Rodney Rigby calling on the New South Wales Government to build a Broadway-style venue in Sydney, you're not alone.

More HERE.

The Sydney Arts Journo Awards!

I promise this is just a short foray back into the blogosphere... I mean, I had to come back with my alternative list of awards again, didn't I?

And it's a perfect time to start a debate about what the Sydney Theatre Awards means to the industry. Back in 2005 when Diana Simmonds and Ian Phipps resurrected the awards, the industry was on the verge of some big changes.

The independent sector was growing at a rapid rate, the professional world was becoming more mature and the industry as a whole was expanding.

In short, the timing of Simmonds and Phipps was perfect.

But as the role of the mainstream media has changed and the world of the online reviewer comes to the fore, isn't it time the Sydney Theatre Awards were, themselves, reviewed?

"On 20 December 2005 nominations were publicly announced for the inaugural Sydney Theatre Awards," the website states.

"These awards came about after months of informal discussion among a group of senior Sydney critics, naming themselves The Sydney Reviewers and meeting by invitation only."

"The original reviewers were, in A-Z order: Stephen Dunne (Sydney Morning Herald), Bryce Hallett (Sydney Morning Herald), John McCallum (The Australian), Colin Rose (Sun-Herald), Diana Simmonds (Sunday Telegraph), John Shand (Sydney Morning Herald) and co-ordinator Ian Phipps (ABC Radio)."

In 2005, these people represented the majority of publicly available opinion.

But that world has changed.

This year the panel is Jason Blake (Sydney Morning Herald), Deborah Jones (The Australian), Alex Lalak (Daily Telegraph), Jo Litson (The Sunday Telegraph), John McCallum (The Australian), Diana Simmonds (Stagenoise) and John Shand (Sydney Morning Herald).

It is interesting to note that the panel is mostly made up of the mainstream media but now also includes one single online/blog reviewer. But where are the other online websites?

Collectively, blogs and pages such as ArtsHub, AussieTheatre, James Waites, Augusta Supple, Kevin Jackson and Australian Stage would easily outrank the above in online hits. Where is their voice? Many of their writers easily see a lot more theatre than members of the panel.

It's time the two organisers of the awards open up the voting to a wider panel. But not just within the online world, but also to the industry. A model such as the Green Room Awards in Melbourne would be perfect.

As I wrote twelve months ago;

"...don't be fooled into thinking the judges see all of the shows.

"As Simmonds said about the Helpmann Awards earlier this year, "the likelihood of the nominating "judges" having seen all or even nearly all nominees in a category is virtually nil". The same of course goes for these awards so don't be dismayed if you aren't nominated."

And as you can imagine, saying that went down like a lead balloon with a few people. But I still believe it's a fair point, and you'll see a couple of yawning gaps in the nominations.

The 'invitation only' policy needs a major revision and must be made far less exclusive if the awards are to maintain what is a lessening legitimacy. In its fifth year, maybe the Sydney Theatre Awards needs to be given over to the industry - not just a small part of the industry, but the industry as a whole.


And so here are my own AWARDS based unashamedly on the Sydney Theatre Awards list. Beware: you'll see awards to shows not even nominated.



Drum roll please....!


NOMINATIONS FOR 2009 SYDNEY THEATRE AWARDS

BEST MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

Happy Days (Company B)
A Streetcar Named Desire (Sydney Theatre Company)
The War of the Roses (Sydney Theatre Company and Sydney Festival)
When the Rain Stops Falling (Sydney Theatre Company and Brink Productions)

SAJ Award
Poppea (Sydney Opera House)

Special Mention
When the Rain Stops Falling (Sydney Theatre Company and Brink Productions)


BEST INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION

Beyond the Neck (Bambina Borracha Productions in association with B Sharp)
The Bougainville Photoplay Project (Version 1.0 in association with the Tamarama Rock Surfers) Norm & Ahmed/ Shafana & Aunt Sarrinah (Alex Buzo Company)
The Only Child (The Hayloft Project in association with B Sharp)

SAJ Award
Missing the Bus to David Jones (Theatre Kantanka & Performance Space)

Special Mention
The Only Child (The Hayloft Projectin association with B Sharp)


BEST DIRECTION
Benedict Andrews (The City)
Benedict Andrews (The War of the Roses)
Chris Drummond (When the Rain Stops Falling)
Marion Potts (Venus and Adonis)

SAJ Award
Barrie Kosky (Poppea)

Special Mention
Chris Drummond (When the Rain Stops Falling)


BEST ACTRESS IN A LEAD ROLE
Cate Blanchett (A Streetcar Named Desire)
Cate Blanchett (The War of the Roses)
Julie Forsyth (Happy Days)
Pamela Rabe (The War of the Roses)

SAJ Award
Melita Jurisic (Poppea)

Special Mention
Julie Forsyth (Happy Days)


BEST ACTOR IN A LEAD ROLE
Joel Edgerton (A Streetcar Named Desire)
Darren Gilshenan (Strange Attractor)
Ewen Leslie (The War of the Roses)
Ben Winspear (Baghdad Wedding)

SAJ Award

Darren Gilshenan (Elling)

Special Mention
Colin Moody (The City)


BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Blazey Best (Strange Attractor)
Anita Hegh (The City)
Kris McQuade (When the Rain Stops Falling)
Kerry Walker (The Man From Mukinupin)

SAJ Award
Kerry Walker (The Man From Mukinupin)

Special Mention
Anita Hegh (The City)


BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Gareth Davies (The Only Child)
John Gaden (The War of the Roses)
Yalin Ozucelik (Baghdad Wedding)
Tim Richards (A Streetcar Named Desire)

SAJ Award
Ewen Leslie (The Promise)

Special Mention
Tom Wren (The Only Child)


BEST NEW AUSTRALIAN WORK
Beyond the Neck (Tom Holloway)
The Only Child (Simon Stone with Thomas Henning)
Savage River (Steve Rodgers)
When the Rain Stops Falling (Andrew Bovell)

SAJ Award
Holiday (Raimondo Cortese)

Special Mention
When the Rain Stops Falling (Andrew Bovell)


BEST NEWCOMER
Travis Cardona (Savage River)
Josh McConville (The Call + Strange Attractor)
Susie Mathers (Mamma Mia!)

SAJ Award
Travis Cardona (Savage River)


BEST SET DESIGN
Robert Cousins (The War of the Roses)
Michael Scott Mitchell (Travesties)
Anna Tregloan (Venis and Adonis)
Hossein Valamanesh (When the Rain Stops Falling)

SAJ Award

Claude Marcos (The Only Child)

Special Mention
Alice Babidge (Wonderful World of Dissocia)


BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Alice Babidge (War of the Roses)
Julie Lynch (Travesties)
Bruce McKinven (The Alchemist)
Tess Schofield (The Wonderful World of Dissocia)

SAJ Award
Tess Schofield (The Wonderful World of Dissocia)

Special Mention
Julie Lynch (Travesties)


BEST LIGHTING DESIGN
Paul Jackson (Happy Days)
Paul Jackson (The Telltale Heart)
Niklas Pajanti (When the Rain Stops Falling)
Nick Schlieper (The War of the Roses)

SAJ Award
Niklas Pajanti (When the Rain Stops Falling)

Special Mention
Teegan Lee (The Only Child)


BEST SCORE OR SOUND DESIGN
Paul Charlier (A Streetcar Named Desire)
David Franzke (The Wonderful World of Dissocia)
Alan John (The City)

SAJ Award

Barrie Kosky (Poppea)


BEST PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL
Avenue Q
Chicago
Jerry Springer The Opera
Wicked

SAJ Award
Chicago


JUDITH JOHNSON AWARD FOR BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Lucy Durack (Wicked)
Amanda Harrison (Wicked)
Sharon Millerchip (Chicago)
Caroline O’Connor (Chicago)

SAJ Award

Sharon Millerchip(Chicago)


JUDITH JOHNSON AWARD FOR BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Damien Bermingham (Chicago)
Mitchell Butel (Avenue Q)
Luke Joslin (Avenue Q)
James Millar (Gutenberg the Musical)

SAJ Award
Craig Annis (The Man from Mukinupin)


BEST CABARET PRODUCTION
Red Hot and Saucy – Rhonda Burchmore (Civic Cabaret)
Meow to the World: Crisis is Born (Sydney Opera House)
‘Tegrity: Britney Spears in Cabaret – Christie Whelan (Raval)
Tim Draxl - Under the Influence (Supper Club)

SAJ Award
Meow to the World: Crisis is Born (Sydney Opera House)


BEST PRODUCTION FOR CHILDREN
The Gruffalo (Christine Dunstan Productions)
The Nargun and the Stars (Erth and Sydney Festival)
The Wizard of Oz (Windmill and Sydney Theatre Company)

SAJ Award
The Nargun and the Stars

Goodbye, and hello, as always

This will be the last week of Sydney Arts Journo. I am taking an extended hiatus away from arts journalism and reviewing to take up a position as an Arts Policy Advisor to the State Government.

It's been nearly five years since I penned my first opinion piece in the Sydney Morning Herald to then start a blog, review for The Daily Telegraph, write for Crikey and now finish up at the Sun-Herald.

In that time the beautiful blogosphere has grown and expanded and Sydney now has an impressive online reviewer landscape.

When I started out companies, organisations and groups didn't quite know how to take me or this weird thing called 'online opinion'. And I've had my run-ins.

But now bloggers, online reviewers stand side by side with the mainstream media ... it's nothing short of joyful. And debate continues to grow and opinions broaden.

Thanks to all of you for clicking, reading, contributing and having your say over the last three years of Sydney Arts Journo.

It's been a joy.

Nick

Review: Strange Attractor

Strange Attractor
Griffin Theatre
Until 21 November
Tickets $15-44
Bookings (02) 8002 4772
Critic’s Rating 9/10


When the next generation research how theatre represented the state of the Australian nation in the early part of the 21st Century then this new play by Sue Smith will be the flagship text they’ll turn to.

Deep in the Pilbara, a railway construction team is doing their best to survive isolation. Set in a mess hall with Chilli, an Argentinian barman (Ivan Donato), four workers get drunk together to wile away the hours.

