Sunday Arts Magazine

Lifting the Lid – a memoir born of adoption is Karen’s exploration of identity through her experience as a much longed for adopted baby girl and growing up in middle Australia in the 1960s and 1970s.

A product of a sexual encounter between a ‘fine’ protestant girl and a migrant Italian catholic musician, the author traverses uncharted territory where truth and secrets live in parallel. The clash of religion, language and culture proved no test for the passion and excitement experienced by men and women who were coming of age in the 1960s – a unique era of Australia’s social landscape.

 

Karen remembers her Mum telling her she was adopted at age three; at the age of eight she was told her father was Italian and on the night before her wedding she met her birth-mother at Melbourne airport. Finally meeting the woman of her dreams and finding familial traits in appearance and mannerism, filling in some of the gaps of her identity.

 

The book launches on the 23 February whilst 8 March, International Women’s Day, is another significant date in Karen’s story.  As a four-week old baby, Karen travelled by train from Sydney to Newcastle accompanied by a nurse.  With a name tag tied to her wrist, the nurse left the unaccompanied baby in the temporary care of the Station Master at Broadmeadow Station (Newcastle) awaiting collection by her adoptive mother.  8 March is also the date when she actually found her birth mother, Ann.

Stephen A Russell talks about Films to David and Neil.

We Survived! Don’t miss the Bus!

When COVID-19 shut our production down in its tracks in early March 2020, we didn’t let this preverbal flat tyre from keep us from doing what we love. We kept rehearsing via digital technologies and continued to work tirelessly during lock down to finish over 200 spectacular costumes, and styling the 100 wigs that will now get to grace the stage April 2021 as part of Midsumma Festival, in this flirty fun and fabulous Victorian Amateur Premiere of Priscilla Queen of the Desert – The Musical.

In 1994 an independent Aussie film about two drag queens and a transsexual woman on a fabulous road trip travelling across the desert from Sydney to the Alice became an unlikely worldwide box-office – and Oscar-winning – hit. In 2006 the stage production premiered at the Lyric theatre in Sydney and has made its way to London’s West End, Broadway now to Pakenham in 2021.  With fun, friendship and discovery along the way, Priscilla addresses homophobia and transphobia in the wider Australian community in the late 1990’s and the overall need for equality and acceptance in society.

CPAC Musical Theatre are celebrating 20 years of producing Music Theatre for the community and Priscilla Queen of the Desert makes the first Show of our 20th year celebration. We survived a pandemic, held our head up high, and have come out stronger than ever, despite this road bump.

Under creative Director Scott Hili (Billy Elliot – The Musical, Twinky and the Bear (Midsumma), The Three MusketQueers (Midsumma) has put a lot of love and camp into getting the bus back on the road post COVID.

“In an age of the glossy, beautiful drag is popularised on RuPaul’s Drag Race, Stephen Elliot’s Priscilla still stands apart as a home grown Australian Musical and the Australian Drag scene of the 1990’s. With our non-replica original production of this typical fish-out-of-water tale we continue to address LGBTQIAP+ concerns in Australian society using the arts to educate on these values.” States Mr Hili. “I cannot recommend Priscilla Queen of the Desert at CPAC highly enough. It will be talked about for years.”

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

Music for Reflection &

Music for Celebration 

Johann Sebastian Bach’s glorious music returns to Melbourne Recital Centre’s Elisabeth Murdoch Hall this March in two signature concerts surveying his genius. Shifting from an atmosphere of reflection into celebration and featuring everything from intimate solo to large string ensemble works, the two-concert series paints a dynamic portrait of the composer’s brilliance.

Both concerts are directed by violinist Rachael Beesley (concertmaster of the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra), who is highly regarded for her Bach performances. Rachael Beesley said:

‘Bringing J.S. Bach back to Melbourne Recital Centre in 2021 creates a timely moment to pause and reflect. The first program explores Bach’s solo works intertwined with exquisite moments of peace and contemplation by contemporary composers, and concert two celebrates violin concertos by Bach and gems by his peers in a display of stylish virtuosity and flamboyance.’

