Podcast appearances and mentions of andrew bovell

Neil Armfield AO is a leading Australian director of theatre, opera and film. Alongside Rachel Healy, Neil was Artistic Director of Adelaide Festival between 2017 and 2022. Prior to that, Neil was the inaugural Artistic Director of Belvoir St Theatre, which he also co-founded, for 17 years.   As Artistic Director of Belvoir, and for other companies, Neil has directed well over 100 productions, with a focus on new and Indigenous writing, Shakespeare, David Hare and Patrick White.  Some highlights include; The Tempest, Hamlet, Up the Road, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Keating!, Toy Symphony, Dallas Winmar's Aliwa, Angels in America, A Cheery Soul, Signal Driver, The Blind Giant is Dancing and Things I KnowTo Be True. Neil's production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman opened in late 2023 to glowing reviews. Produced by GWB Entertainment and Red Line Productions at Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne, it starred Anthony LaPaglia and Alison Whyte. After the success of the Melbourne season, the play will be presented at the Theatre Royal Sydney in May/June 2024.   In 2022, Neil directed the world premiere of the oratorio Watershed: The Death of Dr Duncan by Joseph Twist at the Adelaide Festival, and Glyndebourne Festival's production of Brett Dean's Hamlet at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Neil directed the same production of Hamlet at Munich's Bayerische Staatsoper in July 2023. For the 2021 Adelaide Festival, Neil directed the Australian premiere of A German Life by Christopher Hampton, starring Robyn Nevin, as well as Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream in the Festival Theatre. Later that year he directed an acclaimed production of Rameau's comic masterpiece Platée for Pinchgut Opera. In addition to his extensive work in Australia, many of Neil's productions have played internationally. These include Cloudstreet (toured to London, Dublin, Zurich, New York), The Diary of a Madman (with Geoffrey Rush, toured to Moscow, St Petersburg, New York), Exit The King (Broadway), The Book of Everything (toured to New York), The Judas Kiss (toured Australia with Bille Brown, London, New York and Toronto with Rupert Everett), The Secret River (adapted by Andrew Bovell, toured to Edinburgh Festival and London) and the world premiere of David Hare's I'm Not Running for National Theatre in London. Neil frequently collaborates with major opera companies, having directed productions at The Metropolitan Opera, English National Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Chicago Lyric Opera, Zurich Opera, Bregenz Festival, Washington National Opera, Opera Australia, Pinchgut, Canadian Opera, Welsh National Opera, and Houston Grand Opera. In addition to classics by Mozart, Britten and Wagner, Neil directed the premieres of Frankie and The Eighth Wonder by Alan John, Whitsunday by Brian Howard, Love Burns by Graeme Koehne and Bliss and Hamlet by Brett Dean. For screen, Neil directed and co-wrote the feature film Candy, starring Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish, which screened at over twenty international films festivals including In Competition at the Berlinale. Neil was awarded Best Adapted Screenplay at the AFI Awards and an AWGIE for Best Screenplay. Neil's second feature film Holding the Man premiered at Sydney Film Festival in 2015. For television, Neil directed miniseries Edens Lost for ABC (AFI Award Best Director and Best Mini-Series), The Fisherman's Wake (by Andrew Bovell), which won an ATOM Award for Best Original TV Production, and Coral Island (by Nick Enright). Over his distinguished career, Neil has received 2 AFI Awards, 12 Helpmann Awards and several Sydney Theatre, Victorian Green Room and Sydney Theatre Critics Circle Awards. He holds Honorary Doctorates from Adelaide, Sydney and NSW Universities, and in 2007 was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia. The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts.