But along comes Colin (Darren Gilshenan) the HR manager of the construction company who faces of with the old unionist Taipan (Peter Kowitz) over the accident of the OH&S manager Gus (Sandy Winton) during a cyclone.

At first it seems like this play is just your run of the mill working class versus rich story with stock-standard ‘bewdiful’ Aussie outback scenery. But then the complexity of the text opens up like a lotus to reveal a tour-de-force that is a requiem for a nation that should have bigger dreams.

Directed by Nick Marchand, it’s an astonishing achievement that is politically acute and places Australia in an environmental, industrial, cultural and historical context with breath-taking clarity.

The cast are universally excellent with beautifully crafted characters but sadly the set design leaves much to be desired in a work that is gripping and essential viewing.

Review: Josh Thomas In Things That I Have Said Before

Josh Thomas in Things That I Have Said Before
Comedy Store, Moore Park
Until 7 November
Tickets $15-22
Bookings (02) 9357 1419
Critic’s Rating 6/10


As published in the Sun Herald

Living most of my life in darkened theatres, I didn’t know who Josh Thomas was when my editor told me to go and review him. He’s the guy from that generation show, my friend said. I still didn’t recognise him, which probably says more about me than him.

The first thing you notice as he shuffles on to the stage is how young he is. And he knows how to joke about it. In fact, the majority of his skit is about how young he looks.

There’s the jokes about facial hair, how he looks like an adult baby (or Ellen DeGeneres) and his nervousness around women.

It’s all par for the course and it makes girls between the ages of 16 and 22 giggle.

That’s until he takes the lid off and he lets fly with his more R-rated material – and then suddenly older cackles come from the crowd and the teenagers are left behind.

Blending coriander, marzipan and abortion is just the start of it. And he always acts relieved when the dirty jokes get a response. But he’s always got that glint in his eye that gives you the suspicion the he knows he’s funny. And he is.

Review: Taming of the Shrew

Taming of the Shrew
Sydney Opera House
Until 21 November
Tickets $30-60
Bookings (02) 9250 7777
Critic’s Rating 4/10

As published in the Sun Herald


It’s amazing that a production starring some of this country’s finest female stage performers could be so badly conceived. On the page, the idea of having an all-female cast performing in Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, looks interesting.

It certainly has sex appeal. The misogynist Petruchio (Jeanette Cronin) who has been historically played by swaggering Don Juan leads (Kenneth Branagh, Peter O’Toole, Michael Siberry to name a few) tames the wild and disobedient Kate (Lotte St Clair).

It may have worked if the women were mocking the male species through caricatures but instead director Marion Potts hurtles head first like a train-wreck into a mock-lesbian world that is confused, predictable and unwittingly sacrifices the beauty of the text.

Setting the action in an atypical leagues club Chinese Restaurant doesn’t help. It certainly looks good as the lights go down, with its glitter balls and karaoke machine, but as soon as the characters enter the space in their mixture of '30s, '70s, '80s, '90s and contemporary clothing, you start to feel dizzy, unable to give the setting any context or meaning.

In one corner you have Kate’s wealthy father Baptista (Sandy Gore) playing cards and acting like a Sopranos mafia boss next to her slightly goofy mob. In the other corner you have a Sly Fox Hotel/The L Word love tryst of the butch Lucentio (Luisa Hastings Edge) and Tranio (Ksenja Logos) wooing their way to Baptista’s beautiful daughter Bianca (Emily Rose Brennan).

Sadly, this all-female Shrew is full of colour and possibilities but in the end it’s not thought through. The contemporary parallels shift so much that neither the actors nor the audience can focus in on what is actually being said. A perfect example of this is in the final scene when Kate delivers one of the most beautiful Shakespearean passages written for a female character to be then upstaged by Bianca for a cheap laugh.

All the performers fulfil their roles as well as they can, although some of the younger performers could learn some stillness from their older colleagues. The stand-out among them is Judy Farr, who steals the show with barely a line to say as the widow and Biondello.

Bell Shakespeare is a unique company in that they tour extensively through the country and caters to both schools and the general public. Creatively this can be a blessing – at other times it can be a burden as production teams try to find "contemporary parallels" to make Shakespeare more palatable. This Shrew is one of the latter.

Review: The Ruby Sunrise

The Ruby Sunrise
Ensemble Theatre
Until 14 November
Tickets $23-63
Bookings (02) 9929 0644
Critic’s Rating 5/10

As published in the Sun Herald


The character of Ruby Sunrise is as American as apple pie. A Midwest teenager, she dreams of a better world and thinks her new idea of a Tele(from the Greek) vision (from the Latin) will stop wars, educate and bring humanity closer together.

Set in the 1920s, at a time when television science was racing ahead in leaps and bounds, it’s a world away from daytime soaps and episodes of Bridezilla.

When Ruby’s daughter, Lulu (Catherine McGraffin), gives the idea to writer Tad Rose (Glenn Hazeldine) 30 years later at the height of Joseph McCarthy’s anti-Communist investigations, they think they have a hit on their hands with a story that is an optimistic tale of determination that has a female heroine.

But censorship rears its ugly heads and the story gets diluted and changed along the way.

For The Ruby Sunrise to have its full impact, the stakes need to be high and the opening scenes set in the '20s need to have a gravity and realism that will drive the rest of the play.

