Tag Archives: Fairfax Studio

Review Marian Webb

Ryan New, Danielle von der Borch, Harriet Devlin Image Paul Dunn — **Ryan New, Danielle von der Borch, Harriet Devlin Image by Paul Dunn**

SONG FOR A WEARY THROAT at the Fairfax Studio takes pride of place at the Melbourne International Arts Festival after its much-acclaimed premier at Theatreworks last year. Directed by Kate Sulan, Rawcus Ensemble – fifteen performers with and without disability – join the Invenio Singers in a profoundly moving work of theatre.

Set in an abandoned dance-hall littered with disused carpet rolls, a destroyed cinema pew, dust and other detritus, the action begins as a performer chalks the first lines of Dante’s Inferno on a disappearing blackboard before brilliant light, loud noise, then darkness simulate a cataclysm that breaks down consensus narrative structure. The ensemble performs wordlessly, forming tableaux, shifting the furniture and reforming into choric dance routines and dramatic interpersonal events that slide from one to another like a mind rebuilding itself after disaster.

Prue Stevenson, Joshua Lynzaat Image -Sarah Walker — **Prue Stevenson, Joshua Lynzaat Image by Sarah Walker**

Aided by the Fairfax Studio’s superb acoustics, the accompanying soundtrack by Jethro Woodward and Gian Slater ranges through a low drone of scratched vinyl to explosion, rhythmic dance and sublime harmony. The Invenio Singers add their clear-voiced, wordless songs, at one point making a melody using only breath into hand-held mics. The performers each bring unique qualities to the ensemble, dressed in mostly casual attire that links everyday personality to stage persona.

Harriet Devlin, Ryan New, Rachel Edward, Mike McEvoy, Paul Mately, Michael Buxton, Danielle von der Borch-Image Paul Dunn — **Harriet Devlin, Ryan New, Rachel Edward, Mike McEvoy, Paul Mately, Michael Buxton, Danielle von der Borch image by Paul Dunn**

SONG FOR A WEARY THROAT is theatre liberated from text, broken into its elements and reconstituted into a stunning, immersive experience. Don’t miss it.

Created by the Rawcus ensemble of performers with and without disability

10 – 12 October | 7:30pm
13 October | 2:00pm & 7:30pm
14 October | 5:00pm
Duration: 65 minutes (without interval)
Arts Centre Melbourne, Fairfax Studio
Book at artscentremelbourne.com.au or 1300 182 183

proudly supported by:

produced by Kerrie Pacholli © pationpics.com

News and Events

White Cloud: Tim Finn – descending over Arts Centre Melbourne this summer

03/01/2017 Kerrie Pacholli

By Tim Finn and Ken Duncum with film by Sue Healey

“Salvage something that we need to remember From the wreck of history
Family images of fading splendour
Where they lead I’m following…”

– Tim Finn, White Cloud

Tim Finn, legendary New Zealand singer-songwriter, member of Crowded House and founding member of Split Enz, will perform White Cloud – a musing meditative performance about family, identity and home – this January at Arts Centre Melbourne.

White Cloud alchemises observation and contemplation, photographs and journals, narrative and music to deliver a potent celebration of family, ancestry and what it means to be Pakeha (a Māori language term for New Zealanders who are of European descent).

Through songs and stories, Tim introduces us to family members past and present, whose voices echo through journals, letters and memoirs – matched by dreamlike imagery drawn from 8mm home movies shot largely by his father, Richard Finn.

An inspired collaboration between Finn, leading New Zealand playwright/screenwriter Ken Duncum and video artist Sue Healey, White Cloud has moved audiences and critics alike in New Zealand, Australia, Ireland and the UK.

“We always envisaged White Cloud as an immersive experience, not a narrative in the traditional sense. More a series of impressions of people, places and our family backgrounds, which together tell a larger story,” explains Duncum.

A richly textured blend of beautifully melodic music and poetically evocative prose brought to life in the intimate confines of the Fairfax Studio, this inventive reflection on the lives of families growing up in New Zealand, loosening ties to the UK and encountering Maori culture is not to be missed.

Arts Centre Melbourne presents
White Cloud: Tim Finn
Arts Centre Melbourne, Fairfax Studio
13 – 15 January, 2017

Bookings: artscentremelbourne.com.au

News and Events

Looking through a Glass Onion

28/06/2014 Kerrie Pacholli Leave a comment

Fairfax Studio in Melbourne’s Art Centre is a wonderful place to experience great performance and that is exactly what I did on opening night of the Melbourne tour of Looking through a Glass Onion with John Waters and Stewart D’Arrietta.

These guys are so talented and professional and as fate would have it really, really well oiled when it comes to this particular performance. It was fantastic.

This is the first time that I have seen the show so I do not have a comparison of what it was like with a five piece band as has been the case in previous years. My experience of the night was that the stage was full to capacity with beautiful perfectly performed music and voice along with transportive and vivid imagery brought to life by John’s incredible powers of story telling. I was there with by brother, sister and a friend, all of us with very different tastes and perceptions and we were all blown away by this incredible performance.

After an extensive Australian tour John and Stewart are off to perform in New York to pay special homage to the indelible John Lennon.

Looking through a Glass Onion Australian Tour dates.

In this entertaining and candid interview, two of Australia’s finest musician/entertainers talk frankly about the history, motivation and journey of their John Lennon show “Looking through a Glass Onion”, from it’s inception over 20 years ago to the current lean, powerful incarnation, and how they are finally taking it to Lennon’s home town, New York.

Insightful, passionate and at times utterly hilarious, they share their stories, reflections and feelings on everything from John Lennon’s life, his music and Yoko Ono to the meaning and motivation behind the show, easily riffing off each other like the old mates and fine raconteurs they are.

Finishing off with a stunning musical performance, this is a must-see, and an utter treat for both John Lennon fans and the uninitiated alike.

Produced by
pationpics.com

Performers
John Waters & Stewart D’Arrietta

Interviewer
Margi Gibb

Production Tea
production manager
Kerrie Pacholli

cameras
Enzo Liuzzi
Enzoiphotography.com.au

Sam Tabone
sammizphoto.com