What Melbourne Loved in 2018, part 11

Today's the end of the 2018 Loveds and go from the tiniest to the largest stages. Tomorrow I publish my Best Of and my favourite moments are included today. If you missed out, I'll add some more in that nothing week between Xmas and New Year.

Tom Dickins
Co-founder of Crowded

Tom Dickins. Photo by Simone Pulga

Favourite moments in 2018
The MICF awards ceremony this year. We had a number of the shows we were presenting up for nominations including two shows nominated for the Golden Gibbo, Cam Venn (at The Butterfly Club) and Double Denim (at Belleville). When Cam was announced as the winner, I looked over at he and his partner, both in tears of shock and happiness and promptly burst into tears myself. To make the occasion all the sweeter, moments later, Double Denim were announced as the winners of the Director's Choice award for the festival and, if I had stopped crying by that point, I quickly resumed the waterworks. Every year, the comedy festival is a huge commitment of time, effort, creativity, passion, fatigue and (hopefully) laughter. Seeing excellent comedians excel at their craft and be recognised for it this year was a pure delight.

Looking forward to in 2019
As much as it terrifies me, I'm looking forward to the massive challenge of MICF 2019. This year we are involved in 101 productions across 11 stages (some 1080 performances in total). We may keel over from sheer exhaustion, but I'm very proud of our 2019 program across Crowded In The Vaults (including Pilgrim), Belleville, Campari House, Tasma Terrace and The Butterfly Club.

SM: Look at those numbers for next year – 101 productions across 11 stages (some 1080 performances in total)! As a producer, Tom and Crowded are amazing. I don't get near to seeing even half of what he produces, but I'm thrilled every time I see a new artists or a new show that he's trusting on a stage. Melbourne's indie cabaret scene would be far smaller and far less exciting without him.


Anne-Marie Peard
Writer

Anne-Marie Peard. I didn't take a sneaky selfie at Lone.

Favourite moments in 2018
The first time I saw Mojo Juju sing "Native Tongue" (at RIOT at Arts Centre Melbourne). I went on to see her a couple more times during the year. She's incredible.

Hanging out with Jackson in Lone by The Rabble at Arts House.

Every moment of Calamity Jane. Pure joy.

Making #queercrochet for Hir.

Choosing my MICF shows based on being Melbourne Independent Celebratory and Feminist.

Being chosen for audience participation in Cam Venn's Charles Horse Lays An Egg.

Watching the international response to Hannah Gadsby's Nanette. We called that.

Drinking beer in the pub and taking about funerals with Lara Thoms and Scott Turnball.

The industry joining together to support EJ Norvil and Yael Stone.
We also noticed who wasn't supportive.

Looking forward to in 2019
More support of arts writing at all levels.
More understanding that independent writers are not commercial writers.
Less of the "you're not invited" games.
More welcoming of emerging writers and critics to every show – you can't get good if you don't see work.
More diverse critical voices. (A big yay for Witness for finding diverse voices.)
More understanding that reviewing is more than a poster quote.
More caring more about quality writing rather than about stars and adjectives.

And Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I'm not even going to try and be cool and pretend that I'm not counting down the days.

Interview: The Director

The Director
Part of the Mere Mortals series at Arts House
Lara Thoms, artist
Scott Turnbull, funeral director

on until 2 December
artshouse.com.au

The Director. Lara Thoms, Scott Turnbull, Photo by Bryony Jackson

A funeral director, a site-specific performance artist and a journalist walk into a bar…

It’s not the set up for a joke, but there’s been lot of laughing and unexpected joy at Arts House this month with the Mere Mortals program about death and dying.

So far, live art experiences have included dying in a hospital bed in The Infirmary, talking about end-of-life choices and going to a wake in vigil/wake, and lying under a tree listening to a description of how a body decomposes in Bushland (which also runs on 1 and 2 December – book; it's so cool).

This week, the wonderful Ridiculusmus present a show called Die! Die! Die! Old People Die! and there's the premier of a new work called The Director, created and performed by a funeral director and a theatre director.

I interviewed Scott Turnball and Lara Thoms, who will be co-artistic director of Aphids next year, for The Age.

The first thing Scott Turnbull asked me was if I'd brought beer to the interview. No. So, naturally, we went to the pub and talked about death and funerals. And laughed, a lot.