Unfortunately this doesn't happen. It would have been a perfect opportunity to explore audiovisual styles but instead, director Sandra Bates has opted for a realist production, where even the make-up and costumes look like they’re straight out of a community theatre wardrobe.

Review: Silver

Silver
Belvoir Street Theatre
Until 25 October
Tickets $10-29
Bookings (02) 9699 3444
Critic’s Rating 6/10

As published in the Sun Herald


Welcome to the land of nightmares and dreams, where the imagination of a child could be illusion or reality. Silver, written and performed by Matthew Whittet, is a first-person account of a journey of a little girl who finds her way miles from home.

With the horror of Blair Witch Project and the charm of a European fairytale, there’s a great simplicity at work here in this production; but to my mind is over-simplified.

Theatre is the best place in the world to tell and hear a story but Silver would be just as riveting if it were read off the page.

Director Ben Winspear has split the already small downstairs space and has Whittet sitting plainly on a chair in front of only about 40 people.

There’s some novelty in the fact that Whittet is a charmingly good male performer telling the story of a girl's life but that’s about where it ends. Nick Schlieper does a good job with the lighting to create a mood at the beginning but it isn’t followed through with anything physical to carry that further.

If however, you’re up for a good romping tale with no bells or whistles, then this is the ideal production.

After all these years it's still Liza with a zing

Regal yet humble, the Cabaret star still has energy and talent to enthral her fans, writes Nicholas Pickard.

FIRST REVIEW

It's the eyes and the giggle that do it for you - that innocent glare that Liza Minnelli flashes at you to give you a window into the career of a musical star who has been honing her talent for more than 50 years.

The voice has become shaky and the body isn't as agile as it once was but this is Liza - with a Z - and no one in the packed 2000-seat auditorium at the Sydney Opera House was complaining.

When she appeared dressed in her white sequins it felt like the roof of the Opera House was about to lift off. Everyone rose to their feet for the star who first came to Australia with her then husband, Peter Allen, 42 years ago.


Full Review Published HERE.

Review: Peter Grimes

Peter Grimes
Sydney Opera House
Until 30 October
Tickets $68-256
Bookings (02) 9250 7777
Critic’s Rating 8/10

As published in the Sun Herald


There’s nothing quite like a lynch mob to get the dramatic pulses racing. As with football, viewers like siding with the under-dog, hoping that the mob gets punished for succumbing to group mentality.

Peter Grimes is a reclusive subsistence fisherman living in an isolated sea port on the English coastline. Different from the rest the community, in a Boo Radley type of way, he is viewed with suspicion when his young apprentice is found dead after a fishing expedition.

Writing at the height of World War II, the composer Benjamin Britten and his partner, Peter Pears, returned to England from the US with the idea to turn an 1810 poem by George Crabbe into opera.

With librettist Montagu Slater, Britten creates a world much like John Steinbeck’s Of Mice And Men where Grimes is objectified and beaten down like Lennie Small by a ruthless community.

Director Neil Armfield, along with designers Ralph Myers, Tess Schofield and Damien Cooper, has set the action in a community hall that can quickly turn from a warm hub of social interaction to a place more daunting and cold.

A coronial inquest clears Grimes of the incident but the community is distrustful and gossip escalates when he is given another apprentice. His love-interest, Ellen Orford, is one of his only friends but she succumbs to communal gossip.

Britten’s Peter Grimes is a haunting modernist composition that won’t be everyone’s cup of tea and Armfield honours the score’s meditative qualities with simple stagecraft and a lighting design that evokes the horizontal shadows of an Alfred Hitchcock film.

More often than not it is just the solitary figure of George Crabbe (played by Peter Carroll), the original author of the poem, who strolls through the hall in between scenes and moves chairs, creating a theatre within a theatre.

Stuart Skelton is born to play the role of Grimes, his tenor voice opening with such beauty and clarity in the opening scene, only to descend into the more chaotic expressionism as the mob chases him from his hut. Susan Gritton, as the simple Ellen Orford is beautiful and Peter Coleman-Wright, as Grimes’s only other friend, Captain Balstrode is grittily perfect.

Peter Grimes is a harsh world that came out of the destruction of a war that tore the world apart. Its programming post-September 11 is inspired and shows that the mob mentality is as prolific as ever.

Review: Missing The Bus To David Jones

Missing The Bus To David Jones
Performance Space, Carriageworks
Until 24 October
Tickets $15-30
Bookings 1300 723 038
Critic’s Rating 9/10

As published in the Sun Herald


“He who dies with the most toys wins” was last week reported to be one of James Packer’s sayings. For the rest of us, the end of life is a little more than accumulated possessions and will most likely involve a nursing home.

These homes might be considered the unlikeliest place to find celebration or solace but in Carlos Gomes’s production, they contain the meaning to life.

Six characters enter an open space with simple furnishings, a television, a cushioned floor and soft music. Dressed in white they strip down and put on elderly clothes and take up residence. It’s just one of many beautiful moments as you witness the proximity of age and your own mortality.

Gomes has created an ensemble piece with movement, story-telling and short scenes after the group completed six months of observation and interviews in nursing homes across Sydney.