J.S. Bach – Music for Reflection (10 March) sees Beesley joined by cellist Josephine Vains and percussionist Robert Cossom. The program features Bach’s luminous solo violin and cello music, and contemporary works, including Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel and Cossom’s Nocturne.

On 31 March, what would have been Bach’s 336th birthday, Rachael returns with Bach’s Musicians for an uplifting concert of string repertoire that has stood the test of time. J.S. Bach – Music for Celebration has everything from the grand overture to the Orchestral Suite No.3 and dazzlingJo violin concertos to joyous pieces by Baroque contemporaries, including the passacaglia from Georg Muffat’s String Sonata No.5 in G from Armonico tribute.

Describing the series’ relevance and unique appeal, the Centre’s Director of Programming, Marshall McGuire said:

‘There always seems to be time for the music of J.S. Bach. His output manages to provide music for just about every experience we can imagine – even including periods of prolonged silence, away from music. It is with that in mind that we wanted to provide opportunities to welcome our audiences back to the Centre. One concert focuses on reflection and contemplation, as Bach and other composers weave their timeless magic. And J.S. Bach – Music for Celebration, a more upbeat exclamation of the musical soul, brings together hope, ambition, joy, and celebrates the coming together of artists and audiences.’

Katyń, a new play by Jim Daly, has its world premiere on 3 March 2021, a month short to the day of the 81st anniversary of the first transport of Polish officer prisoners to the killing-ground in the Katyń forest in the Soviet of Belorussia in 1940. The perpetrators were the Soviet NKVD (Security Police) under the direction of its chief Lavrenty Beria, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin, and the Politburo. Katyń will be performed at La Mama Courthouse Theatre in Carlton from 2 to 7 March 2021.

The play features the machinations of Stalin as he first reaps the result of his enforced economic plans – widespread starvation,  in the Ukraine. Emboldened by his ‘success’, he then turns his experienced pack of NKVD shooters onto the Polish leadership after Nazi Germany attacks Poland from the west, driven by revenge and realpolitik. This action resulted in the massacre of 21,857 Polish officers and élite, including those murdered in the Katyń forest. Many victims were found to be mummified when discovered by the Germans in 1943.

Characters in the play include Stalina the MC; a starving Ukrainian woman; Laventry Beria; the only female victim, pilot Janina Lewandowska; ‘Kombrig’ Zarubin, an NKVD Political Commissar; a Polish Major; Guinness World Record executioner Vassily Blokhin; forensic scientists, traitor Wanda Wasilewska; Stalina’s mum, and a boy who loved drawing with crayons.

The play itself takes the form of a tacky son et lumière show in the Katyń forest. The audience, like the executed prisoners, is bussed in for the proceedings. The event is punctuated with whiffs of nostalgic café culture, cabaret, old ‘78s, archival image and tech.

For Jim Daly, Katyń is a product of almost a life’s work from the time the murderous event was revealed to him in the early ‘70s in Adelaide by his Polish father-in-law, Robert Jankowski AK (Home Army).

 

“I have written a play which was workshopped at the National Playwrights Conference in 1983, a filmscript which I developed, and now this play as a component of my PhD research at Monash University. The focus of myresearch has been the understanding of a grotesque performative for Western theatre. The performative uses hybridity and excess in gesture and voice,” Daly said.

 

“2021 is just over a hundred years since the Battle of Warsaw in which the Poles repelled a Soviet push to the Atlantic ports, and just over ten years since the crash of a Polish aircraft arriving at Katyń for a memorial service. Ninety-six Polish leaders, including representatives of the Polish government, the President himself and his wife, were killed in the controversial accident. The play  is timely for these reasons and recent incursions of Russia into the borderlands of Ukraine which reflect the push for occupation and slaughter which occurred 81 years ago. Katyń provides an opportunity for Poles and non-Poles alike to understand and feel the importance and horror of this massacre regardless of their background.” Jim said.

Melbourne’s most dynamic and exciting new performance venue, the BRUNSWICK BALLROOM is thrilled to announce the Opening Gala will be hosted by one of Australia’s most prolific and multi-talented performing artists Eddie Perfect alongside hilarious and captivating newcomer Margot Tanjutco. The BRUNSWICK BALLROOM OPENING GALA will take place on Thursday 4th and Friday 5th March.

