Welcome to our September newsletter. In this issue, we’ll introduce you to our
author of the
month for September: Stephen Sewell. We also have
two double passes for events at the Theatre @ Risk Festival of New Writing to give away and a
special offer for Arts Hub members, information about our
new releases, the
Brisbane Writers Festival, current
productions, events and awards. Enjoy!
AUTHOR OF THE MONTH
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Stephen Sewell
is our author of the month for September. Stephen has been responsible
for some of the most provocative and electrifying Australian plays of
the past thirty years. His play
Myth,
Propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America has won more awards than any Australian play in history.
We spoke to Stephen about what drives him to keep writing, about the
importance of political theatre and the lessons Australia can learn
from the political situation in contemporary America. To read the
interview, click here. |
SPECIALS
Win two double passes
for events at Theatre @ Risk 2007 Festival of New Writing!
Over ten days, Theatre @ Risk presents rehearsed readings of ten
exciting plays from Australia and around the world at the Old Council
Chambers, Melbourne. Season goes from 7-16 September.
Win a double pass for the playreading of Angela Betzien’s
The Orphanage Project (Saturday, 8 September) or for the reading of
Evidence
by Ross Mueller (Thursday,13 September). Simply be the first to send an
email to karin@currency.com.au, with “Angela Betzien” or “Ross Mueller”
in the subject line. Winners will be notified by email. For the full
program and bookings go to www.theatreatrisk.com.
Special offer for Arts Hub members
Currency offers Arts Hub members a 10% discount on any title you buy
online at www.currency.com.au (already discounted titles excluded).
Simply put your Arts Hub membership number in the comment field when
ordering and we will deduct 10% off the total when processing your
order.
If you are not an Arts Hub member already, you can subscribe for as
little as $88 a year (only $66 for students) by clicking here.
MWF PANEL SUCCESS
Hilary Glow, Stephen Sewell and Wesley Enoch took part in the panel discussion
How to be a Playwright and Influence People
on political theatre at the Melbourne Writers Festival last Sunday. The
event, proudly sponsored by Currency Press, was a huge success and
parts of the discussion will be broadcast on Radio National this Sunday
at 10am on
Artworks. So if you
missed the discussion at the festival, make sure to tune in. After the
show, the sound file will also be available for download at abc.com.au/rn/artworks.
BRISBANE WRITERS FESTIVAL
This year’s festival manages to accommodate an amazing program in the
five days from 12-16 September. Below are some of our highlights, and
for the complete program go to brisbanewritersfestival.com.au
Philosophy, Art and Literature against the background of Romulus, My Father.
Raimond Gaita in conversation with Ramona Koval. 15 September, 12:40pm-1:40pm, SLQ Auditorium 1. For bookings go to www.qtix.com.au
Romulus, My Father has been adapted for the screen by British poet Nick Drake. Currency has published the screenplay.
Blackfella-Whitefella Storytelling: Questions, Conversations and Spaces for Black-White Collaboration
Richard J Frankland (
Conversations with the Dead) and Kelly Lefever (
The Circuit) in conversation with Kathryn Kelly. 15 September, 11:20am-12:20pm, SLQ Auditorium 2. Free event.
Kelly Lefever will also give a lecture on screenwriting at
Masterclass: Writing Television Drama: From Idea to Screen
16 September, 10:00am-5:00pm, SLQ Meeting Room 1.A.Bookings essential. Tickets available at www.qtix.com.au
NEW TITLES
Power Plays
Hilary Glow
Pre-order your copy in September and get a 20% discount!
In
Power Plays,
Hilary Glow investigates the why and how of eight contemporary
Australian playwrights who are passionate about theatre as a forum for
public discussion: Andrew Bovell, Patricia Cornelius, Reg Cribb, Ben
Ellis, Wesley Enoch, Hannie Rayson, Stephen Sewell and Katherine
Thomson.
A passionate account of Oz politics and culture.
Guy Rundle
Release date is 09/10/2007, to pre-order your copy of
Power Plays, click here.
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It Just Stopped / Myth, Propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America
Stephen Sewell
Two of Stephen Sewell’s latest plays are now available in a double volume.
To describe Stephen Sewell's dark comedy as a cautionary tale does it
scant justice, given the anger and apocalyptic vision driving its
mayhem and fun. It Just Stopped is a whimsical, argumentative,
satirical and deeply serious play—among Sewell’s finest.
Bryce Hallett, Sydney Morning Herald
Myth, Propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America has won more awards than any other Australian play.
To order your copy, click here. |
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Boy Overboard – The Play
Adapted by Patricia Cornelius
A story of adventure, ball control and hope. Adapted for the stage by
Patricia Cornelius from Morris Gleitzman's best-selling novel,
Boy Overboard is a moving play about young people overcoming the confusion of war, politics and the search for a safe haven.
To order your copy of
Boy Overboard, click here. |
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Young Dramatists Page to Stage 2007
181 plays were submitted this year by 18 schools, eight have been
chosen for performance on 9 and 10 September at Ensemble Theatre,
Kirribilli.
Page to Stage
is a unique program in which secondary-school students work with
professional theatre practitioners to produce their own plays.
Currency Press is delighted to publish the scripts of the plays performed in 2007.
For more information on the program, go to northsydney.nsw.gov.au; to order your copy of the scripts, click here. |
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PRODUCTIONS
In a co-production of Griffin Theatre Company and HotHouse Theatre,
The Story of the Miracles at Cookie’s Table by Wesley Enoch is currently showing at the Stables, season ends 22 September. For tickets go to griffintheatre.com.au.
