Melbourne and Sydney, art and commercialism, love and money; whether it’s the 1980s, 2014, or 2021, the battle is the same with each side deeply entrenched in their beliefs about success and happiness. In David Williamson’s 1987 play, artists butt up against producers, funding bodies, and even the audiences all for the integrity of the art. But what’s really at stake?
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The image of the tortured artist is a popular one; the sad sack, the alcoholic, the neurotic recluse. But even for artists who might be considered “normal”, there remains the rather insistent self-doubt: “Why am I doing this?” In Debra Oswald’s solo memoir performance, she explores the life events leading to her career as a writer and the many, many trials she’s faced over that career.
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The concept of home and what having one gives to you are things many Australians are lucky enough to take for granted. Stability, safety, a memory of where you’re coming from, and a plan for where you’re going; small things denied to so many. In this autobiographical solo show, Oliver Twist examines his own experiences with starting over as a Rwandan refugee.
Continue reading →Anna is 18 and, while she hasn’t gone to uni or really figured out a plan at all, she wants to take control of her life. Part of this includes no longer taking the medication she’s been on for her entire adolescence in order to reclaim an earlier, more authentic version of herself. This isn’t a decision just for her, though, as a new boyfriend, her mother, and her long-term psychiatrist complicate the practicalities of mental health and being unwell.
Following middle-aged Sandra as she battles through the Sydney housing shortage after her housemates give her two weeks to leave, Brooke Robinson’s new work introduces a critical conversation to the Sydney stage. When we’re all familiar with the housing crisis on a macro scale through rising house prices and sales of car-sized land going for millions of dollars, Good Cook. Friendly. Clean. is a confronting portrayal of the personal cost for someone who slips through the cracks and is routinely denied basic human necessities.
Adolescence is really, really hard but add on an unwell dad, struggling mum, burgeoning sexual relationship, and an absurd blueberry costume and it can all become overwhelming very quickly. Staged as part of Griffin’s Batch Festival, Ang Collins’s Blueberry Play is an emotional roller coaster through a 17-year-old’s life in small town Australia. Plus, there are some pretty schnazzy labrador animations.
Kill Climate Deniers is a new Australian political satire about the state of the political, scientific, and social discourse around climate change in our country. It depicts a group of eco-terrorists storming Parliament House during a Fleetwood Mac concert in order to hold the audience, including the Minister for the Environment, hostage and demand the Australian government put an immediate stop to global climate change. Written by David Finnigan, it won the 2017 Griffin Playwrights Award.
