Review: James and the Giant Peach – Harvest Rain Theatre Company at Cremorne Theatre QPAC

Southbank was teeming with littlies yesterday. Of course, it’s summer time and school holidays so, apart from swimming and eating icecream on a hot Brisbane Saturday afternoon, there were lots of things to do – singing, mask-making, theatre-going and story-telling among them. I had lunch while a bunch of what looked like under-5s were jumping and rolling around on the QPAC Green. They were learning all about Iggy the Iguanadon via a song – we have the Queensland Museum to thank for this, I suspect. I wished I had a small person with me; it looked so much fun and I wanted to share it with them. There were also a whole lot of families getting stuck into creative activities in the Playzone. Upstairs Mary Poppins was about to take off while, just down the road at the Cremorne Theatre, kids and their adults could go to a matinée performance of Harvest Rain’s latest production James and the Giant Peach, adapted by David Wood from the story by Roal Dahl. That’s where I was headed.

I remember this particular book from years ago. My kids loved being read to and then to read Dahl’s books as they got older; he remained a favourite into young adulthood. They switched their imaginations on and escaped into other worlds via books – at first picture books and then the word-dense stories like James and the Giant Peach. It’s a lovely fable about the capacity of imagination to transform lives. Continue reading “Review: James and the Giant Peach – Harvest Rain Theatre Company at Cremorne Theatre QPAC”

2011 Groundling Awards Nominations are open …

Thanks to anyone485 on Flickr for the image

Greenroom’s The Groundlings are a people’s choice award. You nominate the individuals or productions for each category.

You can submit up to 3 (three) nominations beside each of the 14 (fourteen) categories listed below, but only once please.

Please note that Groundlings will only be awarded to Queensland theatre-makers. Yes, we’re proudly parochial.

focus, as per its byline, is on Professional and Independent theatre in Queensland.

Amateur, community and student theatre productions are not eligible for a Groundling award. Nominations will not be considered.

Co-productions qualify but only insofar as nominees are Queensland residents. There is a separate category for the Best Co-production anyway.

2011 Categories:

  • Outstanding Contribution by an Actor
  • Outstanding Contribution by an Actress
  • Outstanding Contribution by a Director
  • Outstanding Contribution to Set Design
  • Outstanding Contribution to Costume Design
  • Outstanding Contribution to Lighting Design
  • Outstanding Contribution to Sound Design or Composition
  • Outstanding Contribution to Multimedia Design
  • Outstanding Contribution to Innovative Theatre Practice
  • Best New Play in an Inaugural Queensland Season
  • Best Production 
  • Best Musical Theatre Production 
  • Best Co-Production
  • Outstanding Contribution to Queensland theatre

HOW TO NOMINATE

Go to the nomination page where you will find a listing of  all categories pre-printed for your convenience.

You can fill in up to (3) three nominees in all or just in some categories. Order doesn’t matter. When you are finished, click the submit button at the bottom of the submission form page. You may only submit one nomination mail message.

HOW THE NOMINATIONS WILL BE COLLATED

Nominations close at midnight on 31 January, 2012. Greenroom will then total all the nominations.

The 3 (three) highest-scoring nominees in each category will be published for voting here on Greenroom. We anticipate this will happen on 1st February or very close to this day.

HOW FINAL VOTING WILL HAPPEN

Voting will be done via an automated Word Press plugin, and results will be available on Greenroom on February 14, 2012. The day has significance!

To avoid any taint of conflict of interest, Greenroom will not be nominating or casting any votes.

So, companies and individuals please spread the word, and start your nominations. Yes, Virginia, you can nominate yourself or your company. Here come the Groundlings!