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April 2007


NEWS AT CURRENCY PRESS
    


* Welcome to Currency’s April newsletter, our first for 2007. We know it has been a while since you have heard from us but we haven’t been idle during the interval—we’ve been working diligently on publishing some great new books and creating a fabulous new Website which is now officially launched. It has expanded and grown and has all sorts of new features including a shopping cart, so have a look and let us know what you think: http://www.currency.com.au/  


* Our previous newsletter editor, Miri Jassy, had a quiet epiphany earlier last year and decided to pursue teaching. She is now working at Sydney Boys’ High School (teaching English and Drama) and loving it. This leads us to introduce you to our new publicist Karin Pfaff, who will be looking after the newsletter from now on. If you have any comments, suggestions or news you would like her to know, she will be happy to hear from you at karin@currency.com.au or on 02 9319 5877.   


NEW TITLES


* ADAPTATIONS
A Guide to Adapting Literature to Film    
By Denise Faithfull with Brian Hannant    

Adapting a play or novel for the screen is like wearing someone else’s clothes. It’s often uncomfortable, sometimes awkward and almost always involves significant alterations. Denise Faithfull helps us navigate the treacherous waters of the adaptation process showing us what works … and what doesn’t.  

To read more about Adaptations and to order your copy, go to our Website.



 

* HOODS
By Angela Betzien        


‘Brilliant, it brought up some great points about poverty, which doesn’t come up all that often. It was acted out really well and I really liked the hoods.’ (Student, aged 15 from Cobram Secondary College)   

From the creators of Children of the Black Skirt comes a contemporary tale of Hansel and Gretel exploring the impact of poverty and violence on children, families and community. For a review of the 2006 season, go to http://www.realtv.net.au/.    

To read more about Hoods and to order your copy, go to our Website.    




* CONTEMPORARY INDIGENOUS PLAYS  
Vivienne Cleven et al    

Five plays from around the country illustrate that the rich tradition of indigenous storytelling is flourishing in contemporary Australian theatre.  

Featuring Vivien Cleven’s Bitin’ Back, Wesley Enoch’s Black Medea, Jane Harrison’s Rainbow’s End, King Hit by Geoffrey Narkle and David Milroy and the winner of the 2003 Patrick White Award Windmill Baby by David Milroy, this collection ‘ ... gives a cross section of the best of Indigenous writing for the stage with each play in the edition award-winning or ground breaking in its own way.’ Professor Larissa Behrendt (from her  introduction).    

To read more about Contemporary Indigenous Plays and to order your copy, go to our Website.

Contemporary Indigenous Plays


* PLAYS OF THE 50s Volume 1  
Edited by Katharine Brisbane    

‘I recommend them to any who care about the history of our drama, our society. For the stage, being historically a form aimed at immediate gratification, preserves within texts like these the secret life of much emotional history.’ So says Katharine Brisbane in her introduction to this collection that features Douglas Stewart’s, Shipwreck, Oriel Gray’s Sky Without Birds, Ralph Peterson’s Night of the Ding Dong and Ric Throssell’s The Day Before Tomorrow.   

Also available, Plays of the 50s Volume 2.  
To read more about Plays of the 50s and to order your copies, go to our Website.





Two new titles being distributed by Currency Press:   

* SAVAGE GRACE  
By Alana Valentine    

‘In a polarised world, Valentine’s play is a tonic. This moving and profoundly wise ethical journey deserves to be savoured more widely… a beautifully constructed plot…the distilled wisdom in the writing offers food for thought to even diehard adherents of one side or the other.’
The Australian
  
Published by Snowy Owl Press, Alana Valentine’s intelligent examination of the moral and ethical issues surrounding euthanasia has been released in a double volume with her much praised Love Potions, a series of short plays celebrating the nexus between sex and food.  

To read more about Savage Grace and Love Potions and to order your copy, go to our Website.





* THE DOLLS' REVOLUTION
Australian Theatre and Cultural Imagination    
By Rachel Fensham and Denise Varney    

Published by Australian Scholarly Publishing, this provocative study of Australian theatre focuses on women writers who changed our ways of seeing Australian culture. In six essays looking at the work of various playwrights including Katherine Thomson and Hannie Rayson, The Dolls’ Revolution explores the social and imaginative transformation of Australian theatre in the last twenty years.   

Get your copy of The Dolls' Revolution for  half price - during April onlyTo order visit our Website today, special offer ends 30/04/2007.