Carissa Lee is a Noongar actor and writer whose work spans from critical analysis, to theatre, to the new ABC Kids series, Planet Lulin, where she plays Principal Cruz. Carissa's critical work has appeared in publications like Kill Your Darlings, IndigenousX, and Witness Performance, where her writing examined culture and the arts through an Indigenous lens. In her must read piece on Kill Your Darlings, How Acting Saved My Life, she talks about the complexity that comes with navigating class barriers both off and on stage.In the following interview, I asked Carissa about her journey into acting and how her writing has informed her work as an actor. I'm lucky with the array of people I get to interview and talk about their work with, but this chat with Carissa was a particularly enjoyable one given the way we discuss her writing and acting, while ultimately asking the question about what our national cultural identity really is. As we yarn about Carissa's work, the conversation sways into talking about identity and the expectations to become a spokesperson for your community, especially as organisations, the arts community, and society as a whole pushes towards greater 'diversity' in their workplaces.My concept of diversity is vastly different from the singular mindset that much of society has of diversity. I'm a disabled writer, and have been open about how I live with a disability in my workplace, but it's important to note that my disability is non-visible, and as such, I can't speak for the entirety of the disabled community when it comes to talking about what our lives are like. My life is vastly different from those who live with visible disabilities, yet, because I'm part of that community, I'm almost expected to talk on behalf of all disabled people. This is part of the conversation that arises, where we discuss touch on the societal expectations that come with that push towards diversity.Elsewhere, Carissa talks about what having a supportive teacher meant to her growing up, the manner that regional accents are massaged out of actors during training, and the work of Andrew Bovell, in particular his play Holy Day, which played a major role in Carissa's work as an actor. We also talk about the joy of a kids show like Planet Lulin, which is an absolute delight and sees actors like Lisa McCune dressing up in weird and wacky costumes and simply having the best time. It's the kind of show I wish I had growing up.I hope you enjoy this discussion with Carissa as much as I enjoyed running it. Read Carissa's writing here: How Acting Saved My Life and Nostalgia for a Better Future.To find out more about Carissa's work, follow her on Instagram @_carissalee or on Twitter @CarissaLeeG. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Carissa Lee is a Noongar actor and writer whose work spans from critical analysis, to theatre, to the new ABC Kids series, Planet Lulin, where she plays Principal Cruz. Carissa's critical work has appeared in publications like Kill Your Darlings, IndigenousX, and Witness Performance, where her writing examined culture and the arts through an Indigenous lens. In her must read piece on Kill Your Darlings, How Acting Saved My Life, she talks about the complexity that comes with navigating class barriers both off and on stage.In the following interview, I asked Carissa about her journey into acting and how her writing has informed her work as an actor. I'm lucky with the array of people I get to interview and talk about their work with, but this chat with Carissa was a particularly enjoyable one given the way we discuss her writing and acting, while ultimately asking the question about what our national cultural identity really is. As we yarn about Carissa's work, the conversation sways into talking about identity and the expectations to become a spokesperson for your community, especially as organisations, the arts community, and society as a whole pushes towards greater 'diversity' in their workplaces.My concept of diversity is vastly different from the singular mindset that much of society has of diversity. I'm a disabled writer, and have been open about how I live with a disability in my workplace, but it's important to note that my disability is non-visible, and as such, I can't speak for the entirety of the disabled community when it comes to talking about what our lives are like. My life is vastly different from those who live with visible disabilities, yet, because I'm part of that community, I'm almost expected to talk on behalf of all disabled people. This is part of the conversation that arises, where we discuss touch on the societal expectations that come with that push towards diversity.Elsewhere, Carissa talks about what having a supportive teacher meant to her growing up, the manner that regional accents are massaged out of actors during training, and the work of Andrew Bovell, in particular his play Holy Day, which played a major role in Carissa's work as an actor. We also talk about the joy of a kids show like Planet Lulin, which is an absolute delight and sees actors like Lisa McCune dressing up in weird and wacky costumes and simply having the best time. It's the kind of show I wish I had growing up.I hope you enjoy this discussion with Carissa as much as I enjoyed running it. Read Carissa's writing here: How Acting Saved My Life and Nostalgia for a Better Future.To find out more about Carissa's work, follow her on Instagram @_carissalee or on Twitter @CarissaLeeG. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrew Bovell is one of Australia's most esteemed playwrights. His recent play Things I Know to Be True has been staged around the world, but in many ways its spiritual home is Western Australia where Andrew grew up. It was the place he was drawn back to when writing the script. Also, playwright Joanna Murray-Smith shares the works of art that have most inspired her creative journey on Top Shelf and we hear a scene from Underneath Ms Archer, a two-hander written and performed by two stalwarts of the Australian stage and screen: Louise Siversen and Peter Houghton.

