Gong xi fa cai!

SOUND KAPITAL

Chinese New Year will be celebrated at Carriageworks with an eye on the underground scene in contemporary China: http://bit.ly/xtafoL

For one night only, three of Beijing’s most explosive cult bands will rock Bay 17 at Carriageworks in an exclusive, one night only event:  Sound Kapital.  Large scale projections created by photographer Mathew Niederhauser will surround performances by experimental Chinese bands AV Okubu, Nova Heart and Xiao He.
These three featured bands will make their Australian debut at Sound Kapital, which is the largest showcase of contemporary Chinese rock ever to tour to Australia.

Mathew Niederhauser is internationally renowned for his photographs of China’s rapidly developing urban culture and its ever-expanding underground punk scene. His recent publication, also named Sound Kapital, documents powerful images of Beijing’s’ underground music revolution within the contemporary Chinese punk scene.

This highly anticipated event is a celebration of the Sydney Chinese New Year Festival presented by Carriageworks in association with Creative Asia.

SOUND KAPITAL
Friday 3 February
Carriageworks
Book Now

More: http://bit.ly/xtafoL

THYESTES: Most infamous, ferocious and bloody of all the Greeks

Sydney Festival and Belvoir are bringing a present-day renovation of Seneca’s revenge play Thyestes to Carriageworks.

With its striking design and award winning performance, Thyestes intersects Seneca’s Greco-Roman tale with contemporary domestic scenes in order to explore our ancient urges toward both love and destruction.

Seneca the Younger’s Thyestes follows the story of two brothers, one a deposed king who begins an affair with his brother’s wife and whose sons are consequently slaughtered and served to him at a banquet. Taking its cue from the banquet, this modern version expands the story to include Atreus’ and Thyestes’ murder of their illegitimate brother, Thyestes decline into madness and the destruction and ultimate demise of the brother Atreus.

It’s not all so dark and depressing though. Resident director at Belvoir, Simon Stone states that “the reason it feels so tragic is because so much of it is so delightful and enjoyable and touching”. He describes these stories as “timeless … they’re essentially about family” and family has always been the central drama of a great story.

“Thyestes is the worst-case scenario of the family drama” says Stone, “when all those jealousies and suspicions and betrayals stemming from family co-existence don’t get worked through and resolved and matured out of”.

Most infamous, ferocious and bloody of all the Greeks; Thyestes is a very real and modern journey through this dark legend.  Simon Stone, Mark Winter, Chris Ryan and Thomas Henning present us with three stunning, comedic and chilling performances organized into a ninety minute epic not to be missed.

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Watch the YouTube sneak peek Thyestes 

Belvoir interview with director Simon Stone 

Review of Thyestes Chris Hook, Daily Telegraph 24/1/12

Rated M for messed up Elyssa Blake, SMH 22/1/12

Grim twists in this tale of the unexpected Jason Blake, SMH 21/1/12

Thyestes Darryn King, Time Out Sydney 20/1/12 [five stars]

Thyestes – Simon Stones Therapeutic Tragedy in the Brag 16/01/2012

Stone’s hit and myth in The Age 14/09/2010

Making a meal of a family squabble in the Daily Telegraph 12/01/2012

An ego trip that pushes boundaries in Sydney Morning Herald 5/01/2012

Fringe: The Hayloft Project- Thyestes in Laneway Magazine 20/9/2010

Ancient tale of darkness given new resonance in the Australian 20/9/2010 

BLOGS

Brad Syke, Crikey

Alison Croggon

Cameron Woodhead

James Waites

Augusta Supple

Here’s the schedule for this weekend’s symposium on the National Black Theatre. More

Zac Martin in a scene from Basically Black, 1973 Image: Courtesy of the ABC

Spotlight on: Tess Allas
Managing Curator of 181 Regent St Addressing Black Theatre Exhibition

181 Regent St is an exhibition celebrating the National Black Theatre, which was located in Regent St, Redfern, and operated during the political and cultural revolution in the 1970s. This exhibition honours the people who founded the National Black Theatre and the many indigenous actors and writers whose careers were launched or furthered through the organisation.

The exhibition will open this Sunday, 8 January, at Carriageworks, and is part of Sydney Festival’s Black Capital program. A symposium addressing the legacy of 181 Regent St will take place on Saturday 14 January.

