Sunday Arts Magazine

Following rave reviews for THE CROCODILE when it premiered at the 2015 Manchester International Festival, Spinning Plates Co. snapped up the rights to present the Melbourne premiere of this “savagely silly satire” (The Telegraph)

based on a short story by Dostoevsky. Director Cassandra Fumi will re-team with designer Dann Barber, Green Room Award winner for both The Mermaid at La Mama (directed by Fumi) and The Ghetto Cabaret at fortyfivedownstairs, to bring this absurdist piece to life in spectacular fashion.

The annual Melbourne Women in Film Festival (MWFF) is proud to announce the full program for 2023, including Freshly Squeezed Shorts, Next Gen Shorts and Reel Shorts. Through the theme Connections, MWFF will explore creative collaborations and community through a dynamic program for its seventh year from 23 – 27 February 2023 at ACMI. 

 

On Saturday 25 February, MWFF has announced the Australian premiere screening of Patricia Cornelius’ award-winning drama, SHIT, staring Peta Brady, Sarah Ward and Nicci Wilks. SHIT is a psychological drama which unfolds over one long night of incarceration in a bleak holding cell. Caged for hours on end, Billy, Bobby and Sam reveal their stories of a life time of violence, abuse, and institutionalisation. Told with unsentimental, sometimes comical, often gut-wrenching insight. SHIT is directed by Susie Deeand co-produced by Trudy Hellier.

 

SHIT is adapted from the hit play, which has had eight seasons. Premiering at MTC, SHIT has been performed at Sydney Arts Festival, Darwin Festival, 2019 Biennale Theatre Festival in Venice and Edinburgh Fringe, winning the prestigious Summerhall Arts Lustrum Award. Written by one of Australia’s most celebrated playwrights, Patricia Cornelius, SHIThas been met with extraordinary critical acclaim, winning four Green Room Awards and receiving a Helpmann Awards nomination for director Susie Dee.

 

Other program highlights include, Reel Shorts (Saturday 25 February, 12:30pm) – presenting a collection of captivating and uplifting documentaries that delve into true stories from Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and the wider Moana. From intimate portraits of artists and sports icons to intercultural and intergenerational connections, these films offer diverse perspectives of the world around us. Some highlights include:More Than Cute (15 mins): A seniors Bollywood dance class in Melbourne city, is the perfect intercultural setting to discover new friendships and to unpack misconceptions about ageing. Through the lens of the traditional costume, stories are uncovered and shared. Simultaneously, underneath all the fun, colour and laughter, a miraculous healing is taking place on many different levels. Directed, produced and written by Joshinder K Chaggar.

 

Aloha Soul Food (12 mins): Merging personal memoir and photojournalism, Aloha Soul Food nostalgically explores decolonial foodways through the family life stories of six Pacific Island women. A transnational story set in Los Angeles, California, the documentary shares the stories of how working-class women navigate their lives through major historical events that occurred throughout the last century. The film shows how generations can reclaim identity and historical spaces through recipes. Directed and written by Lani Cupchoy.

My Uterus is Trying to Kill Me (20 mins): Due to the invasive nature of the diagnostic process, endometriosis can have profound effects on an individual’s life. This documentary tells stories of various people living with endometriosis and their unique journeys, from diagnosis to coping with a chronic illness daily. By showing people casually and confidently talking about their experiences, this film aims to normalise the discussion around what is currently a taboo topic. Co-directed by Emily Michelle Ellers and co-directed and produced by Hannah Louise Ranger. 

 

Next Gen Shorts (Saturday 25 February, 4pm) showcases the creativity and talent of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand’s next generation of filmmaker...

After a remarkable 50 years at La Mama Theatre, Dr Liz Jones AO will step down from her role as Artistic Director and co-CEO at the end of March 2023. This was announced this evening at the launch of La Mama’s Summer 2023 program with performers and theatre-makers in attendance.

Liz’s decision to transition to a less demanding role at La Mama signals a tectonic shift in the arts landscape, however, her legacy is one of unparalleled commitment to the artists, performers, staff and audiences who have made La Mama the institution it is today.

Liz joined La Mama in 1973 after meeting founder Betty Burstall and became Artistic Director in 1976. After five decades at the helm, Liz now feels it’s time to pass the torch to the next generation, a difficult decision, though one that invites new artistic voices to help shape the evolution of La Mama into the future.

“I step down from these positions of responsibility with both great relief and a heavy heart!

But I know La Mama is in good hands and believe it will have a brilliant future. And I hope to

be in the audience of that important institution for many years to come,” Liz said.