Andrew Bovell is one of Australia's most esteemed playwrights. His recent play Things I Know to Be True has been staged around the world, but in many ways its spiritual home is Western Australia where Andrew grew up. It was the place he was drawn back to when writing the script.Also, playwright Joanna Murray-Smith shares the works of art that have most inspired her creative journey on Top Shelf and we hear a scene from Underneath Ms Archer, a two-hander written and performed by two stalwarts of the Australian stage and screen: Louise Siversen and Peter Houghton.

Entrevista a Julián Fuentes Reta y a Jorge Muriel, director y traductor de 'Canción del primer deseo', un texto del australiano Andrew Bovell sobre las heridas abiertas en España, los traumas de nuestro pasado y cómo reconciliarnos con nosotros mismos, con el diferente y como sociedad.

Welcome back to the 122nd episode of The Cup which is our a weekly (give or take, TBD, these are unprecedented times) performing arts talk show presented by Cup of Hemlock Theatre. With the theatres on a come back we offer a mix of both reviews of live shows we've seen and continued reviews of prophet productions! For our 122nd episode we bring you a duet review of Things I Know To Be True, written by Andrew Bovell, as it was just presented in Toronto by Mirvish, directed by Philip Riccio, starring Tom McCamus and Seana McKenna. Join Mackenzie Horner and Ryan Borochovitz, as they discuss family drama, Famous Blue Raincoat, and (you guessed it!) Fiddler on the Roof. CONTENT WARNING: This review contains discussions of transphobia (especially from [01:05:09] to [01:28:00]) and drug abuse. Viewer discretion is strongly advised. Less importantly, this review contains many SPOILERS for Things I Know to be True. It will begin with a general non-spoiler review until the [00:20:40] mark, followed by a more in depth/anything goes/spoiler-rich discussion. Although the Mirvish production has ended, you may nonetheless wish to avoid spoilers if you intend to see another production, read the published script … or maybe one day watch a TV miniseries produced by Nicole Kidman. If so, proceed at your own risk. Follow our panelists: Mackenzie Horner (Before the Downbeat: A Musical Podcast) – Instagram/Facebook: BeforetheDownbeat Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3aYbBeN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3sAbjAu Ryan Borochovitz – [Just send all that love to CoH instead; he won't mind!] Follow Cup of Hemlock Theatre on Instagram/Facebook/Twitter: @cohtheatre --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cup-of-hemlock-theatre/support

At this year's Australian Playwrights' Festival, writers gathered to interrogate some of the most challenging questions facing theatre-makers today. We hear two panels from the festival about the craft and responsibilities of writers telling other people's stories. Panellists: Tommy Murphy, Angela Betzien, S. Shakthidharan, Alana Valentine, Stephen Sewell, Vanessa Bates, Dylan Van Den Berg and Andrew Bovell.

At this year's Australian Playwrights' Festival, writers gathered to interrogate some of the most challenging questions facing theatre-makers today. We hear two panels from the festival about the craft and responsibilities of writers telling other people's stories. Panellists: Tommy Murphy, Angela Betzien, S. Shakthidharan, Alana Valentine, Stephen Sewell, Vanessa Bates, Dylan Van Den Berg and Andrew Bovell.

At this year's Australian Playwrights' Festival, writers gathered to interrogate some of the most challenging questions facing theatre-makers today. We hear two panels from the festival about the craft and responsibilities of writers telling other people's stories.Panellists: Tommy Murphy, Angela Betzien, S. Shakthidharan, Alana Valentine, Stephen Sewell, Vanessa Bates, Dylan Van Den Berg and Andrew Bovell.

