What's on this week? 27 November 2009

What's on this Week?
27 November 2009

Malthouse Theatre is the place to be if you're looking for some bloody fine theatre this weekend. If I had to pick between Africa and Structure and Sadness, I'd say see both.  Which still leaves a couple of nights next week to see everything else.

Africa
My Darling Patricia
Malthouse Theatre
I think it's the best thing My Darling Patricia have done - and I love everything I've seen MDP do.
review
It finishes on Sunday.

Structure and Sadness
Malthouse Theatre and Lucy Guerin Inc
Stunning telling of a Melbourne story. Kind of show that makes me understand dance.
review
It also finishes on Sunday.


Short and Sweet
Chapel on Chapel
We're into week two, with Wildcards on Saturday afternoon.
Week One, Top 30
Week Two, Top 30
Short and Sweet reviews 2006-08

On Ego
Red Stitch
If you saw Grace at the MTC earlier in the year, you have to see this work by Mick Gordon - and see how his words can be told in a very different way.
Until 19 December.
review

Spontaneous Broadway
Comedy Theatre
If you haven't seen this yet - do. If you have - I'll see you there. If you don't hurt from laughing, check that you aren't dead.
2007 review. 2008 review.
2-5 December only

The Oracle
Malthouse Theatre and The Sydney Opera House
Back in the 90s Meryl Tankard helped define Australian contemporay dance.
Only running from 2-6 December, so  there's no time to wait and see what people think.

The Flood
La Mama
The perfectly wonderful Jackie Smith (The Burlesque Hour etc) wote this. I can't wait.
3-20 December

1989
St Martins Youth Arts Centre
Four short plays based on the ancient world of 20 years ago. Great chance to see some of our best young writers and performers.

(And,for us who remember 1989 , there's the B52s on Thursday night. I hope Fred still plays the tambourine.)

Review: Short and Sweet 09 Top 30 Week 2

Short and Sweet 09 Top 30 Week 2
Short and Sweet
27 November 2009
Chapel off Chapel

I love the Short and Sweet festival, but this year I can’t find takers for my plus one.

And I don’t blame anyone. It’s like a tin of assorted shortbreads that has been in the cupboard for too many years that are still unappetising after a few festive sherries and even the dog doesn’t want to scoff the treats. At the end of last year’s festival I thought that maybe it needed a year off, but when events take a year off – they tend to never return, so we should be cheering first-time festival director Rachel Baring for creating a program this year. But what can be done to bring Short and Sweet back to can’t-get-enough chocolate ganache and balsamic strawberry tart quality?

Remember when it sold out and the writing was original and crafted and the best directors, performers and companies in town wanted to be involved? This year’s best plays might not have even made the Wildcards of those first years. Perhaps next year could include a ‘best of’ section featuring old favourites. It would set the standard for new scripts and give us something to look forward to.

Or just tell me a story. Please, tell me a story. Think of your favourite film, book or joke. Do you like its conviction or its story? How many children want to be tucked into bed at night asking to be read the junk mail from their local politicians? Who loves being cornered at a party by a bitter sod who tells you the intimate details of their life and as you try to walk away (because you’ve spied a delicious looking tin of shortbreads), but they grab your arm and get upset when you don’t give them a hug because they made you realise that your opinions are wrong and theirs are right?

For the love of Robert McKee*, tell stories. Tell tales with beginnings and middles and ends and action, surprises and change. If you can tell your story in one minute, your play is nine and a half minutes too long.

The only one I enjoyed in Week 2 was Swagman, because the director (Scott Gooding) and cast (whose names aren’t in the program) saw its absurdity and knew that the words alone could induce a coma or a riot, so they grabbed what was intelligent and relevant in the script and made us laugh by taking the rest to such an extreme that we had re-engage our brains and were able to think.

Every play this week could so easily be improved with some honest feedback and a re-draft. Most of them could become really good and a couple of them are, at least, lessons in how not to write. However, it’s a brave thing to put your words in a public forum, knowing that people like me can write whatever we like about them. Of course, everyone want us to write good things, so here’s what I thought was good about them.

Canadian Tuxedo: Terrific hit man set up with twins dressed all in denim and a good rhyme.

Pink Dress: An authentic and engaging relationship between the brother and sister on the stage.