As a La Mama elder, Liz will remain a member of staff when she ends her tenure as Artistic Director in late March reading over playscripts and providing feedback, as well as working on La Mama’s ‘Lost History’ project, which aims to recover the stories and history lost from her diaries in the devastating blaze that gutted La Mama HQ in 2018.

Throughout her time at La Mama, Liz has overseen the production of countless works, the mentoring of thousands of artists, fundraising of $1.7 million to purchase the Faraday Street theatre space in 2008, and the planning for La Mama HQ’s rebuild following the fire in 2018.

The remainder of the 2023 La Mama season has been programmed by Liz, across both La Mama Theatre HQ in Faraday St and the neighbouring Courthouse Theatre in Carlton.

Richard Watts, Chair of La Mama’s Committee of Management, said: “Liz Jones’ love for La Mama, for Australian stories, and for independent theatre is baked into the bricks of our buildings and the workings of the La Mama team every day. From the outset she conceived of La Mama as an artist-led theatre and today we celebrate that vision, as well as Liz’s remarkable commitment – not just to our theatre but to the arts across Australia.

“Having watched Liz guide La Mama and its staff through many tempestuous years, including most recently the 2018 fire and the COVID-induced lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, the Committee of Management are thankful that Liz will stay on at La Mama in a new role as one of the company’s much-respected Elders. Her knowledge of the Australian theatre sector is unparalleled and while she will no longer be our Artistic Director after March this year, we know that her wisdom and experience will continue to guide us when the need arises.

“Thank you Liz – we love you, respect you, and are eternally grateful for your long and careful custodianship of La Mama over the last five decades. As you now pass on that role to the next generation of custodians, we look forward to celebrating your tenure and legacy on Friday 31 March at what’s sure to be one hell of a party.”

Reflecting on her time, Liz said: “La Mama offers all comers another chance. It welcomes and encourages the marginalised, the deviant, the other, the quiet ones, the noisy ones. It gives them all a voice. And such an artistic voice was offered to me and my partner Lloyd Jones 50 years ago!

“I never tire of seeing work at La Mama. I am seldom bored. I have never been tempted to

move on (or up!). For me a great performance at La Mama is as good as it gets. And I have

seen many inspiring performances there.

First Peoples First is new for 2023 and audiences can expect a sensational day and night of First Nations music, featuring Christine Anu, a tribute to Archie Roach with his band and special guests, Lady Lash, Jem Cassar-Daley, Singing Our Futures presented by the Archie Roach Foundation, Jungaji, Dean Brady and Loren Ryan all taking to the Main Stage overlooking the foreshore.

The O’Donnell Gardens Stage will feature Caution, Creedence Blanco, Dean Brady, Loren Ryan, One Fire – Robert Bamblett, Indigenous Outreach Projects, Small Ant Brothers and Pirritu.

Along with the stunning music line-up, festivalgoers can expect a range of activities and pop-up traders, including face painting, a basketball competition, circus, art workshops and more.

 

Big Festival Sunday highlights include band Hoodoo Gurus, Confidence Man, Yothu Yindi, Genesis Owusu, Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers. In total, more than 50 acts will take to multiple stages, plus roving performers and buskers will entertain throughout the precinct, from 10am – 10pm.

There’s many First Nations artists on Sunday too. Loren Ryan, Pirritu and Singing Our Futures are performing both days.

 

St Kilda Festival is Australia’s most popular and iconic, free music festival. No bookings are necessary, just look up the line-up times on line, come down and enjoy!

Stephen talks to the Sunday Arts Magazine Team.

Travis Alabanza’s international breakout hit Burgerz will take the stage at Theatre Works this

February, as part of Midsumma Festival. Helmed by the Green Room Award winning team behind

“The Gospel According to Jesus Queen of Heaven”, this Australasian premiere will be the first

international production to feature a new performer in the lead role; Melbourne’s most exciting up-

and-coming trans artist Kikki Temple.

Funny, confronting, flirtatious and sometimes a bit messy, Burgerz combines confessional

storytelling, live cooking, and audience interaction to recreate a trans person of colour’s lived

experience. Poignantly unpredictable, Burgerz lifts the lid off gender and race politics by asking us to

reflect on our own complicity. To be unregulated is to be dangerous.

In broad daylight in April 2016 at Flinders Street Station, a burger was thrown at Kikki whilst someone

shouted a transphobic slur. Over one hundred people saw, and no one did anything. To understand

this act of violence, Kikki needs to make a burger – with the help of a stranger. Burgerz is the climax

of their obsession —exploring how trans bodies survive in public spaces and how they can reclaim an

act of violence.