The critically acclaimed production will then transfer to the Butter
Factory Theatre, Wodonga. Season goes from 25-30 September, for tickets
go to hothousetheatre.com.au. To order your copy of the play, click here.
New Theatre Newtown is staging a production of Stephen Sewell’s
Traitors.
The play charts the triumph of paranoia and betrayal over truth and
innocence and established Sewell as one of Australia's great political
playwrights. 20 September - 27 October 2007, for tickets go to www.mca-tix.com. To have a look at all of Stephen Sewell’s plays published by Currency, click here.
Shadow Passion,
a new show by Anthony Crowley will play at Melbourne’s Chapel off
Chapel in Prahran, from 7 to 22 September. The story, centring upon a
childless couple who become entwined with an Iraqi refugee, features
puppetry and other various magic. For bookings call (03) 82907000.
Anthony Crowley is the author of
The Frail Man, published by Currency Press.
With the upcoming Federal election looming, It’s Time for David Williamson’s
Don’s Party coming back to the Sydney Stage in a co-production of STC with Melbourne Theatre Company.
Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House, Previews 14 - 18 September, season
goes from 20 September – 27 October. For bookings go to sydneytheatre.com.au. To have a look at David Willamson’s plays published by Currency Press, click here.
The Australia Project II: Australia Strikes Back (2007) in New York
Under the sub-title
Eleven Australian playwrights. One island nation, The
Production Company presents two weeks of exciting Australian theatre at
Chashama @ 217 E, 42 Street, New York. Season goes from 13-30
September, for more information and tickets go to productioncompany.org or www.theatermania.com. The featured plays are:
Pinter's Explanation by Ross Mueller;
The Melancholy Keeper of the Deep, Deep Green by Anthony Crowley,
Goodbye New York,
Goodbye Heart by Lally Katz,
The Port by Wesley Enoch,
967 Tuna by Brendan Cowell,
The Beekeeper by Emma Vuletic,
Syphon by Tommy Murphy,
The Will of the Cockroach by Alexandra Collier,
All This Beautiful Life by Veronica Gleeson,
Beneath Us by Ben Ellis,
Continuing Occupation by Van Badham.
EVENTS
Prejudice.
Gideon Haigh will analyse Australia’s nationalism – the good and bad –
in a public lecture and live conversation with journalist Ramona Koval
on 19 September at The Australian Hall, Sydney. The event is organised
by Sydney PEN as the second in a series,
Sydney PEN Voices: The 3 Writers Project. The series of public lectures by three of our leading writers explores the prickly issues facing contemporary Australia.
6 for 6:30pm, for tickets go to www.mca-tix.com
Led by Wesley Enoch, Genevieve Grieves and Djon Mundine, the
Indigenous Performance Laboratory hosts
Indigenous artists working in contemporary dance, theatre, music and
visual arts. A first for NSW, the Lab creates a space for the
Indigenous artists to develop skills in an interdisciplinary
environment. The Lab runs from 1–9 Sept, at Bundanon in Southern NSW.
For more information, go to performancespace.com.au.
The inaugural
Indigenous Literacy Day
will be celebrated with events around Australia today, 5 September.
Sydney Writers' Festival director Wendy Were will chair a panel
including David Malouf, Tara June Winch, Catherine Jinks and Tommy Murphy, to be held at the State Library of NSW from 6pm. Entry is by gold coin donation. Tel: (02) 9273-1770.
AWARDS
The winners of the 40th
AWGIE Awards
have been announced. Currency Press congratulates all winning authors,
especially Tommy Murphy who won in the category Stage with his play
Holding the Man, Angela Betzien (Theatre for Young Audiences and Richard Wherrett Award) for
Hoods, Campion Decent (Community and Youth Theatre) for
Embers, Janis Balodis (Music Theatre) for
Electric Lenin, Sue Smith (Television Mini Series Original) for
Bastard Boys, Tony Ayres (Feature Film Original) for
The Home Song Stories and Ian David who was awarded the Kit Denton Fellowship for courageous scriptwriting.
The winners of the
Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards have been announced on Monday. A
Single Act by Jane Bodie was awarded the Louis Esson Prize for Drama 2007.
Further nominees in the category were
It Just Stopped by Stephen Sewell and
Asylum by Kit Lazaroo. For the complete list of winners go to slv.vic.org.au.
Tickets are now on sale for the
2007 Deadly Awards
– to be held on Thursday, September 27 at the Sydney Opera House
Concert Hall. The Deadlys celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander achievement in the areas of sport, music, entertainment and
the community. Amongst the nominees are Richard Frankland and Catriona
McKenzie (directors of the SBS mini-series
The Circuit). To vote online, go to deadlys.vibe.com.au, voting closes 14 September. For tickets, go to sydneyoperahouse.com.
The shortlists for the 2007
Premier's Queensland Literary Awards have been released.
Among the nominees are Tommy Murphy for
Holding the Man, Campion Decent for
Embers (Drama Script Stage Award) and Sue Smith for
Bastard Boys (Television Script).
The winners will be announced on Tuesday 11 September. For the complete shortlist, click here.
Congratulations!
Stay up to date about productions, authors, events and festivals – check out our News page online.
We hope you enjoyed our news for this month. Tell your friends about
our newsletters, they can subscribe to our mailing list online at www.currency.com.au.
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