The result is one of the most celebratory pieces of theatre you will encounter. From the intricate hand movements of the performers to the sadness and humility of the stories, it will have you laugh and reflect.

John Donne said death was a slave to fate, chance, kings and desperate men and this production shows why. This is a wonderful show. Take an elderly relative.

Review: The Bougainville Photoplay Project

The Bougainville Photoplay Project
Old Fitzroy Theatre
Until 31 October
Tickets $21-35
Bookings 1300 438 849
Critic’s Rating 7/10

As published in the Sun Herald


The first thing you realise while listening to Dr Paul Dwyer is how little many Australians know about the small island of Bougainville, its history or its people.

With the aid of slides, projections, videos and personal anecdotes, Dwyer takes us through his journey on the island in 2002 while researching restorative justice.

He explains that on the eve of his journey, he suddenly realises he’s following in the footsteps of his father, who worked on the island as an orthopaedic surgeon in the 1960s.

It’s a beautifully personal way to explain a place that, despite a beautiful landscape has been beset with a violent history – with questions even about the culpability of our own nation’s leaders: Bob Hawke, Paul Keating and Gareth Evans.

Dwyer paints a picture of an island that has changed a lot since his father first arrived. But what is most touching is the way the character of these people has survived, with a genuine desire for reconciliation after 10 years of war, pollution and poverty.

Directed by David Williams and with video design by Sean Bacon, this is a production of simple and earnest story-telling.

Just quietly...

Tucked away on page 10 of Saturday's Spectrum was an interview with set designer Ralph Myers by Bryce Hallett.

When I was reading it, I thought to myself; when was the last time the Herald published an article about a theatre set designer? You'd have to go pretty far back in the archives to find one.

And then it dawned on me - a very well placed article indeed. I smell a Company B succession in the wind. What are the odds now?

Creative roles for women hard to find in Australian theatre

Summary article as published in Crikey

Crikey’s anonymous tipster who last week expressed dismay at the lack of women programmed in Sydney’s Company B theatre season for 2010 was certainly not alone. A wave of dissent in the blogosphere has descended on the theatre, in what one commentator has called a “public relations disaster”.

Yesterday it reached page three of the Sydney Morning Herald with Neil Armfield having to defend his final season launch as artistic director saying, ”When it comes down to planning each season, you just have to go with the best ideas, the best projects that are out there. I had interviews with half a dozen women directors, and we actually offered three women gigs for next year, and only one of them was taken up …”.

But it’s not just Company B that’s on notice — it’s the entire performing arts industry.

In The Age, the Melbourne Theatre Company was also questioned about its gender balance yesterday. The MTC’s response was a little bit more extraordinary saying it was not the MTC’s responsibility to provide gender equality when it was a problem for the whole theatrical industry.

”It is unreasonable to expect one level of the industry to compensate for the shortcomings of another,” MTC chairman Derek Young told The Age’s Robin Usher.

It’s hardly surprising that this issue has blown up in the face of some of the country’s leading arts companies and all it took was a couple of young female bloggers in Sydney to bring it to the attention of the major metropolitan news outlets.

A young director, Joanna Erskine gave her opinion saying “… I struggle to understand how such a prominent and successful and LOVED company such as Company B Belvoir, has openly produced such a female-less season. I don’t mean actors, I mean females in integral creative roles — as playwright and director.”

And then a blog run by seven writers based in Sydney (and mostly women) opined that “… in nearly every instance female students greatly outnumber men. So what happens to them? At what point in the process are they being passed over? Do they give up when the going gets tough? Are they perhaps less committed than their male counterparts? Or do they side-step more readily into admin and support roles?”

And then there was the anonymous rant on Crikey that said: “Even hardened members of the theatre community well used to the boys’ club of the Sydney theatre scene were taken aback at the launch of the much anticipated swansong from outgoing artistic director Neil Armfield at Belvoir on Monday night.”

Another young director in Sydney, August Supple put the issue plainly by pointing that, “If you look at Belvoir as a place of equality —  let’s look a little further,” and pointed readers to the Contact Us section of their website.

As Supple shows, the “creatives” in the company are all men and the women are all in positions of education, promotion and admin.

If you look at theatre company websites throughout the country the story is the same with a few exceptions (most notably in Western Australia where the artistic directors for Black Swan and Perth Theatre Company are both women).

Accusations of a “boys’ club” are extreme, but when you have the MTC saying that it is “unreasonable” for them to employ more women because that’s what everyone else is doing you start to feel like you’re in a time warp. And now heads are turning towards the film, television and music industries.

The arts need to address the problem head on and look at why women aren’t pursuing creative careers within the industry because the new found citizen journalists are starting to notice not much has changed in nearly thirty years. And for an industry that should know better, excuses are starting to run dry.

Save the Hopetoun Hotel

I discovered this last night. This is a real blow for Sydney - especially at a time when we are trying to promote new music, live venues and small bars.

For your information, I have cut and paste information from the Facebook group which you can join HERE.


THIS JUST IN:
Update from Sydney City

“The City understands that NSW Police, not Council, recently issued a $3000 penalty infringement notice to the Hopetoun for failure to provide adequate security personnel in accordance with their development consent. This is a requirement of the Office of Liquor Gaming and Racing.