Vienna Syndrome: The script wasn’t half bad and with different direction, it could be very different and much funnier.

King Hit: Had heart and love.

The Swagman's Song: Made me laugh.

The Big C: Let the performers have a go at silly voices.

The Tale of Babboo Sabbi: I too like the view from tall buildings.

Actual Fantasy: The idea of actual fantasy gamers is a fab concept.

The Controlled Use of Heroin: The performances were good.

The Road to Hell: It was a fine joke and it was the only play of the night with an ending.

*If you write and you don’t know who McKee is, please read his book called “Story”. You don’t have to agree with a single word of it and you may know better – but read it anyway.

This review appeared on AussieTheatre.com.

Week 1
Week 3

Here’s what Tom Doig thought about Week 2

Review: Structure and Sadness

Structure and Sadness
Malthouse Theatre and Lucy Guerin Inc
25 November 2009
Merlyn Theatre, CUB Malthouse

A contemporary dance about the 1970s collapse of a bridge in Melbourne; who would have thought it! Fortunately for us, Lucy Guerin did, and if you missed Structure and Sadness at the 2006 Melbourne International Arts Festival, or its various performances around the world, you’ve got until Sunday.

Words are not necessarily the best way to tell our stories. Guerin’s beautiful dance captures the emotion of a story and lets her audience breath in the hope and the pain until it is indistinguishable from their own.

Even if most who were in Melbourne in 1970 can tell you where they were when they heard about it; some under 40s might have to be told that 35 men died when the when a section of the West Gate Bridge collapsed when it was being built. This is a story that is so much a part of Melbourne, but fading into history rather than recollection. Even with instant media and an internet full of records of events, stories are still forgotten and need telling.

Guerin’s telling isn’t about facts, but a response to the momentary nature of disaster and its far-reaching effects. It is neither cringing “aussie” or alienating foreign, but connects with everyone who has seen and felt the sudden loss of life in a place where people should have been safe.

The inevitability of collapse fuels the tension, as the dancers build a sprawling timber house of cards. Their dance too is structural, but always shows the contradiction of bodies that can fluidly bend or remain rigid and strong. Despite all anticipation, the collapse is room stilling and the dance becomes more personal as the mood changes and the rebuild begins.

This review appeared on AussieTheatre.com.

Review: On Ego

On Ego
Red Stitch Actors Theatre
22 November 2009
Red Stitch Theatre

Mick Gordon and I would argue to the death over many of the issues discussed in his theatrical works; which is why I’m beginning to really love his On Theatre creations.

Gordon dramatises contemporary debates. Earlier in the year MTC gave us Grace (On Religion) and Red Stitch close their year with On Ego. Gordon wrote Grace with philosopher A C Grayling, and On Ego was a collaboration with neuropsychologist Paul Brocks, whose book Into The Silent Land explores what makes ‘meat into mind’; how the ‘awesome’ behaviour of neurons in the kilo and a half of meat in our bone box head makes us believe that there is something unique and worthy called ‘I’.

Whereby I felt that Grace was trying to lecture me about the impossibility of God, On Ego (despite including a genuine lecture) questioned and doubted the logic of fact and reveals how even the most firmly held beliefs can disappear the instant they are truly put to the test.

Alex (Dennis Moore) lectures that the brain is a story telling machine and our concept of self is just a story, but he is slapped by his own convictions when his wife Alice (Andrea Swifte) has a brain tumour and he is replicated when a routine teleport goes wrong. In a world where science fiction is fact, the dilemmas reveal the depth and the shallowness of their beliefs and, more importantly, make the audience question what they would do if faced with the same situation.

Creative industries thrive on the uniqueness of individuals – engineers and two-dollar shop owners don’t invite the opinion of reviewers. So On Ego is a fascinating and ironic exploration of the concept of self. By embracing the lecture and soapbox aspects of the work, Red Stitch’s production gently draws us into the thoughts of the characters; thoughts that contradict, support and dismiss their beliefs.

On Ego doesn’t ask us to take a side, but makes sure that we try to make a decision about what we would do if we had risk the loss of ourselves.

I don't think I'd press the green button.

This review appeared on AussieTheatre.com.

What's on this week? 23 November

What's on this week? 23 November

Africa
My Darling Patricia
Malthouse Theatre
Malthouse commissed this one, which runs until 29 November.
I loved it.