Let's Talk About Things I Know to Be True. Season 2 - Episode 6: the Physicality of Emotion.A Public Fit Theatre Company is an award-winning ensemble theatre based in Las Vegas, Nevada. In this episode of Behind the Buzz, Producing Director Joe Kucan and Artistic Director Ann-Marie Pereth continue the conversation about their production of Andrew Bovell's Things I Know to Be True with cast members Karen McKenney and Jake Staley. They discuss the reality of catharsis, the nature of theatricality and the profound depth of one family's love for each other. Behind the Buzz is a production of A Public Fit Theatre Company in association with Giantleap Industries. Copyright 2022, all rights reserved. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, Ken Volante speaks with Kimberly Laberge and Cory Fitzsimmons from Wisconsin. This episode is a nice way to connect with two talented directors and actors as they create their version of Things I know to Be True for production in April 2022. Kimberly Laberge is a teacher, stage manager, director, and critic based out of the Milwaukee area. Kimberly has worked with area companies including First Stage, the Milwaukee Rep, Kohl's Wild Theater, and more. Some favorite projects include directing Oedipus Rex, starring in Our Town, and providing entertainment as a live princess for Friend Like Me Parties and Entertainment. A proud member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA), when not involved in productions, Kimberly runs the independent theatre review blog The Drama Den www.stageonapage.com Cory Fitzsimmons is an actor, teacher, and first time director from the Milwaukee area. A graduate of UW-Milwaukee, Cory is an Irene Ryan Award nominee and a two-time SURF Award recipient. Favorite roles include James in Book of Days, The Old Artist in Jarman, and most recently the title role in Oedipus Rex.  Things I Know to Be True by Andrew Bovell follows the Price family - Bob, Fran, and their four adult children. Each adult child is brought home at different points by a major event in their lives, from love, to identity, to even crime. Meanwhile, Fran and Bob's relationship is reflected in the light of their children's crises, leading them to examine their own standing with one another. The story is told through rooted, realistic family drama interspersed with soliloquies with music and movement. The result is a piece of truly elevated drama, making clever usage of all of the tools theatre has to offer. Bovell's text asks the question, can one love too much? https://www.facebook.com/thingsiknowmke    

My guest today is a great friend of mine having started out on the late bloomer acting journey with me in 2013 where we met on day 1 of a 12 month acting course in Adelaide. We like to refer to each other as onscreen husband and wife after we performed our first stage experience together for a scene from the play ‘Speaking In Tongues' by Andrew Bovell. In 2015 she was fortunate to partake in a full-time year long acting program with Melbourne's ‘Film & Television Studio International'. She continues to participate regularly in acting masterclasses and workshops including the wonderful Anthony Brandon Wong in Sydney as well as having spent almost 2 years in the US exploring the craft. In 2017, now having moved to Sydney Australia, she again stepped on stage for a stand out role in the play Calendar Girls, based on the movie of the same name, a true story of a group of Yorkshire women who produced a nude calendar in 1999 to raise money for leukemia, where she played Celia (described as the show pony of the girls in the story.) This role was described by Sydney's The Daily Telegraph as “the role she was born to play”.  More recently, she has performed a guest role on the long running series ‘Deadly Women'.  She heralds from England but moved to Australia with her husband and has two wonderful, now grown children. She is also a singer in her own right regularly performing at local gigs.  Castability Castability is a new game changing app that is a must have for every actor. Support the showPlease consider supporting the show by becoming a paid subscriber (you can cancel at any time) by clicking here.Please follow on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Tik Tok.And please Rate the show on IMDB.I really appreciate all of my listeners and would love if you could support the show via following my social links above, as well as rating and reviewing on your podcast app if it allows.Please feel free to contact me at thelatebloomeractor@gmail.com with any suggestions for future shows, or just to say hello.