The Gala promises to be a cabaret love-letter to Melbourne, celebrating our beloved arts industry reopening its doors post-pandemic in the heart of one of its iconic neighbourhoods. Revelling in the diversity, spirit and anarchy of the people who populate Melbourne, the Gala has a sampling of our finest local artists, giving a taste of the feast to come in this everything-old-is-new-again venue.

Produced by Tinderbox Productions for BRUNSWICK BALLROOM, the Gala will be directed byaward-winning director and writer Dean Bryant with musical direction by Isaac Hayward, award-winning music director, multi-instrumentalist and arranger. Eddie Perfect and Margot Tanjutco will be joined on stage by jazz singer, cabaret artiste and gender transcendent diva Mama Alto, award winning stage and screen leading man Bert LaBonté, indigenous performer, composer and songwriter Jess Hitchcock, multi award-winning writer and performer Ash Flanders, acclaimed actor, singer and composer/lyricist Vidya Makan and Green Room award winning singer, songwriter and comedian Jude Perl.

‘One of the greatest things about Melbourne is its live music and entertainment scene and I am beyond excited to be playing a part in celebrating the opening of this brand new venue with my co host Margot Tanjutco.  As a local I can’t wait to get in there to soak up the unique Brunswick vibe but also introduce all of Melbourne to this most unique and inspiring display of music, cabaret and comedy at the BRUNSWICK BALLROOM.” Said Eddie Perfect.

The newly refurbished BRUNSWICK BALLROOM is located in the old Metropolis House on Sydney Road and is destined to take the mantle as one Melbourne’s most dynamic and exciting performance venues. This extraordinary venue has been reimagined, refurbished and renamed and will feature the best of Australian and international music, cabaret and comedy. The upstairs ballroom accessed via the dramatic staircase features stunning stained glass domes inspired by legendary Australian artist Leonard French before expanding out onto an open-air balcony that takes in the urban streetscape below and the sights of Melbourne’s skyline. Inspired by the iconic Continental Café of the 1990’s in Prahran, theBRUNSWICK BALLROOM is set to become Melbourne’s most eclectic and diverse entertainment and events venue.

In addition to the BRUNSWICK BALLROOM OPENING GALA, eclectic programming commences on February 25th where the BRUNSWICK BALLROOM sees legends such as Kate Ceberano, Tim Rogers, Ross Wilson, Brian Cadd, Underground Lovers and David Helfgott don the brand new stage, as well as rising stars Grace Cummings and Ben Mastwyk and Cool Sounds. D’Arcy Spiller,Girlatones and Bitch Diesel will feature as part of the Brunswick Music Festival which will also include a free gig on Tuesday 9th March by Loretta and her Boyfriends at the Brunswick Artists’ Bar located downstairs at the new venue. A further line-up as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festivalwill also be announced later this week.

The rich history of the venue dates back to the 1960s. Once a hat factory, nightclub, a wedding reception centre, French restaurant and most recently music venue The Spotted Mallard, this reincarnation the newly named BRUNSWICK BALLROOM offers patrons the chance to combine a delicious meal with a glass of wine while enjoying a great show!

Join us in Melbourne as we celebrate the coming together of music, comedy, cabaret and more matched with wonderful food and service. The BRUNSWICK BALLROOM, seating up to 290 people,

Flesh After Fifty is an exploration of older women in art. Through the mediums of photography, video, sculpture, painting and prints, the exhibition celebrates positive images of women over the age of 50 who have lived a bit and ‘have the bodies to prove it’.

Alongside the free exhibition, Flesh after Fifty presents a provocatively diverse and entertaining program of free and ticketed events – talks, tours, film screenings and workshops from 7 March to 11 April in the Laundries Building at Abbotsford Convent.

From physical and mental health forums, a writer’s panel, a mini women’s film festival titled Flicks after Fifty, to burlesque performance and circus training workshops; artists, performers, academics and community leaders explore the politics and social impact of the depiction of women over fifty within the arts.