 
 


NOW PLAYING    

There are lots of great productions coming up or currently playing, so have a look at what’s on onstage:
 
* Ross Mueller's new play, THE GHOST WRITER, is currently showing at Melbourne Theatre Company till April 21. Currency has published his previous play Colosseum.
 
* THE NIGHTWATCHMAN by Daniel Keene, the first in the Currency-Griffin series, is currently showing at the Stables. Season has been extended until 14 April. See the GRIFFIN Website for booking details and our Website for more information on the series and Daniel Keene’s plays published by Currency Press.
 
* Alana Valentine's new play PARRAMATTA GIRLS is on stage at Belvoir Street Theatre until April 22. To book tickets go to Belvoir Street Theatre.   
Currency will be publishing the script in July. In the meantime have a look at Alana Valentine’s other published plays.
 
* Terence Crawford’s play LOVE’S TRIUMPH returns to the Darlinghurst Theatre from 29 March to 21 April. For bookings go to darlinghursttheatre.com. Terry is the author of TRADE SECRETS: Australian actors & their craft. To find out more about the book, go to our Website.
 
* Perth Theatre Company is presenting Joanna Murray-Smith's BOMBSHELLS at the Playhouse Theatre from 28 April - 12 May. Tickets to the shows are available here, to see all of Joanna Murray-Smith’s plays published by Currency Press click here.
 
* After two sold-out seasons at the Griffin Theatre Company, Tommy Murphy’s  hugely successful stage adaptation of HOLDING THE MAN moves to the Sydney Opera House Playhouse from 9 to 26 May. If you don’t want to miss out on a great night of theatre, book your tickets now at http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/. To view and purchase the scripts of Tommy Murphy’s plays Holding the Man and Strangers in Between, check out this page on our Website.
 
* Ned Manning 's new play LAST ONE STANDING stages at the Old Fitzroy Hotel from 4 April - 5 May. For more information and to book tickets go to oldfitzroy.com.au. To find out more about Ned’s published plays to go our Website.
 
* Debra Oswald's STORIES IN THE DARK will be playing at the Riverside Lennox Theatre from 30 April - 12 May. The production is suitable for ages 11+.
To book your tickets go to www.riversideparramatta.com.au, to have a look at Debra's published plays, go to our Website.
 
* John Misto’s THE SHOE-HORN SONATA is touring to NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania from March through to April. For more information go to http://www.cdp.com.au/. To purchase your copy of the play, go to our Website.
 
* YING TONG - A WALK WITH THE GOONS by Ray Smiles – ‘The show has an invigorating spirit of insanity. I recommend it with relish.’( Sunday Times, UK) – opens at the Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House on 14 April and runs till 19 May. For more information visit the STC website. The script has been published by Oberon Books (distributed by Currency in Australia) and can be purchased online from our Website.
 
* Full Dress Productions is mounting a production of Hannie Rayson´s INHERITANCE from 16th - 30th of June. Book early as some were disappointed to miss out on last year´s production, which was described by the playwright as: `Exuberant and engaging. The actors capture the complexities of the characters and their relationships with grit and humour and intelligence - at times it is heartbreaking.´ For bookings go to http://www.fulldressproductions.com.au/. To purchase copies of the script go to our Website.
 
There are plenty more plays by Currency playwrights on stage around Australia coming up this year. Check out our Productions Page and find out whether the best of Australian drama is coming to your local theatre.
 

AUTHOR NEWS    
 
Coinciding with the second production of his play LOVE'S TRIUMPH at the Darlinghurst Theatre, Terence Crawford is Currency's author of the month! Terence is the author of Trade Secrets  and has been appointed Programme Leader of the BA (Hons) Acting course at LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore. On a brief visit to Sydney, Terence spoke to us about his work in Australia and Singapore, his book Trade Secrets and the production of Love’s Triumph. To find out more about Terence and his work, read the interview on our Website.
 

Katherine Thomson has been visiting China as a guest at the Shanghai Literary Festival. Together with Chinese playwright Wang Xiaoli, she spoke about the Asian-Pacific perspective on theatre and scriptwriting. Katharine is also participating in a number of panels at The Man Hong Kong International Literary Festival. While in Shanghai Katherine spoke – along with former Premiere Bob Carr – at the opening of the Fourth Australian Writers Forum where they helped to launch the Australian Literary Translation Project. An initiative of the Australia Consulate General Shanghai and the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade, the project will see the translation of ten modern Australian novels into Chinese.