In this episode, I'm joined by Chenoa Deemal. She is a professional actor and has been in many productions, including The 7 Stages of Grieving, The Longest Minute, which she received a Matilda Award nomination for best actress, and, most recently, in the production, Cursed, writen by Kodie Bedford who is an incredible Indigenous writer for screen and stage.Chenoa is a Thiithaarr Warra woman from the Guugu Yimithirr Nation. Chenoa is passionate about her work and the roles that she takes on."The more exposure Indigenous kids and children of color, I mean, you know, refugee kids, the more that they see themselves and their stories represented, the more they feel like they're important and that they matter and their stories matter. Yeah, that's important to me, that they're valuable."In 2020 Chenoa appeared in the world premier of Ensemble Theatre's Black Cockatoo and in the award-winning Australian play Holy Day by Andrew Bovell in New York, in March 2019. With production partners United Stages and Grin and Tonic, Chenoa had a month-long season of The 7 Stages of Grieving by Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman at Starlight Theatre, Los Angeles.  In 2018 she played the lead in Queensland Theatre's The Longest Minute which received a Matilda Award Nomination for Chenoa - Best Actress in a Leading Role.  She also appeared in David Williamson's Sorting Out Rachel at Sydney's Ensemble Theatre in 2018.  Her performance in the Queensland Theatre/Grin & Tonic co-production The Seven Stages of Grieving garnered huge critical acclaim; the production also went to London for the 2017 Border Crossings' Origins Festival.  Other theatre credits include: Rainbow's End (Riverside Theatres), An Octoroon, St Mary's in Exile, Mother Courage and Her Children(Queensland Theatre), The Voice in the Walls (Imaginary Theatre), Mr Takahashi & Other Falling Secrets (Corrugated Iron) and A Man with Five Children (Darlinghurst Theatre).  Splatalot!(YTVcanada/CBBC/ABC3) & short film Love Song Dedication. Education: Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) QUT; Advanced diploma of the Performing Arts:ACPA (Aboriginal Centre of the Performing Arts).You can connect with Chenoa on Instagram @chenoadeemalFollow along with the podcast @healingouridentity on Instagram. I have recorded a masterclass for you as well called ‘Reclaim Your Identity'. It's free and you can access it at www.womenreconnecting.com Please like, subscribe and share this episode with a friend you know will enjoy it! 

We meet an artist whose canvas has been some of the world's biggest stages, but his palette is ever-inspired by Noongar Boodjar. For our next conversation between Australian stage icons, Kylie Bracknell sits down with designer and director Mark Howett. Also, as part of our High School Playlist series, we travel from London in 1959 to Alice Springs in 2039 and encounter a fish falling from the sky in Andrew Bovell's When the Rain Stops Falling.

We meet an artist whose canvas has been some of the world's biggest stages, but his palette is ever-inspired by Noongar Boodjar. For our next conversation between Australian stage icons, Kylie Bracknell sits down with designer and director Mark Howett.Also, as part of our High School Playlist series, we travel from London in 1959 to Alice Springs in 2039 and encounter a fish falling from the sky in Andrew Bovell's When the Rain Stops Falling.

We meet an artist whose canvas has been some of the world's biggest stages, but his palette is ever-inspired by Noongar Boodjar. For our next conversation between Australian stage icons, Kylie Bracknell sits down with designer and director Mark Howett. Also, as part of our High School Playlist series, we travel from London in 1959 to Alice Springs in 2039 and encounter a fish falling from the sky in Andrew Bovell's When the Rain Stops Falling.

    This July, Theatre Works and Iron Lung Theatre bring Andrew Bovell's multi award-winning play, When the Rain Stops Falling, to Melbourne. Starring Francis Greenslade (Shaun Micallef's Mad as... LEARN MORE The post When the Rain Stops Falling appeared first on Sunday Arts Magazine.

Important Links:Louisville Bail FundPlays Discussed:Other Desert Cities by Jon Robin BaitzTribes by Nina RaineThe Humans by Stephen KaramThings I Know to be True by Andrew BovellFairview by Jackie Sibblies Drury Bonus:DCSG TheatreDCSG Theatre Mailing ListDCSG Production: Scenes from Things I Know to be True 

When she was Griffin's Artistic Director, Ros Horin decisively re-established the Stables Theatre as a home for new Australian plays. Just a small part of her legacy was to program Andrew Bovell's smash-hit play Speaking in Tongues in 1996, which marked a revolution in Australian playwriting. Hear about how the two collaborated to produce the astounding Speaking in Tongues for the Stables Theatre, which later became the hit film Lantana. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lo spettacolo "When the Rain Stops Falling di Andrew Bovell" con Lisa Ferlazzo Natoli e Tania Garribba; la scrittrice Marilena Lucente sul suo ultimo libro "Trilogia delle donne dell'acqua: Medea, Penelope, Didone"; Franco Arminio e le poesie d'...

The writers of Who's Afraid of the Working Class? reunite for Anthem, choreographer Hofesh Shechter brings his Grand Finale back to Australia, we travel to the Komische Oper Berlin to find out how to make opera for everyone, and British comedian Sarah Millican takes control.

The writers of Who's Afraid of the Working Class? reunite for Anthem, choreographer Hofesh Shechter brings his Grand Finale back to Australia, we travel to the Komische Oper Berlin to find out how to make opera for everyone, and British comedian Sarah Millican takes control.

