Thomas is auditioning actors for the role of Vanda in his adaptation of the novel Venus in Furs by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. The story is well-known for its erotic content and representation of dominance and submission in sexual relationships. Thomas thinks he has seen every actor in town and none fit the bill until a real-life Vanda comes running into the room. Over the course of the night the two dip in and out of Sacher-Masoch’s world and become lost beyond the boundaries of reality.
For their inaugural performance, the newly formed Bel a consort presented a program centred on “Requiem Mass, 1605 from composer Tomás Luis de Victoria as well as contemporaries Alonso Lobo and Jacob Clemens non Papa. The three pieces formed a harmonious concert of Renaissance sacred music.
Image by Becky Matthews
In the near future, the world has reached breaking point: the government is forcibly mandating birth control, people are fleeing across borders, communications have broken down between major powers and volatile states, and nuclear war hangs on the horizon. Ditch makes manifest the threats, predictions, and fears gathering for generations and presents the world as it may one day be.
Image by Chris Lundie
On a seemingly ordinary night in 1962, LA gossip columnist Hedda Hopper invites movie stars and rivals Bette Davis and Joan Crawford for a night of airing dirty laundry, throwing insults, and making a few deals. After lots of drinks and a fine wager from Bette, Marilyn Monroe makes an appearance and the whole night goes off the rails.
Image by Brett Boardman
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is a seminal text in English Romantic literature which many Australians would have encountered in a high school classroom. It’s a poem detailing the penance an old mariner must pay for a moment of arrogance and cruelty against a “lesser” being. Little Eggs’s reimagining for the stage adds texture and movement, bringing new life to an old text.
Image by Kevin Patterson
Extremism has been a hot topic for at least the last two decades and with every new attack, when innocent people are targeted and murdered again and again, people ask why and they ask how. The British theatre company Knaive Theatre brings its debut production to Sydney to provoke discussion about the backstory for one of the world’s most infamous terrorists.
Image by Clare Hawley
Suzie Flack has eschewed “women’s” sport for the real, original, men’s league of AFL. She has always been as good as the boys, ie better than the girls, and she wants her chance to prove herself as the first woman to ever play for the men’s team. Fierce is a complex examination of gender, bodies, ability, and want within the all-Australian realm of professional sport.
Image by Nick Gilbert
Bringing together two of the most well-known composers of the Romantic era, the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra showcased their exceptional talent for another program. When coordinating this concert program, Rachael Beesley and Nicole van Bruggen wanted to recreate an 18th Century concert, mixing styles and genres to keep the performances dynamic.
Image by Clare Hawley
Bob and Jennifer Jones are a typical American couple living out their lives in a quiet, woodsy neighbourhood. Bob was recently diagnosed with a rare neurological disease but they’re coping as best as they can. When the other Joneses, Pony and John, move in, their world is unsettled enough for them to question what’s left unsaid.
On a night of Sydney’s torrential autumn rain, Elysian Fields welcomed the audience into Foundry616 to launch their debut album What should I say. As Australia’s only band centred around an electric viola da gamba, Elysian Fields have a unique and eclectic sound blending influences from all over the world. The launch program included songs from the new album as well as some new and favourite pieces.
Night Writes 