Recently we caught up with Tess Allas from from the College of Fine Arts, UNSW, Managing Curator of the exhibition, to get her perspective and insights into the show:

Carriageworks:  The National Black Theatre was sadly short lived, however it made a great impact on the Australian arts scene today. What do you think is the most important aspect of the National Black Theatre’s legacy? 

Tess Allas: It certainly did make a great impact. It helped launch many careers of Aboriginal actors. It has provided a very strong foundation on which other Aboriginal actors, directors, writers and technicians can be proud. Their pioneering efforts of creating a space where the stories, imaginings and ideas of Aboriginal Australia can be explored and presented by Aboriginal people and for Aboriginal people has, I believe, provided a very strong and secure foundation that allowed others to follow. Without these people and their tireless efforts I wonder would we have the amazingly large back catalogue of Aboriginal plays, films and other theatre based performances that have been produced since those heady days of the 1970s.

This exhibition contains memorabilia from such productions as The Cherry Pickers and The Cake Man; Why are these productions important to remember today?

It is always important to remember when, where and who made a difference. Those who paved the way for others to follow should always be honoured. Without these people who created, devised, performed and wrote productions such as this we would be without theatrical heroes and role models. When you consider that Robert Merritt, who wrote The Cake Man and Kevin Gilbert, the author of The Cherry Pickers wrote these plays whilst living in the most trying of conditions you begin to understand why these works and their subsequent success was so important.

Can you give us a bit of an idea about what we can expect to see?

A visitor to this exhibition will see an exhibition that contains photographic images of some of the founding members of The National Black Theatre as well as imagery of plays that the National Black Theatre produced. Other imagery includes plays that were produced by graduates of the National Black Theatre’s drama class. The exhibition also contains a film of a Basically Black rehearsal as well as six Basically Black skits filmed for the ABC along with an episode of Pig in a Poke which starred the celebrated director, Brian Syron.  Pig in a Poke was a drama series produced by the ABC that looked at the everyday lives of a group of Aboriginal people living and working in inner-city Redfern in the 1970s.  That is just a glimpse as to what you can expect.

Many of the items in this collection were found within personal collections and national archives. What do you regard as your greatest find for the show?

My greatest find for this exhibition would have to be, without a doubt, the typed drafts with handwritten edits of Kevin Gilbert’s play, The Cherry Pickers as well as carbon copies of some of his letters. One to a funding agency to have The Cherry Pickers published, which was rejected, and a letter to the Adelaide Festival asking that The Cherry Pickers be included in their next festival season, which was also rejected. These materials were kindly donated by Kevin Gilbert’s widow, Eleanor Gilbert. 

Did the Carriageworks space influence your decisions when curating this exhibition?

Yes it did. It is a challenging space to stage an exhibition within. Curatorial decisions had to be made in regards to the timeframe on what material was collected and shown. Many donators wanted to give material of events that were occurring around the same time that the National Black Theatre was established and, sadly, I had to leave these pieces out as the space where the exhibition is being held is quite limited. All exhibition spaces provide a curator with unique challenges which help inform the structure of all exhibitions.

What do you hope audiences will take away from the 181 Regent St exhibition?

I hope the audience leaves this exhibition with a new or renewed regard for those people who were the pioneers of Aboriginal theatre. I also hope they leave with a sense that this exhibition has honoured those voices and their vision.

181 Regent St
Addressing Black Theatre
Exhibition
8 – 29 Jan 2012
FREE
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Symposium
14 Jan 2012
FREE
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ANNOUNCED – The 18th Biennale to present three major works in association with Carriageworks in 2012

The 18th Biennale of Sydney: all our relations, in association with  Carriageworks, will present two international dance performances and a major art installation in 2012.

Marah Braye, Chief Executive Officer, Biennale of Sydney, said: ‘We are delighted our 2012 Artistic Directors, Catherine de Zegher and Gerald McMaster, have chosen to include these exciting works in the 18th Biennale of Sydney and are pleased to be working with Carriageworks to help realise them.’

Carriageworks Director Lisa Havilah announced the projects last night as part of the launch of the 2012 artistic program that explores contemporary art and ideas through theatre, music, performance and visual arts.