21 years after Who's Afraid of the Working Class?, Andrew Bovell, Patricia Cornelius, Melissa Reeves, Christos Tsiolkas and Irine Vela reunite for Anthem at the Melbourne Festival, The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes by Back to Back Theatre shines a light on the shadows of prejudice, and we meet the team behind the most ambitious work at this year's Brisbane Festival: 59 Productions and Rambert's Invisible Cities, inspired by Italo Calvino's novel.

21 years after Who's Afraid of the Working Class?, Andrew Bovell, Patricia Cornelius, Melissa Reeves, Christos Tsiolkas and Irine Vela reunite for Anthem at the Melbourne Festival, The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes by Back to Back Theatre shines a light on the shadows of prejudice, and we meet the team behind the most ambitious work at this year's Brisbane Festival: 59 Productions and Rambert's Invisible Cities, inspired by Italo Calvino's novel.

Productions from Sydney's Belvoir St Theatre have dominated this year's Helpmann Awards with big wins for Counting and Cracking and Barbara and the Camp Dogs, Peter Carey's Booker Prize and Miles Franklin Award-winning novel Oscar and Lucinda comes alive in a new opera, Playwriting Australia board member Andrew Bovell explains the organisation's decision to suspend operations and undertake an independent review, and skateboarding and theatre collide in Big hART initiative SKATE — a big show with even bigger ambitions.

Productions from Sydney's Belvoir St Theatre have dominated this year's Helpmann Awards with big wins for Counting and Cracking and Barbara and the Camp Dogs, Peter Carey's Booker Prize and Miles Franklin Award-winning novel Oscar and Lucinda comes alive in a new opera, Playwriting Australia board member Andrew Bovell explains the organisation's decision to suspend operations and undertake an independent review, and skateboarding and theatre collide in Big hART initiative SKATE — a big show with even bigger ambitions.

This week Kulja and Dylan speak with Mary Crooks, executive director of the Victorian Women's Trust, about international Women's day.Andrew Bovell calls in to discuss adapting the acclaimed novel The Secret River for the stage, soon to be playing for a limited season at the Arts Centre Melbourne.To finish off the show urban planning professor at Melbourne Uni, Carolym Whitzman talks housing affordability and negative gearing

Playwright and screenwriter Andrew Bovell delivered a remarkably honest and insightful lecture that touched on the purpose of his filmmaking and what he learned writing in Hollywood. For Bovell, it’s the universal nature of film that makes screenwriting both appealing and difficult; there’s a never-ending question of a writer's responsibility and the purpose of cinema: “Do we aim to give expression to the themes of the day, or should we just tell a damn good story?”

"I think [the larger companies] should be forced to take more risks.” - Melissa Reeves “Nurture the audacious. The works that you remember are works with audacity.” - Patricia Cornelius And... we're back! Fleur and Jana are talking to theatre-makers from Australia and abroad, with Kieran behind the mixing desk. Our second season will tackle the topic of responsibility. ‘Responsibility’ is a word that comes up a lot in art but its meaning is as multifaceted as the artists who use. It can mean ‘duty of care’ to your fellow practitioners, ‘responsibility’ to deliver the product the subscribers are paying for or not traumatising an audience who did not consent to be traumatised. But it can also mean responsibility to be brave. Brave enough to tell the hard stories. To press on wounds that need pressing. Sometimes the old adage that art ‘holds a mirror up to society’ is far to passive. Sometimes that mirror needs smashing. In this, the second season of Audio Stage, we are talking ‘responsibility in art’. Over the course of the next ten weeks we will be in dialogue with various practitioners, programmers and thinkers about what ‘responsibility’ means to them and how we remain ethical in art. Our first guests are playwrights Patricia Cornelius and Melissa Reeves. We talk about responsibility in playwrighting: the words we use, the stories we tell, the people we stage, and the playwrights we give money to. “I’ve never believed the bullshit about how audiences don’t like risk. They actually really do. I’ve seen it. I’ve been in enough audiences that are asleep and I’ve seen them wake up when there is something that unsettles them... I think an audience is dying to be offended.” - Patricia Cornelius Discussed in this episode: Andrew Bovell; academic research and ethics procedures; Aboriginal and white theatre-makers; rulebooks for making ethical art: Y/N?; telling real-life stories: 'how did you know my first wife was a hair-dresser?'; Diane Brimble; identifying with characters; the whitest story ever told about Kenya; Steven Sewell; why white women are so much more concerned about their responsibilities than white men; why a lion is always played by a black actor; Jana's students at the VCA; Myall Creek Massacre; George Brandis; and Melbourne Workers' Theatre. "I remember reading this fantastic poem by this Aboriginal woman, and it said: 'If you're writing this because you want to help me, you know, just fuck off. But if you're writing this because your liberation is bound up in my liberation, then, you know, go ahead, come with me'. And it was a beautiful invitation." - Melissa Reeves Stay tuned: we have more exciting and intellectually rigorous conversations to come. Podcast bibliography: Ben Neutze: Who's Afraid of Patricia Cornelius? (The Daily Review, May 27, 2014) Simon Caterson: Cold War Confidential (The Age, 17 February 2007) If you are interested in Melissa Reeves and Patricia Cornelius, you can read their plays at AustralianPlays.org: Melissa Reeves' plays here, and Patricia Cornelius' plays here.