Short and Sweet
Chapel on Chapel
You never know what will turn up
Week One, Top 30
Short and Sweet reviews 2006-08

On Ego
Red Stitch
It's rare to see a dud from Red Stitch.
Until 19 December.
review

Structure and Sadness
Malthouse Theatre and Lucy Guerin Inc
This premiered at MIAF 2006 and won a stack of awards.
Short season, 25-29 November

Review: Short and Sweet 09 Top 30 Week 1

Short and Sweet 09 Top 30 Week 1
Short and Sweet
21 November 2009
Chapel off Chapel

For its fifth festival, Short and Sweet has moved to Chapel off Chapel. It’s still the most popular and prestigious short play event in town, but it seems to be turning into a launch pad for new writers, rather than a showcase for established writers.

This is great for the writers, who get to see their work performed, but disappointing for those of us who remember the addictive quality of the first Short and Sweets. Do established writers think that writing a ten-minute play is too easy or that it’s not what grown up writers do? Telling a story in ten minutes is harder than telling it in an hour, so, established writers, please start submitting again.

Or can there be a workshop process for the plays that are nearly there, but desperate for another draft or five.

Writing isn’t about having an opinion or putting words in an aesthetic order. It’s about telling a story (where things change) through characters who make us care and make us think about our own lives. Story and complex characters were generally missing from this week’s offerings. If a 30-second TV ad can tell a story, a ten-minute play can tell an epic.

Community Chest is about inverted nipples and nothing about communities. I think there was one great moment of revelation, but it got lost because everything was presented with the same level of intensity.

People remember things differently was the popular theme of the night. The direction saved Eyewitness, but it couldn’t make us care about these one-dimensional characters, who were far better realised than the offstage character whom we knew nothing about.

Frank Otis likes ranting about sex and women. Bucks Night is about stripping, so he pulled out some clichés (‘I’m stripping to put myself though law school – and here are my tits just in case you don’t believe my character’) and pulled out a gun.

The direction also saved Arabesque. Marina Lou wrote lovely words, but I can’t even remember what it was about. Oh yea, people remember things differently.

The engaging and delightful performances in Wrestling With Magpies were nearly as good as the jungle gym set. So why wasn’t it used? Like a pink Meccano elephant sitting on the stage, I kept waiting for it to be relevant.

“Droopy cock” was by far the best joke of the night and Haircuts had story and character, but I couldn’t get past the “mamma mia” “stupido”, “I dunna complain” wog accents that we haven’t heard since Kingswood Country was on the telly.

We can never have enough love stories or people not saying what they really want to say. The Rehearsal was my runner up favourite of the night, but I want to see it re-drafted to make us care about her and give them both something real to lose or gain.

None of the team should have regrets for No Regrets. This dud one night stand was the absolute winner of the night. This is the standard of writing, direction and performance I expect of this festival. I empathised, I cared and I didn’t know how it was going to end.

Alex Broun writers numerous plays based on popular culture and whatever pops up on his Facebook feed. Rupert and the Seven Russian Email Brides nailed it. I just wish that Rupert wasn’t as clichéd as his brides.

Fruits of War is a ten-minute metaphor, but told so very well.

This review appeared on AussieTheatre.com.
 
Week 2
Week 3

Short and Sweet 2006-08 reviews.

Review: Africa

Africa
Malthouse Theatre and My Darling Patricia
14 November 2009
Tower Theatre, CUB Malthouse

When a show opens with a baby’s head in a microwave oven, you know you have to keep watching.

My Darling Patricia use puppets, design and performance to create the most evocative and original images of Australian urban existence. They see the epic in the most mundane and leave us unsure if the world they expose is beautiful or horrific.

The Tower theatre is draped in children’s linen, covered with characters and colour and faded by love. I didn’t see my washed-til-it-was bare Paddington Bear quilt cover, but there was a pink Pierrot with a frill that I would have coveted at seven.

This Africa isn’t savannas and safaris, but filled with things that we hope define and protect childhood: toys, games and the consistent belief that life is already good and going to get better, despite the horrendous bumps that happen along the way.

