NEWTOWN HONEY @ la mama
Tue, 17 Apr 2007, 07:15 amloandcurly7 posts in thread
NEWTOWN HONEY @ la mama
Tue, 17 Apr 2007, 07:15 amby Curly
What the hell is going on.com?
How much of our theatre is truly related to what is really going on in Australia today? Not just news headlines but what goes on with our lives. When was the last time you saw a new Australian work? When was the last time you thought about seeing one? A friend of mine was in one, two years ago. I saw one, a year ago. Browsing the Dramatists Playwright catalogue will do your head in. Apart from all those by the big guns; Romeril, Williamson, Sewell, Murray Smith, there’s not much else.
So how come we don’t do in this country a majority of Australian work? What the hell is going on? Even amateur companies are really not interested. Maybe as Australians, we as audience are too scared to see our own social situations. We would be asked to look at our own identity and our own understanding and belief of our culture. It’s not good enough to do classics from Shakespeare to Chekhov, or modern English and American plays, nor plays from war torn countries, set in Australia or echoing Australia. Isn’t it time the majority of our theatres professional, co-op and amateur played Australian plays? As I understand it the Malthouse Theatre (Melbourne) has dropped their all Australian content. If we had more Oz content our theatres could be possibly full and plentiful like the English and American theatres
Where did our Australian Theatre Renaissance of the 70’s go? That should have been a platform for our theatre future. Somehow we have a fear in Oz theatre, to do things only that are known and famous- obviously this is a sign of our times where ego is prevalent. See our television full of overseas content, see the reality shows, the reality medical dramas this is a true indication of our culture- we are literally dying to see ourselves. Or are we too cool for theatre?
In a discussion with said
Tue, 17 Apr 2007, 11:05 pmWalter Plinge
In a discussion with said Malthouse AD Michael Kantor and Stephen Armstrong (the EP, I think)at an Arts Admin tutorial a year or so ago, he explained the rationale for producing less work is that under the old Playbox system, the output was greater but the quality far more uneven as not enough time was given for work to be developed and thus, bad reviews and dwindling audiences, hence less reason to fund it and the greater risk of the theatre ceasing to exist. What they have done is occasionally pick up works that have had a chance to run elsewhere (La Mama, Storeroom, etc) and that show genuine potential to engage a larger audience and provide them a season in a well resourced and 'renown' theatre. Construction of the Human Heart is one example - The Pitch which is presently playing there at the moment, is another.
I think it a much better approach for sustaining and growing an audience for theatre in general, as people will be more forgiving if they attend a play that might not be well crafted at La Mama and pay $15, as opposed to paying $50. And in reality, your more committed theatregoer will seek out independant fare at the smaller venues and if the reception is good, then chances are it will appeal to a larger audience which the Malthouse can provide.
Sadly in this day where every arts organisation has to be strategic about its product and strive to make a buck, it's unlikely that a unknown play by an unknown writer is going to have the cash necessary to professionally produce a show thrown at it. Audiences, and we're talking audiences large enough to put cash back into the theatre's coffers here, like familiarity be it casting a well known actor or producing a play by a David Williamson, Hannie Rayson, Joanna Murray-Smith, et al - or both. Chi-ching! Of course it's not perfect, but that's just the way it is. So really, Malthouse is one of the few larger theatre's in Melbourne that do produce largely Australian work that's more on the alternative side.
As for producing more European and American theatre, well, the proof is in the pudding, as they say. Most of the plays I've seen there or have heard about have been Australian.