"The decision to close the Hopetoun appears to have been made by hotel management. The City has not issued any order for the premises to close.

“The City has been working cooperatively with the licensee of the Hopetoun for the past few months to allow them to keep trading while maintaining public safety , and will continue to work with the licensee to resolve safety issues concerning CCTV security and structural deficiencies."

So the Hopetoun Hotel has closed until further notice which is terrible for the Sydney and Australian independent music scene. Putting it simply, we need to save the Hopetoun Hotel

In the past it has played host to almost all great Australian bands including Dappled Cities, Youth Group, Pivot, Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Decoder Ring, Bluejuice, Kes Band, Crayon Fields, Jack Ladder, Charge Group, Grey Daturas, Fabulous Diamonds, Spod, The Laurels, Tucker B's, Des Miller, Seekae, Ghosts of Television, Sui Zhen, Clue to Kalo, Ned Collette, The Lucksmiths, Darren Hanlon, The John Steel Singers, Beaches and so so many others.

In addition, great international musicians such as Beach House, Jens Lekman, Feist, Xiu Xiu, Jeremy Jay, Bachelorette, Malcolm Middleton, Jeffrey Lewis, The Tallest Man on Earth, Smog, David Kilgour, The Ruby Suns, The Brunettes, The Bats, Jason Molina, Spoon, Okkervil River, M. Ward and Robert Schneider have all played there.

Don't let Sydney lose a major cultural institution. Save The Hopetoun.

A nice facebook brainstorm for some realistic ways that people can save the Hopetoun would be awesome.
As this group is already showing, there is an immense amount of love for the Hopetoun from all over Sydney and beyond. Let's try to channel it into something practical and effective.

As far as we know, the reasons for closure are the follow:
- Money
- Years of having no security at a licensed venue
- Cost of repairs to the building
- Not being able to sell the building
- Money
- Money

Jack Shit sez:
- council requires 2 licensed security guards when the bands are playing (security guards were there for the first time on weekend)
- Ongoing issues with noise
- Facilitate disabled
- Sprinklers (fire)

TWITTER US: @savethehoey

--

An email courtesy of Tim Appleby:
Send to cmoore@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au and council@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au

It has been brought to our attention that the beloved Hopetoun Hotel on the corner of Bourke and Fitzroy Sts in Surry Hills has been closed until further notice. A terribly disappointing fact considering the Council's seemingly strong commitment to the arts and local music community. I ask that you provide the community at large with a detailed analysis of the situation including a list of what needs to be done to rectify any current problems. I understand the venue has been operating outside of normal venue restrictions however I know the community would be more than happy to assist in its compliance. In saying that, the venue has operated similarly for decades without any major problems.

Any assistance you can provide would be greatly appreciated. The City of Sydney's music scene would suffer a great loss without this legendary venue.
Kind Regards
xx

Where are the women?

I was hoping to ignore this issue until the weekend when I've got more time to write a more in depth piece about Company B's new programme - but that's no longer possible.

There's a lot of disquiet about the lack of women in the programme they announced on Monday and murmurs have now turned into quite large rants. Some anonymous. Others not.

The same response happened last year and even this website was guilty of looking at the issue too simply.

Many people are pointing their finger at Company B which I think is extremely problematic and ignores an issue that is systemic and industry-wide. But continually I ask myself as I travel around and see shows throughout the professional and independent sector; Where are the women?

Where are the women directors? Where are the women writers? Where are the women designers? Where are you?

The one exception to this rule is down the road at Performance Space, now based at Carriageworks... but we all know that the text-based industry doesn't venture that far unless they're visiting Playwriting Australia's headquarters (and vice versa to be fair... but that's another story).

But the story is different elsewhere and I still can't quite put my finger on the reasons behind the complete absence of women within the industry.

Joanna Erskine has given her opinion HERE saying "... I struggle to understand how such a prominent and successful and LOVED company such as Company B Belvoir, has openly produced such a female-less season. I don’t mean actors, I mean females in integral creative roles - as playwright and director."

And Gus Supple has had a say HERE asking some timely questions;

"...in nearly every instance female students greatly outnumber men. So what happens to them? At what point in the process are they being passed over? Do they give up when the going gets tough? Are they perhaps less committed than their male counterparts? Or do they side-step more readily into admin and support roles?"

And then there was this anonymous rant on Crikey today;

Even hardened members of the theatre community well used to the boys’ club of the Sydney theatre scene were taken aback at the launch of the much anticipated swansong from outgoing artistic director Neil Armfield at Belvoir on Monday night.

As production after production was announced and their creators called to join Neil on stage, the row of young male lookalike writers and directors fawning over Belvoir’s incumbent grew. It is hard to know who was more embarrassed -- the single token female Lee Lewis sitting resplendent in white among the sea of black-clad masculinity, or the audience, immediately and significantly more aware of the company's gender problem than, it seems, any of those at Company B who put the 2010 season together.

The fact that the majority of those on stage also served on the company’s programming committee only reinforced the accurate image that Belvoir is a closed male shop -- a more sterling example of jobs for the boys is hard to imagine.