Inspired by a true incident, it’s the story of a Courtney, her best friend Cheety and her little sister (played by puppets). On a not unusual night, when they are given a packet of chips and the TV while her mum goes out with her latest man (real adults), the kids discover Africa and plan to escape.

Under the veil of whimsy and nostalgia, My Darling Patricia reveal the murky reality and desperate yearning hidden in the back rooms and porches of our suburbs. Although we don’t approve, we accept a bit of drunken promiscuity and lax supervision from a young mum who hasn’t had the best life, but our hearts break when she finally sees the violence of her boyfriend; not because she is alone, but because she won’t let him give the kids his Christmas presents (even a drunken, skinny bogan Santa can bring great presents). If there were a hat to whip around the audience at that point, the collection would have bought Courtney the best karaoke machine on the market.

Africa was developed in a Malthouse Tower Theatre residency. I can’t say enough good about this program that lets independent companies develop and perform to a larger and receptive audience.

This review appeared on AussieTheatre.com.

What's on this week? 13 November

What's On This Week: November13

December in Melbourne without the Speigeltent is a bit strange, but it gives us time to see other things.

Pretty Baby
Friday 13 Novemer ONLY
MTC,  Lawler Studio
A playreading of Declan Greene's latest, commissioned by the MTC's Young and Emerging Artists program with Anne Browning, Georgina Capper, Francis Greenslade and Peter Houghton. What a cast!

14 November
And it was terrific! Dec is fearless, but his absurd (and Absurd) content always comes from and returns to the most delicate observation of our lives. Who else could have every women (and most of the men) in the audience empathising with a gelatinous blob and a swamp woman.

Africa
My Darling Patricia
Malthouse Theatre
Malthouse commissed this one, which runs until 29 November.
review

Trio
fortyfivedownstairs
Finishes on Sunday 15 November.
If you rightly love how Yvonne Virsik directs.
review

Diane Peters Trio
Sunday 15 November
Jazz Harp
Bennetts Lane

Short and Sweet
Chapel on Chapel
The annual short play festival has moved venues, but there's still three weeks of short plays. Some will be crap, some will be brilliant.

Mikelangelo and the Tin Star
Order of Melbourne
Friday 20 December
I haven't seen Mikelangelo's new posse, but how could they not be great?

Review: Trio

Trio
Larrikin Ensemble Theatre
10 November 2009
fortyfivedownstairs

Sometimes it is hard to understand why a beautifully written script by a proven and accomplished writer doesn’t leap off the stage as well as it jumps off the page.

Dina Ross wrote Trio as a response to a series of coincidental encounters with the work of three ‘genius’ artists who took their own lives. Her story is the death of fictional virtuoso Australian violinist Karl Munch, as told by his lover, his agent and his brother as they get dressed for Munch’s memorial service. It’s an honest reflection on the existence of artist as superstar and why it’s perhaps not a dream to aspire to.

In a mighty performance, Chris Bunworth (fluidly directed by Yvonne Virsik) is all three characters and brings a different response to the grief of each man. As each talk directly to the audience, the performance is at times confronting and confusing because it’s not clear, to the audience or the performer, who these men are talking to. As long as it is an actor talking to an audience, the audience are watching Chris ‘perform’, rather than being drawn into the grief and anger of these men.

However, this type of theatre starts and ends with the script. Trio is original and intriguing; the characters are complex, the craft is terrific and Ross creates some unforgettable images, like teenage Karl cutting himself to make the gift go away. But for all its goodness, I didn’t care about the men whose souls were aching, let alone why Karl died.

I could see plot, but I couldn’t see story. I couldn’t see the goals and motivations of the characters, didn’t know what drove them through each scene and I didn’t know what I was meant to wonder about. I appreciate that Ross wants the audience to make up their own minds about what happened, but the core of any great story is a question to draws us forward (Will Hamlet kill himself? Will Dorothy get home? Will Matt Preston drool?) Were we meant to wonder if it was suicide/murder/accident, if Karl was happy, or if he did it so the men he loved to use the ‘currency’ of his death?

Or maybe there just wasn’t room for the audience’s empathy. We love great stories because of how they make us feel, not because of how the characters feel.