Lisa Havilah said: ‘Carriageworks’ 2012 program marks a significant new chapter. For the first time, we will be producing more than two thirds of the annual artistic program both through collaboration with other arts institutions – including the renowned Biennale of Sydney – and of our own accord’.

The 18th Biennale of Sydney: all our relations and Carriageworks will present the Australian premieres of En Atendant and Cesena, two exciting performances by choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s dance ensemble Rosas.

En Atendant takes a new step in the exploration of combined music and dance, drawing inspiration from ars subtilior. This complex and intellectual form of polyphonic music developed out of the ruins of the plague in the fourteenth century, a time when the pillars of mediaeval society were fragmenting. De Keersmaeker explores questions of our mortality and physicality, that are now becoming ever more crucial, taking us to a place where twilight merges almost imperceptibly into night.

Cesena heralds the start to a new day and is choreographed by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker in collaboration with musical director Björn Schmelzer and his ensemble graindelavoix. This new production might be called the counterpart to Rosas’ En Atendant. Performers share the stage, exploring the limits of their ability – where dancers sing and singers dance in dialogue with the scores of the ars subtilior. Rosas has collaborated with Ann Veronica Janssens for the set design, creating a sculpture of passing time, reflecting the constant transformation of what is around us but only becomes visible in the course of time.

The third work to be presented at Carriageworks as part of the 18th Biennale of Sydney: all our relations is a major installation from respected Belgian artist Ann Veronica Janssens. Janssens creates ‘propositions’ or ‘interventions’ in her installations that are based on the relation of time and space.

Through the use of light, artificial fog, projections and sound, Janssens’ work touches on experiencing the ungraspable. Her immersive environments and urban interventions invite viewers to cross the threshold into a new sensory space – on the border of dizziness and dazzlement.

Janssens’ work will be presented at Carriageworks from 27 June until 16 September 2012. En Atendant will be presented on 11 and 12 September and Cesena will be presented on 14 and 15 September 2012.

Tickets for the performances are on sale now and can be purchased at www.carriageworks.com.au

Download full media release here.

Image: Cesena performance, Palais Des Papes, Avignon, 2011 (detail). Photograph: Anne Van Aerschot

Hugh Hughes v Shon Dale-Jones

HoiPolloi are currently in Sydney with their highly anticipated show, Story of A Rabbit, which is playing at the Opera House 29 November - 10 December. Our friend Elyssa Blake spoke to the company before they arrived.

HoiPolloi Artistic Director, Shon Dale-Jones is giving a Masterclass for professional actors at Carriageworks in mid December, more on that here. 

Today we’ve been sent this excellent stream of consciousness from Shon, explaining who Hugh Hughes is, why making his shows is exciting, and how the company creates their work. He says,

“I wanted to throw myself off balance. I wanted the feeling that I was starting again. As part of that desire, to start again, I invented a character, an emerging artist called Hugh Hughes, who was a storyteller, a narrator.

And I tried to let the character make the work.

I kept wondering how Hugh would do things. I tried to let go of my theatre making mind and let this character hold the reins. And that was it…the excitement ignited. A whole new way of approaching the stage emerged.”

Read the full article here, it’s great.

HoiPolloi Artistic Director Shon Dale-Jones is giving a one-off masterclass next month at Carriageworks.
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Liverpool Council is looking to shut down the Casula Legal Walls. More

Edge of Elsewhere

Spanning from Campbelltown to Chinatown, and far beyond, Edge of Elsewhere is a three year long-term project engaging with the diverse cultural mix of suburban Sydney. It’s a major project that our Director, Lisa Havilah was involved in during her time at Cambelltown Arts Centre.

Now in its final year, Edge of Elsewhere showcases new commissions from a range of innovative and exciting contemporary artists from across Australia, Asia and the Pacific, developed in collaboration with a range of Sydney communities.

Artist Brook Andrew, whose work features in Carriageworks’ 2012 Sydney Festival program [more on that here], is creating a major new work for Edge of Elsewhere in partnership with Hong Kong based animation company, Imagi Studios, to produce an original and innovate animation.
Head over to the Edge of Elsewhere blog for details. More