William Thornhill: Born into brutal poverty in London in the late 18th century and transported to the Colony of New South Wales for theft in 1806. After earning his freedom he brings his wife and children to the Hawkesbury River where they ‘take up’ 100 acres of land, only to discover that it’s not theirs to take.--Andrew Bovell writes for the stage, television and film. In 1992 he wrote the original screenplay for Strictly Ballroom and in 2001 he went on to adapt his stage play Speaking in Tongues in to the feature film, Lantana. The film premiered at the Sydney Film Festival in 2001 and went on to screen at numerous international film festivals winning many awards. Most recently Andrew adapted John Le Carre’s novel A Most Wanted Man. His theatre credits include Scenes from a Separation (with Hannie Rayson); Speaking in Tongues, which premiered at Griffin Theatre in 1996 and has had over 50 other productions worldwide; Holy Day, which won the Louis Esson Prize for Drama at the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards and the AWGIE Award for Best Stage Play (2002); and When the Rain Stops Falling, which won Queensland and Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards for Best Play, the Adelaide Critics Circle Individual Award, Sydney Theatre Award for Best New Australian Work and 3 Greenroom Awards including Best New Writing for the Australian Stage.

Erin Dewar reads Andrew Bovell’s introduction to Speaking in Tongues, which was first performed in 1996 by the Griffin Theatre Company. The play has become an Australian classic - a rich and complex work that offers a few new answers, and mysteries, each time you approach it.

Two couples set out to betray their partners. A lover returns from the past and a husband doesn’t answer the phone. A woman disappears. Her neighbour's the prime suspect. In this masterfully interconnected polyphony, an evocative mystery unravels alongside a devastating tale of disconnection between individuals, partners and communities.--Andrew Bovell writes for the stage, television and film. In 1992 he wrote the original screenplay for Strictly Ballroom and in 2001 he went on to adapt his stage play Speaking in Tongues in to the feature film, Lantana. The film premiered at the Sydney Film Festival in 2001 and went on to screen at numerous international film festivals winning many awards. Most recently Andrew adapted John Le Carre’s novel A Most Wanted Man.His theatre credits include Scenes from a Separation (with Hannie Rayson); Speaking in Tongues, which premiered at Griffin Theatre in 1996 and has had over 50 other productions worldwide; Holy Day, which won the Louis Esson Prize for Drama at the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards and the AWGIE Award for Best Stage Play (2002); and When the Rain Stops Falling, which won Queensland and Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards for Best Play, the Adelaide Critics Circle Individual Award, Sydney Theatre Award for Best New Australian Work and 3 Greenroom Awards including Best New Writing for the Australian Stage.

Circle Theatre, resident in Forest Park and then Oak Park for over 25 years, has moved to Chicago with a remount of their acclaimed production of When the Rain Stops Falling, currently playing at the Greenhouse Theater. Cast members Anita Hoffman, Catherine Price-Griffin and Mary Redmon join Anne Nicholson Weber to talk about Australian playwright Andrew Bovell's fascinating play.