Writers love writing words and actors love saying them, but audiences like stories told with as few words as possible. Every word has to earn its place in a script and audiences don’t need to be told what they already know. We knew that Karl shut his eyes when he played and didn’t need to be told again; each character showed us how they felt, but then went and told us anyway – we knew Robbie “was too proud to let him see how upset I was”. No matter how beautiful the words or how good the performance, it’s frustrating to be told what we already know and it stalls the story.

Trio is on its way to the USA. It’s a good show, but could be great with some brave editing that would leave fewer words, but would leave space for the audience to create their own emotional response.

This review appeared on AussieTheatre.com.

Rich, white, straight-acting blokes

Rich, white, straight-acting blokes

One of the first things I saw on Facebook this morning was a link to The Age (I don't bother with the whole paper these days, just what my friends suggest I read) and this piece by the wonderful Catherine Deveny.

Like the person who posted it, I want to make copies and hand it out too many times each day. Not just to teenagers on trains calling everything gay (I too was a little shit in the teen years), but to the educated grown ups I meet every day.

Like the bloke who installed my oven and told me how they could rent this place to a dozen Indians because "they" don't care or the 20-something who gave a speech in class about how she understood the Israel-Palestine situation better than anyone or the EX bf who told me how women who work in strip clubs exploit men.

Like Catherine D, I work in the arts; a world known for its utopian equal opportunity; where men, women, straight, gay, old, young, god-fearing, atheist and every colour of the great big racial melting pot are treated exactly the same. And an industy full of all the stuff that white people like*. But us well-over-30 white chicks are still on the bandwagon.

And while I'm at is, here's what the also wonderful Marike Hardy had to say about the current John Safran hoo ha.

And an edited version of this letter appeared in The Age a few weeks ago in response to the MTC's 2010 season. It was written by actor and writer Dana Miltins on behalf of the Melbourne Worker's Theatre.

I'm not sure that a boycott is the answer (but then again I haven't actively eaten a Nestle product since the 80s), but it shows how deeply angry and frustrating it is when you are not  a "rich white straight-acting bloke who believes in God, or pretends to."

Over the past fortnight Australian main-stage theatre companies have been unveiling their 2010 seasons to a barrage of complaints and criticism about the lack of opportunities for women in key creative roles, especially directing. Last week the Melbourne Theatre Company followed suit by announcing that out of 12 productions only one is to be directed by a woman.

A recent article in your paper cites a letter sent by director Melanie Beddie on behalf of the Australian Women Directors’ Alliance to the MTC questioning their commitment to their equal opportunity policies. We understand there has been no reply. Derek Young, the MTC’s chair, said that the company does not feel it should be held responsible for gender equality; rather that it is an issue for the entire theatrical industry. He pointed out that Beddie had made a similar complaint in 2003 and that nothing had changed.

We, the current ensemble of the Melbourne Workers Theatre, wish to offer our thanks and support to Melanie Beddie and the Directors’ Alliance for bringing this issue to light. We would like to say to the MTC that to admit that nothing has changed since 2003 is to admit that the company is stagnant and out of touch with what is happening in theatre beyond its doors. The Women Directors’ Alliance comprises 60 members: a significant proportion of those members, Beddie included, have spent decades directing excellent, profound and mostly under-funded theatre in Melbourne and beyond. Our industry relies on these women’s efforts as mentors for cultivating writers, performers, designers and technicians, but in turn they are not rewarded with professional work that is commensurate with their experience and skills. If artistic director Simon Philips is suggesting that the MTC’s gender inequality is the result of a lack of experienced Victorian female directors then we would like to ask him: are you blind, or scared, or both? There is no shortage of female talent in Victoria, simply a lack of opportunity.

We understand that budgetary constraints limit the number of external directors that can be employed by the company. But, when the proportion of directors is always overwhelmingly male we are interested in finding out what your recruitment criteria are that so many experienced women continue to be overlooked. That said, if the cost of external directors is causing gender equality to remain grossly unbalanced then it would seem logical to include women in your salaried creative staff.

If the MTC is the flagship theatre company of this state then it, more than any other company, has a responsibility to set an example and act fairly when it comes to gender equality. To relinquish that responsibility and make excuses as to the current state of discrimination implies that the MTC does not hold this issue to be important and therefore does not intend to act to promote change.

