Author: Kate Foy

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World Theatre Day – #wtd10 and Dame Jude Does the Honours

Dench at the 2007 BAFTAs
Image via Wikipedia

You’ve seen the teaser tweets (maybe), or perhaps you’ve heard about it, so here’s a heads-up that World Theatre Day 2010 is now just under 6 weeks away.  March 27 is the day on which theatre lovers around the world – companies, groups, and individuals – do something to celebrate or mark the day when theatre is foremost in our minds.  It’s a perfect time to start organising what you’re going to do, and to send it through to the blog, or to tweet about it, or send in to the Facebook fan page.  You are a fan and following World Theatre Day on Twitter, aren’t you?

One of the traditions is to read the annual address before the curtain, or to pin it up on a company notice-board, or just to read it yourself and let it inspire you and your tribe.  The 2010 World Theatre Day address is from Dame Judi Dench.  Here it is for you.

There’s lots that you can do on the day … while you’re reading the address from Dame Jude, have a look at the rest of the website and see if any ideas there strike your fancy.  Everyone’s madly busy most of the time, so the WTD10 organisers suggest you mark the day by incorporating an acknowledgment as part of your programming or daily routine.  What you need to do is let everyone know what you’re up to, promote it in your own community, and then share – images, video, tweets, whatever works for you.

Last year in from Brisbane there were video interviews with cast and audience members at the after-party for That Face (Queensland Theatre Company).  23rd Productions recorded voxpops with their cast and the audience of The Pilloman then playing.  XSentertainment on the Sunshine Coast did a flashmob at midday at Sunshine Plaza, and QSE held a free, open rehearsal.  Images and videos from events made their way through to the WTD Tumblog and that was only from local celebrations … theatre lovers in the US and the UK, in Brazil and India held parties, rallies, read the address, streamed readings … and … held parties.  Seems that’s a great way to do it!

Another thing you can do right now – push this post out to your networks – Facebook, Twitter etc.  The more the merrier!

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This Week in Queensland Theatre: February 15-21

Cover of "Hamlet"
Cover of Hamlet

For further details check company websites

The National Play Festival is in town with a huge range of readings, workshops and presentations.  You can get the details on their terrific website.   Hamlet and The Little Dog Laughed continue for La Boite and Queensland Theatre Company respectively.  Blog discussions on both productions can be found by following the links to posts in Greenroom’s live feed column on the home page.  Incidentally, you might be interested in this poster which just popped up out of nowhere; it’s from the the 2000 film production of Hamlet in which Ethan Hawke appeared as our film-student hero.

Opening:

The National Play Festival

Continuing:

Hamlet by William Shakespeare dir David Berthold at the Roundhouse

The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane dir Michael Gow at the Cremorne Theatre, QPAC


Other:

Commissioning W/rights Industry Panel at !Metro Arts Studio (6.3opm Tuesday) followed by a free performance of  Chasing the Lollyman by Mark Sheppard dir Liz Skitch Debase TC

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Indie Launch Day … Indie Pride!

La Boite Theatre
Image by Bandido of Oz via Flickr

Today is not only St Valentine’s Day, but also, and perhaps even more importantly for Brisbane’s theatre-lovers, the launch of the La Boite Theatre Indie season, which we’re hoping will be enormously successful for everyone concerned.

A perhaps overused word right now when talking about the wider artistic environment is its ‘ecology’ …

ecology
noun
1 the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.
• (also human ecology) the study of the interaction of people with their environment.
2 (also Ecology) the political movement that seeks to protect the environment, esp. from pollution.

and the theatre ecology of Brisbane and beyond requires a robust independent sector to keep it fit and healthy.

We thought we’d post up this little video taken last year by one of Brisbane’s leading independent companies, 23rd Productions.  It was shot to celebrate World Theatre Day 2009, and has gone beyond Brisbane around the world as their contribution.  If you haven’t seen it yet, you should; there’s much in here that celebrates what independent means in a theatre eco-system.

And congratulations 23rd Productions and Artistic Director Kathryn Fray and Associate AD Christopher Sommers on your inclusion in the La Boite Independents season with Blackbird by David Harrower.

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Staged Lives (conversation) State Library of Queensland

Will Eno, Michael Gow, and David Williamson talk about what playwrights talk about when they get together – themselves and their lives.  Jane O’Hara director of the Brisbane Writer’s Festival eggs them on.  Free at SLQ Auditorium 2 but you need to RSVP by Monday 1 March to info@playlab.org.au or by phone 3220 0841.