Armfield's late elegy to the list of all female managers who have done his paperwork over the years was in stark and telling relief to the male visions they have been charged to realise.

All hale Sydney theatre in the 21st Century! Next up, Sydney Theatre Company's launch on Friday. Will Blanchett and Upton serve the sisterhood any better? They sure as hell couldn't do worse than the disgraceful team of patriarchs at Company B.


As harsh as that comment is, what we can assume is this is now an issue that won't go away and is something not just Company B needs to look at. And by that I don't mean the industry should suddenly turn around and start programming more women but they need to look at a serious campaign, whether its mentoring or financial, to keep women in the game past their early twenties.

Kit Brookman gives a great summary of the Sydney-wide problem on Gus's post;

"The last female director to work at Company B upstairs was Rachel McDonald, who directed 'The Pianist,' which was a co-presentation with Sydney Festival 2009. The production opened on 16 Jan 2009.

"Prior to this, the last female director to work at Company B upstairs was Marion Potts in 2006 with her production of 'The Goat, or Who is Sylvia,' although this production was a buy-in from STCSA, and not originally produced by Company B.
The last female director to work on a Company B production was Kate Gaul, five years ago, for her 2004 production of 'Our Lady of Sligo.’

"Female writers are slightly better represented, with 5 productions in 2004-2009, not including playreadings. Perhaps encouragingly, all 5 of these writers are Australian.

"While the 2009 B-Sharp season, as noted above, has a distinct lack of female writers or directors, women have been better represented in past seasons, for example the 2008 season (10 productions) had 4 female writers and 5 female directors.
Griffin's 2009 season has 2 female writers in a 5-play season, and 1 female director. Of its current resident playwrights, 2 of the 3 are female. In the Griffin Independent season, a discussion of Australian playwrights of either gender is defunct since the plays are exclusively by international writers. 4 of the 7 productions are directed by women.

"Sydney Theatre Company's mainstage 2009 season (as first announced) has 4 female directors and 3 female writers in a season of 12 productions. Their Next Stage season has 1 female director and 1 female writer (working on a creative development).
The Ensemble Theatre Company in a season of 11 plays has 2 female writers and will employ 3 female directors over 5 productions.

"The Tamarama Rock Surfers’ 2009 season at the Old Fitzroy has 2 female writers (and 1 female co-deviser) and 3 female directors in a season of 11 plays.

"And finally, on a brief national note, of the artistic directors of what might be, say, the 10 of the largest theatre companies in Australia (STC, MTC, QTC, STCSA, Black Swan, Malthouse, Company B, Griffin, Windmill, The Ensemble), 3½ are women (the ½ coming from STC where Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton are co-artistic directors).

"Of the companies that have associate director or associate artist positions (to my knowledge MTC, STC, Belvoir, QTC, STCSA, Griffin, Black Swan, the Ensemble) only Griffin has a woman in this role."


That last sentence is one of the most telling ... (I think Bell Shakespeare is another exception).

All I know, from someone that sees a lot of theatre, that there's a big drop off from female theatre makers who emerge from drama school and university to positions of importance and influence in the 30-50 year old age bracket.

I don't have a solution or an answer to the problem but it's there and it needs to be rectified. The debate has started, so lets keep it going.

Where are the women?

The Wonderful New Era of Theatre Trailers

I absolutely love this new practice by theatre companies in Sydney to make trailers to help promote their shows. It was something that first emerged in the UK and the North American fringe but gradually the practice has filtered through other places around the world.

In some cases the trailer is better than the show - which can be slightly problematic for producers - but most of the time, an innovative theatre trailer often represents an innovative creative team.

Here's a pick of some of the best that have emerged in Sydney in recent times. And if there are any more you have come across send them my way and I'll post them up.

The Duel - Sydney Theatre Company




References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot - Griffin Independent




St Nicholas - Bondi Pavilion




Wicked - Capitol Theatre

The Henson Case Makes PM's Shortlist

David Marr's excellent little paper back The Henson Case was today shortlisted on the Prime Minister's Literary Awards.

It's an extraordinary thing because if Kevin Rudd hadn't blurted out his presumptious little comment about Bill Henson's art works on morning television, there probably wouldn't have been such a storm in a tea-cup.

And there probably wouldn't be a book.

"I find them absolutely revolting," Rudd said.

Fifteen months later he's short-listed a book with a artistic photo of a young girl on the cover. Maybe Kevin 07 has come around...

In an almost off-handish way, Arts Minister Garrett says in a media release distributed today that "the 2009 Non-Fiction shortlist is a wide selection of works that cover biographies of key Australian figures, put Australian history under the microscope, and tackle Indigenous and contemporary issues.”

A contemporary issue. That's certainly one way to put it.

Let's go back to what felt like 1971...

http://artsjournalist.blogspot.com/2008/05/where-are-we-again.html

Marr's book is nominated alongside Van Diemen's Land, James Boyce; Doing Life: A Biography of Elizabeth Jolley, Brian Dibble; Gough Whitlam: A Moment in History, Jenny Hocking; The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island, Chloe Hooper; House of Exile: The Life and Times of Heinrich Mann and Nelly Kroeger-Mann, Evelyn Juers; Drawing the Global Colour Line, Marilyn Lake and Henry Reynolds; and American Journeys, Don Watson.