The Melbourne Workers Theatre would like to entreat all theatre-goers to take a stand and boycott main-stage plays that are directed by men until the imbalance is addressed. Theatre is nothing without an audience and an audience is almost nothing without womeOver the past fortnight Australian main-stage theatre companies have been unveiling their 2010 seasons to a barrage of complaints and criticism about the lack of opportunities for women in key creative roles, especially directing. Last week the Melbourne Theatre Company followed suit by announcing that out of 12 productions only one is to be directed by a woman.
 
A recent article in your paper cites a letter sent by director Melanie Beddie on behalf of the Australian Women Directors’ Alliance to the MTC questioning their commitment to their equal opportunity policies. We understand there has been no reply. Derek Young, the MTC’s chair, said that the company does not feel it should be held responsible for gender equality; rather that it is an issue for the entire theatrical industry. He pointed out that Beddie had made a similar complaint in 2003 and that nothing had changed.

We, the current ensemble of the Melbourne Workers Theatre, wish to offer our thanks and support to Melanie Beddie and the Directors’ Alliance for bringing this issue to light. We would like to say to the MTC that to admit that nothing has changed since 2003 is to admit that the company is stagnant and out of touch with what is happening in theatre beyond its doors. The Women Directors’ Alliance comprises 60 members: a significant proportion of those members, Beddie included, have spent decades directing excellent, profound and mostly under-funded theatre in Melbourne and beyond. Our industry relies on these women’s efforts as mentors for cultivating writers, performers, designers and technicians, but in turn they are not rewarded with professional work that is commensurate with their experience and skills. If artistic director Simon Philips is suggesting that the MTC’s gender inequality is the result of a lack of experienced Victorian female directors then we would like to ask him: are you blind, or scared, or both? There is no shortage of female talent in Victoria, simply a lack of opportunity.

We understand that budgetary constraints limit the number of external directors that can be employed by the company. But, when the proportion of directors is always overwhelmingly male we are interested in finding out what your recruitment criteria are that so many experienced women continue to be overlooked. That said, if the cost of external directors is causing gender equality to remain grossly unbalanced then it would seem logical to include women in your salaried creative staff.

If the MTC is the flagship theatre company of this state then it, more than any other company, has a responsibility to set an example and act fairly when it comes to gender equality. To relinquish that responsibility and make excuses as to the current state of discrimination implies that the MTC does not hold this issue to be important and therefore does not intend to act to promote change.

The Melbourne Workers Theatre would like to entreat all theatre-goers to take a stand and boycott main-stage plays that are directed by men until the imbalance is addressed. Theatre is nothing without an audience and an audience is almost nothing without women.

by Dana Miltins

* Here's the version for Melbourne white folk.

Review: Fire: a retrospective

Fire: a retrospective
Bangarrra Dance Theatre
6 November 2009
The Arts Centre, Playhouse

Hands up if you can name Australia’s internationally revered national contemporary dance company. How Aussie that, after 20 years of consistent achievement, Bangarra Dance Theatre isn’t always given the respect, the support and the adoration it deserves at home.

Not that the audience at Fire didn’t adore. Far from it. Being in that cheering audience was one of the most beautiful moments I’ve had in a theatre. It’s humbling to be with a crowd who are thanking the creators and performers for telling stories that all members of the diverse audience understood felt were theirs.

I like dance, but it’s like a foreign language and I’m often left admiring the pretty and the skill as I wonder what they are trying to say to me. But I totally get Bangarra. I watch this company perform and I know what they are saying to me. It might not be what they created it to say, but that doesn’t matter. Bangarra tell their stories by expressing the emotions of moments. We fill in the rest.

Under the artistic directorship of Stephen Page, Bangarra’s merge of traditional and contemporary is fluid and natural. There is no straight line in nature, no unison or perfect repetition. Random patterns are why it’s so hard to make anything artificial look natural. Bangarra’s choreographic style is precise, but there’s never unnatural unison. The slight differences between each dancer’s performance creates a stage that seems more natural and more in tune with how we are.

Bangarra’s originality flows from welcoming ancient white ochre ritual and encompassing Torres Straight Island celebration through to the a gorgeous use of elastic to create a stage full of cat’s cradle like song lines and the most awesome and sexy use of a slip ‘n’ slide. But the moments that remind us that our Indigenous culture is more than gum leaves and roo dancing are the most powerful.

