30.03.15
Expand your mind and spare your waist this Easter.
Having hidden my orange Griffin T-shirt back in King’s Cross, shaved my legs and gone deep undercover in Surry Hill’s Belvoir for a stint on stage in Elektra/Orestes, I can report back that the health of new works in this country is at a possible all time high. To celebrate this casual cultural collaboration we are inviting Belvoir and Griffin audiences to enjoy an Easter of discounted new Sydney works. Caress/Ache and Elektra/Orestes patrons will save $20 a ticket when presenting a Griffin ticket stub at Belvoir, and vice versa. Between them these shows have been described as “stunning”, “urgent”, “shocking”, “crushing”, “compelling”, “heartbreaking”, and “thought inspiring”, with audiences standing, weeping, and writing in with beautiful words of thanks and support. Is it the authenticity of the voices of Jada Alberts and Suzie Miller? Is it the bold ambition of the works? Is it something to do with having a forward slash in the title that is provoking these responses? Dig in your coat pockets, empty the recycling bin, find your ticket stub, and make up your own mind.
Speaking of cheap theatre tickets: last chance to snap up a 4 Play Subscription for not much at all (please do, because if we sell just 42 more subscriptions Lee will shout us all a celebratory lunch at Mad Pizza, and some kind of fabled watermelon cake). Caress/Ache, The House on the Lake, The Bleeding Tree, and A Rabbit for Kim Jong-il are a fantastic line up for the second half of the year.
Now, if you yourself are a maker of quality independent theatre and want to bring your work to the Stables in 2016, the Griffin Independent season is open for submissions. We offer independent artists a slot at the SBW Stables theatre, ticketing, marketing, staff, a bar with great gin, and a whole lot more. All you need to do is bring the show. So do it. Nicholas Hope did, and it’s all about to happen (you can read how his upcoming production of Five Properties of Chainmale is shaping up in his rehearsal blog). And straight after that we have our second Main Season show – The House on the Lake – We look forward to Huw Higginson‘s dangerous charisma on stage soon.
Belonging is a loving and incredibly detailed history of Australian playwriting by the great theatre reviewer/academic/author John McCallum. We are very privileged that John has offered to curate and present Script Club for us, in which neglected masterpieces will be available to read, before being discussed live. Tickets to this programme are ridiculously limited (and I’m not just saying that to make you buy them, they will go very fast).
Join us and become a part of the revival of these tremendous works.
That’s enough hyperlinks for one week. Enjoy Sydney in the Easter hiatus, leave the chocolate bunnies, and binge on a double bill of new works at both Griffin and Belvoir instead.
Ben.