Back In The Spotlight

As published in the Sun Herald


It’s an interesting situation to interview an actor not long after who you’ve given them a ho-hum review. The review was for the Bell Shakespeare's Pericles. The actor was Marcus Graham.

Graham's eyes light up when he's introduced to me and he gives me a genuine smile as we sit on the balcony of the Sydney Theatre Company's headquarters, where he is rehearsing their latest production, Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage.

But he is frank. “That weekend we opened [Pericles] there were some scathing reviews in Sydney. I’ve never been so beaten up in my life – but on the Monday after those reviews came out we sold $30,000 worth of tickets. Over 600 tickets in one day.

“Are people listening to reviewers?” he asks rhetorically.

“It put a wind back in my sails because you’ve got to get back up every night and do it.”

This tale gives some insight into a tenacious actor who has survived 20 years of working inf ilm, television and theatre and has only just returned to live in Sydney after coming out of a "very dark period".

He doesn’t elaborate on what the darkness was but it was enough to make him spend the last couple of years away from it all in the Blue Mountains, returning only six months ago to set up again in Kings Cross.

He has returned with a vengeance and seems be enjoying his new-found fame with interesting roles on both stage and screen that included appearing in Underbelly, the film Three Blind Mice and Pericles.

“I used to live in the Cross years ago and it’s very social and very interesting. And because I did Underbelly people come up to me and say: ‘I did time with the guy you played’. From a human standpoint, it’s great.”

His latest production re-unites him with director Gale Edwards in the newest hit from French playwright Reza, a play that has had different productions in Brisbane, Melbourne and now Sydney just in this year.

“It’s like the world’s favourite play at the moment … it’s such a wonderful representation of life as we know it … the ruthless nature of business, of humanity,” he explains.

Graham plays a corporate lawyer who works with a drug manufacturer that has put out a product that, while making millions of dollars for the company, is also making a lot of people sick.

He’s also the father of a boy who has had a fight with another young kid in the playground of the local school. The fight brings together two sets of parents from different socio-economic backgrounds to try to sort out the issue.

“It’s a lot about responsibility,” he explains. “Who’s to blame, who hit who and who will take responsibility.

"It then gets into semantics. Instead of he hit my son with a stick you say he hit my son, furnished with a stick. Because that’s what we’ve become [with] the fear of litigation. The protection we need to give ourselves because we might be f--ked over by someone else is paramount.”

The play becomes a comedy of errors as the two sets of parents (played by Graham, Sacha Horler, Russell Dystra and Helen Thomson) become more and more childish as the night wears on.

God of Carnage premiered in 2006 and has already had hit seasons on Broadway and the West End.

“It’s beautifully constructed and beautifully written – it’s such a joy to work on something that’s so wonderfully written,” he says. “There’s something really simple about theatre.

"You rehearse a show, put it on, people pay fifty bucks at the door - whatever – sit down, you tell them a story and that’s it.”

“There’s something really uncomplicated and honourable about that.”


God of Carnage opens on the 8 October and runs until 14 November at the Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House. Tickets: $30 - $85. Bookings 02 9250 1777 or sydneytheatre.com.au.

Review: Wicked

As published in yesterday's Sun Herald.

Wicked
Capitol Theatre
Until 22 November
Tickets $95.90-129.90
Bookings 1300 723 038
Critic’s Rating 8/10


Believe or not, there was life in the Land of Oz before Dorothy and Toto crash-landed, uninvited, and squashed the poor Wicked Witch of the East, stealing her lovely red shoes and running off down the yellow brick road.

In Wicked, a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, we return to the college days of room-mates Elphaba (Amanda Harrison) and Glinda (Lucy Durack).

Elphaba, born with a green colour disfigurement, has been shunned her whole life by her cruel father, the Governor of Munchkinland, in favour of her wheel-chair bound sister Nessarose (Penny McNamee).

Glinda, on the other hand, in her perky little way, can’t seem to put a foot wrong and trots around the campus gaining a reputation for being just "so good".

In the spirit of Rosencrantz and Guildernstern are Dead - the play that turned Shakespeare’s Hamlet on its head by spinning around the perspective of the main characters - Wicked by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, makes Dorothy and Toto a mere side story.

The real drama is how Glinda and Elphaba turned into the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West in a world that’s part Harry Potter part Witches of Eastwick.

It’s a beautifully tragic take on the old story with finely realised female leads that could explain Wicked’s mass appeal to young women around the world. Indeed, it is a musical strongest for the storyline and the stunning story-book imagery created by the fantastic set design, rather than the music, which only rarely gets beyond the appeal of a television score.

Durack is delightfully hilarious as she flutters around the stage, delivering one-liners like spells from a wand. But Harrison, like a lot of the ensemble, seemed to be keeping something in reserve, holding back on the big numbers for what could be an extensive Sydney season.

Durack and Harrison are supported by a solid ensemble of principles including the excellent James Smith, the wonderfully smoky Maggie Kirkpatrick and Bert Newtown as the Wizard who is only a cigar short of being the image of Winston Churchill. Highly recommended.


*The Sun-Herald reviewed a preview performance of this Sydney season.