THEATRE
Melbourne theatre has always been more about ideas than the pulling power of stars .
Names like the Australian Performing Group ( APG ) at the Pram Factory in Carlton and La Mama around the corner resonate in the city ’ s theatrical history . In the 1970s APG gave voice to political issues of the day , from the anti-war movement to feminism , and to an equally radical revision of text and performance . Almost from the start , the Festival has embraced this environment , presenting local companies as well as inviting great international performers . In 1989 , John Truscott brought Pilgrims and Exiles , a work by the Warsaw Art Centre Studio dealing with the harshness of Poland ’ s emergence from the Cold War .
In 2005 , Kristy Edmunds presented Théâtre du Soleil ’ s Le Dernier Caravansérail staged in the Royal Exhibition Building , the original house of Australia ’ s Parliament . Catering was done by Australian refugees in collaboration with the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre and Ariane Mnouchkine based part of her text on interviews with two refugees from the Tampa . The show was so popular its season was extended . On the closing night , protestors collected outside the Melbourne Museum , where then Prime Minister John Howard was attending a fundraising dinner in his honour — their signs read John Howard ! You ’ re In The Wrong Building !
On a more modest level , but equally political , the acclaimed Tasmania-based company Big hART has had repeated outings at Melbourne Festival since 2002 . Founded by director / playwright Scott Rankin as a vehicle for social change , it appeared in 2014 with Hipbone Sticking Out , made with the Indigenous community of Roebourne . The necessity to be heard has driven the tough political agenda of much Indigenous theatre , which has increasingly found a platform within the Festival . In 2002 , Robyn Archer programmed Fire , Fire Burning Bright , performed by descendants of the victims of the Gija and Worla massacres in the Kimberley at the time of the First World War . In 2005 and 2006 Kristy Edmunds presented the work-in-progress and then the final production of Ngapartji Ngapartji , directed by Rankin .
The very first program under Menotti included world premieres by Melbourne Theatre Company ( Dead to the World by Michael Gurr ), Playbox Theatre Company ( Summer Shadows by Richard Beynon ) and Anthill Theatre ( The Wolf ’ s Banquet by Raymond Cousse ). This approach of presenting Victorian and interstate theatre companies within the international context of the Festival continues .
Increasingly , the Festival has commissioned works as well as presenting them . Two notable examples during Jonathan Mills ’ tenure were The Theft of Sita , a retelling of the Ramayana story , directed by Nigel Jamieson ; and The Aunt ’ s Story by Patrick White , adapted by Adam Cook for Melbourne Theatre Company . More recently The Shadow King , a retelling of King Lear set in Indigenous Australia , was conceived by Michael Kantor and Tom E . Lewis for Malthouse Theatre . It was commissioned with support from the Major Festivals Initiative with contributions from six Australian international festivals . After premiering at Melbourne Festival in 2013 , it toured the country and will be seen at The Barbican in London in 2016 .
Melbourne ’ s sophisticated and multi-layered independent theatre sector has been a vital part of this mix and particularly over the past decade has become a distinguishing characteristic of Melbourne Festival . Robyn Archer presented Geelong based Back to Back Theatre ( Soft , 2002 ), remarkable for work that is not just about , but actually by the marginalised : disabled artists who challenge assumptions with thought-provoking scripts and unconventional performance . Kristy Edmunds presented their Small Metal Objects ( 2005 ) and Brett Sheehy their Ganesh Versus the Third Reich ( 2011 ), productions that have cemented the company ’ s international reputation .
“ Melbourne ’ s sophisticated and multi-layered independent theatre sector has been a vital part of this mix .
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/ Theatre