“I remember feeling like this was a story I needed to tell. Like the words have been on my lips the whole

time but I just didn’t know how to get them out. When I read what Travis had written, I felt a sense of

relief knowing someone had articulated what I had been trying to say the whole time.” -Kikki Temple

Carving out a place as one of the UK’s prominent trans voices, Alabanza is an award-winning theatre

maker and trans activist who has opened arena shows for Jonathan van Ness and Alok Vaid-Menon.

Burgerz has played internationally in Sao Paulo, Southbank Centre, Bristol Old Vic, Smock Alley

Dublin, HAU Berlin, and Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where it won the Total Theatre award.

Celebrating Lunar New Year in the luckiest place in Melbourne, internationally-acclaimed cabaret provocateurs Finucane & Smith meld the ancient with the contemporary for House of the Heart – a cabaret of home, belonging, journey and heart.   From 2 – 12 February,  Chinese Museum’s Dragon Gallery will become a velvety lair filled with song, opera, storytelling and dance particularly spotlighting Chinese, Chinese diaspora and First Nations artists.

Inspired by nearly a decade’s rich and deep collaboration in China and Australian adventures, House of the Heart is an intercultural celebration of home, ancestors and how we get there – a cocktail of voices, stories and artforms across ages, those from far away and those who have always been here.

Surrounded by large scale processional dragons and beneath intricate Chinese lanterns; multi-awarded indie-pop composer and vocalist Sophie Koh; proud Ngarluma First Nations jazz blues legend Lois Olney, rising talent Chinese classical singer Zitao Deng, cellist Xiao Xiao and dancer Paul Cordeiro – whose rich Chinese/Thai/Portuguese heritage infuses a lifetime of dance – will take to the stage. The work also stars guitar virtuoso Dave Johnson, visual artist Emma Luk with awarded Musical Director Rachel Lewindon, and is hosted by head diva and art alchemist Moira Finucane.

A revolving cavalcade of Finucane & Smith’s dancers, storytellers and singers will grace the stage during the season including country legends The Muirs – the soulful duo of Yorta Yorta/Wiradjuri artist Glennys Briggs (whose father and Jimmy Little’s father travelled together in a vaudeville band) and guitarist/singer Ian Muir; Melbourne’s celebrated gender transcendent diva Mama Alto; 88 year old theatre maven Shirley Cattunar; and barkeep songbirds Lachlan Bartlett and Jens Radda.

XYZ is honored to present the work of six older male artists who have been in practice more

than a decade. In this exhibition the curator, garrie maguire, has selected the practitioners and

allowed them to put forward to the audience work they wish to show. Each approaches this

subject differently. Half have covered their subjects’ nudity. The other three find ways of moving

from reality via process or abstraction. Each practitioner’s technical skills are joined to creative

reinterpretation. The results are exquisite photographic prints that resonate on the wall.

Thomas Jasper talks to the Sunday Arts Magazine team.

A dynamic and darkly comic premiere season,

The MILF and Mistress is a rare and compelling theatrical event that centres on the older lesbian experience. Hitting the stage at Theatre Works’ Explosives

Factory in January 2023, it angles a bright spotlight on how Saturday soccer, school runs, and flannelette pyjamas

all work to keep us in a comfortable domestic slumber… until a well-placed riding crop wakes us up.

The MILF and Mistress tells the tale of Ali Henderson. An intelligent, middle-aged woman who outwardly seems

to be living the lesbian dream. But three pets, two sons, one wife and a shiny quarter acre block in suburbia make

for one very frustrated MILF. She apparently “has it all”… but is it enough? Does happily ever after simply expire?

A new Australian work by multi-award winning playwright and actor Jane Montgomery Griffiths, The MILF and

Mistress will be realised on the stage by Theatre Works Executive Director, and first time theatre director, Dianne

Toulson. Performed by renowned actor and Green Room Award Winner Jennifer Vuletic, The MILF and Mistress

is an important comment on a group within the GLBTIQA+ community whose experiences are often sidelined and

dismissed.

“We all know about the invisibility of middle-age for women”, explains writer Jane Montgomery Griffith, “so

much of that, though, is tied up with heterosexuality and women no longer being deemed attractive. There’s very

little theatrical work out there exploring and validating middle-aged lesbians and their sexuality. Concurrently,

there’s also growing interest in debunking the taboo of women hiring sex workers, what with the success of Good

luck, Leo Grande, so I suppose this project is a bit within that zeitgeist.