The program also features an evening of grand dining surrounded by the artworks hosted by award winning co Award-winning comedian, actor and TV presenter Denise Scott and a series of free education programs for senior secondary and tertiary students to explore the works, contest perceptions and foster discussion.

At the cornerstone of the Flesh after Fifty commissioned works is Ponch Hawkes’ 500 Strong, featuring hundreds of nude photographs of women over the age of 50 from across Victoria.  Renowned Victorian artists Penny Byrne, Patrick Pound, Claire Lambe, Catherine Bell, Cathy Staughton, Sam Jinks, Megan Evans, Niki Koutouzis, Hotham Street Ladies and Maree Clarke have also created works that challenge and explore current perceptions of how older women are represented through art.

Curators Jane Scott and Kirsty Grant have selected a further 10 artists whose art depicts older women’s issues and concerns utilising contemporary perspectives and techniques including video and text-based art.  Artists include photographer Janina Green, collage artist Deborah Kelly, sculptor Greg Taylor, photographer Ruth Maddison and figurative painter and sculptor Peter Wegner.

“Flesh after Fifty is challenging and changing views of older women in new and innovative ways through engagement with the arts. The exhibition will explore many aspects of what it means to be a mature woman, celebrating diversity and recognising the beauty and strength that comes with ageing”, said Martha Hickey, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Initiator, Flesh after Fifty.

The title of this exhibition comes from a quote by the renowned American photo-journalist, Eve Arnold (1912-2012), who photographed Hollywood star Joan Crawford on several occasions. The first, in 1956, was on assignment for the Woman’s Home Companion magazine, part of the publicity campaign for Autumn Leaves, a film in which Crawford (then in her early fifties) played a spinster wooed by a man many years her junior. Arnold recalled: ‘The first time I met Joan Crawford she took off her clothes, stood in front of me nude and insisted I photograph her’, adding, ‘sadly, something happens to flesh after fifty.’

Stephen returns to talk to the Sunday Arts magazine team about all things Film.

Beyond the Pleasure Garden along with how many people would like to attend Works on display 18 th Feb to April 4 th . Don”t miss out on owning a unique piece of fine artwork . Selection s of over 27 years of @gerardandmarc making magic part of @chilloutfestival_daylesford @palais_hepburn @matthewryan_mr @lizzisharp @cpl_digital @kevincooperco @phaseonephoto @phaseonemag @kimtavaresmakeup @nigelstanislaus @loumclarenmakeup @frmmodels @gregtyshing @marcwasiakstylist

It is being held at the Palais in Daylesford

Lunar New Year is one of the most special events on the calendar, because it shows that something as fixed as the start of the year can be interpreted differently by different cultures. The fact that it’s celebrated across the world tells us how far we’ve come as a multicultural global community, and I think that’s wonderful,” says Mark.

The Chinese community has been a strong part of Melbourne’s cultural fabric for over 160 years, making the Lunar New Year particularly significant to Melbourne, while other Asian cultures from Vietnamese to Korean also celebrate the new lunar year.

At 50m2, Mark’s Lunar New Year mural is one of his biggest works to date, towering over passers-by in Jane Bell Lane, just off Russell St. The Giving Ox depicts an Ox leaping up in a moment of blissful joy, signifying the massive strength the zodiac year is known for. It is also interactive, with an AR animation bringing the mural to life with a burst of generosity, symbols and LNY celebrations. Shoppers can also find their personalised 2021 Chinese Zodiac predictions linked to a QR Code.

Just down the laneway at resident gallery No Vacancy, Mark Chu will exhibit 50 paintings in a major new show entitled, The Ecstasy of People Watching, opening 25 February, until 28 February. His works ask, how do we gaze differently in this paradoxical time of social distancing and hyper-interconnectivity?

As a part of the Lunar New Year experience, Chu has created his first sculptural work, a bronze cast of an ox tail coated in 24-carat gold, called a Giving Charm. This valuable work will be priced at zero dollars; however its acquirer will receive instructions from the artist to embrace a life of generosity as fully as possible, and pass it on to a new acquirer when they no longer need to engage with the piece.