Four men in jeans dance to a spoken Lord’s prayer and the voices of those who need to be heard in a piece about alchoholism, violence and abuse, and there’s a room silencing moment when a scratching, screaming woman finds relief in the horror of drugs. It’s not only in the arts that Australians suffer and are ignored for ‘cultural’ reasons.

At a time when far too much media and dinner party conversation was spent justifying the Aussie joke of black face and John Safran’s Race Relations is creating a mighty hoo ha on the telly, it’s a perfect time to go to the theatre to be part of a history, a vision and a contemporary dreaming that we are all part of.

This review appeared on AussieTheatre.com

Terrific writing tips #2

Writing Tips
from Jackie French

Jackie is an amazing children's writer. Diary of a Wombat is one of the best picture books ever, but what I love about her stories is that you are always totally with the charaters and with the moment. She doesn't distact readers with her writerly cleverness - and she is one very clever writer.

Here are some of Jackie's tips about writing. Some are specifically about writing for children, but I find them invaluable when your writing for anyone.

Terrific writing tips #1

Writing Tips
Audition
by Michael Shurtleff

This is a book that helped me to understand why what looks like terrific writing on a page can fall flat in theatre and film.

First published in 1978, Audition has never been out of print. It’s about how to turn a dead scene into an unforgettable moment. If you don’t understand why a scene isn’t working, Shurtleff’s “Twelve Guideposts” can help uncover the problem - just substitute the word ‘writer’ for ‘actor’. If you are writing for actors, it's  also an invaluable insight into understanding how actors read scripts.

Actors love it too. I've stopped lending my copy to actors, because it's hard to get back.

Forgive my foray in advertising, but this is the cheapest place I've found it – and they deliver for free.

Review: Oh, The Horror!

Oh, The Horror!
Georgie Carpenter and Gambin's Gore Galore Productions
31 October 2009
DanceHouse

Oh The Horror! What better way to spend all hallow’s eve than with Carrie and Norman singing a duet about their mums at the premiere season of a new Melbourne-created rock’n’roll musical.

With a sold out audience shivering with antici ... you know the line, it felt like what it must have been like at the first season of that show penned by Richard O’Brien. Oh The Horror! isn’t ready for midnight performances and a movie deal yet, but it’s certainly on its way.

Babs and Vincent are the financially-challenged high school kids who have to work at the local store on Halloween. Of course, they are dissed by spunky rich kids and feeling really down, but their next customers all look like characters straight from the Elvira horror movie marathon they are missing.

Dracula, Norman, Baby Jane, Leatherface and friends are the real deal. They’ve been chased into town by an angry mob and are lucky to find support and understanding from their fellow freaks in the store. They are all having a tough time figuring out their place in the world, especially the dead ones, and people like Freddie and Carrie are feeling the urge to kill. Perhaps Babs and Vincent have some suggestions?

With themes of not belonging and the cruelty of humans, Oh The Horror! is like a 24-hour scream-fest marathon condensed into two hours, with just as many laughs and the potential for a few tears and some moments of real fear and regret.

As all the great musicals are re-worked and re-written many times before they hit the bright lights, Oh The Horror! needs to know that there are lines, plot and songs that are clad in red shirts and about to beam down to a hostile planet. Sorry to mix a sci-fi nerd metaphor with the horror-dork ones, but the writing needs Freddie’s help. And, although it’s gunna hurt, it will be so much better for it, because there’s a bloody amazing, laugh-til-you bleed show hidden in there.

First run scripts are always filled with great moments and great writing that are great, but they don’t help the overall story. Carrie’s song was brilliant – I loved it – but does her re-telling of the whole film help the story of the night? Oh The Horror! needs to find the essence of each songs and decide exactly why it’s there, what it’s saying and how it moves the story forward. If they are distracting from the ultimate story...get out the chainsaw.

The plot is only hitting a couple of bumps, but the story and the characters need work, especially with motivation (they all need to have something important at... stake) and deciding if they are their movie-selves or someone new. I adored Regan and her foul mouthed delights, but she wasn’t the terrified Regan I know from the film that made me sleep with the light on when I was 16.

Oh The Horror! is in its early days and as it finds its way to bigger theatres and longer runs (someone please give this show some solid development support) it’s going to be one of those that you just have to go back and see again.

This review appeared on AussieTheatre.com.