Month: May 2013

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On putting the community into theatre

Image: That Production Company (RUINED)

It’s so easy to get caught up in attempting to define and partition off the kinds of theatre we produce. We tend to box, define, create matrices of the way stuff works, test things against check lists of expectations: professional, amateur, pro-am, community, independent …

Western theatre is no stranger to evolutionary processes; it’s one of its great strengths. Right here, right now, it’s clear that, as part of the wider arts-industrial landscape and the generational change in arts leadership, theatre makers are experimenting with the how and where of creating theatre. New alliances that enable greater participation are being thought about and enabled – look at the way the main-house companies like QTC and La Boite are opening the portals – something which, even a few years ago, was unthinkable. Many of the boundaries that used to exist are porous if they haven’t already been dismantled.

The notion of a ‘full ecology’ of theatre existing out there was put by Wesley Enoch (AD of Queensland Theatre Company) recently in a Facebook discussion. But it’s not so much out there as in the things we talk about in foyers, in the rehearsal rooms we occupy, the chat about shows we see. Wesley goes on to compare this ecology with the kind of easy acceptance of the range of activities in sport in this country and wonders why art-making hasn’t been as accommodating. It’s a good question and one that’s part of the thinking I refer to above.

Why no easy access as Wesley asks? It has, I think, as much to do with the ongoing struggle that art and artists in this country have had to ‘prove’ their worth. But it’s a big question that goes to the heart of Australian culture and will continue serving as food for ongoing discussion, but not here right now. I’m interested in the ways and means and the impact this movement is having in and on the wider theatre community here in southern Queensland. Continue reading “On putting the community into theatre”

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Review: A Tender Thing – Full Circle Theatre at Visy Theatre, Brisbane Powerhouse

Images: Full Circle Theatre (supplied)

Of course I loved it. There’s very little not to love about an intelligent, heart-felt play, fine performances, and sensitive direction in a space that seems so absolutely tailor-made for this show. Brisbane Powerhouse’s Visy Theatre is an intimate, welcoming space where the audience is never far from the on-stage action and A Tender Thing, Ben Power‘s play (originally commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company) fits it like a glove.

Linda Davey directs Flloyd Kennedy and Michael Croome as the contemporary, 60-something, star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet who are living in blissful, loving retirement on a coast somewhere. Their love is, indeed, tender. The tides lap and wash the days as they pass – Scott Norris provides the soundscape design and Daniel Anderson lights the bedroom and surrounds of Romeo and Juliet’s beachside house – a beautiful design by Freddy Komp augmented by AV from mk2.

As Time – that old enemy – passes, their love, deeper than ever, is challenged by changing circumstances. I don’t wish to spoil the key event for audiences; it came as a shock to me and I think the play is more powerful when it works on audiences who are unsuspecting. I love plays that wrong-foot you so ingeniously … Continue reading “Review: A Tender Thing – Full Circle Theatre at Visy Theatre, Brisbane Powerhouse”

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Brad Jennings and Steven Maxwell: Markwell Presents (Interview 37)

Image: Brad Jennings & Steven Maxwell – (c) Greenroom

One December day, about 5 years ago I interviewed Brad Jennings and Steven Maxwell as part of Apple’s Create World Conference. That year I was part of the Create World team using podcasts and blog posts to capture the points of view from creative people working in (mostly) higher education. I remember at the time thinking how interesting was the aesthetic concept of what they were calling ‘cinematic theatre.’ I managed to see a snippet of the way Brad and Steven integrated it into performance via a short performance they presented at that conference.

In the past 5 years I’ve seen their work in production (The White Earth for La Boite Theatre and August Moon for QTC among others). Markwell Presents is a name that’s been appearing more and more, and especially in education circles. It turns out that, among other things, they do about 12 artistic residencies in schools each year, an amazing number, I think. You can check the scope of their work on their website, but I wanted to talk again with Brad and Steven and find out how cinematic theatre and their work has progressed in that time and what lies ahead for them. Continue reading “Brad Jennings and Steven Maxwell: Markwell Presents (Interview 37)”

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Review: Frankenstein – Fractal Theatre at Brisbane Arts Theatre

Images: Geoff Squires

Frankenstein, written at the start of the 19th century, has taken deep root in our culture. It’s a sprawling, gothic-romantic novel, considered by some to be the first science-fiction story. In a way it sits at the door of contemporary literature and points the way to the genres we now take for granted.

It’s a challenging novel to read, and its cinematic and theatrical spin-offs are legion as artists across the decades, fascinated by its subject matter, have attempted to set their own stamp upon it. Millions of words and perhaps as many hours have been devoted to this book, written by the 19 year old Mary Shelley during one rainy summer holiday in Geneva, and in response to a competition amongst her friends, including Byron and her husband to be, Percy Shelley, to see who could write the best horror story. Mary won that bet.

The latest to attempt to tame the beast is independent Fractal Theatre’s adaptation and production for the stage at Brisbane Arts Theatre. No matter the subject they tackle you know you are going to be provoked by Fractal. Their work doesn’t shy away from the intellectually difficult or the theatrically ambitious and Brenna Lee Cooney’s adaptation and direction of Frankenstein is no exception.

Continue reading “Review: Frankenstein – Fractal Theatre at Brisbane Arts Theatre”

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Review: Animal Farm – shake and stir theatre company: Empire Theatre (Toowoomba)

Images: Stephen Henry

shake and stir are no strangers to Queensland theatre and, now that they’ve completed two national tours, are becoming familiar to audiences Australia-wide.

Last week I caught up with their latest production, a re-staging of their 2011, award-winning production of Animal Farm.  Adapted by Nick Skubij from George Orwell’s 1944 satirical novel about the horrors of totalitarianism under Stalin and directed by Michael Futcher, this production includes Nelle Lee, Ross Balbuziente, Tim Dashwood, Bryan Probets and Mr Skubij.

Toowoomba’s gorgeous Empire Theatre was the 27th venue in what has been a 5-month national tour for the company and, as you might expect of a well-run in production, the full house of young and old (over 1300) on Thursday night was treated to a polished, tight as a drum performance by the ensemble. I’ve made no secret elsewhere of my love of theatricality in the service of great story-telling, and this production exemplifies it with economy and clarity. Continue reading “Review: Animal Farm – shake and stir theatre company: Empire Theatre (Toowoomba)”