La Traviata
Belvoir and Sisters Grimm present
La Traviata Created by SISTERS GRIMM (ASH FLANDERS & DECLAN GREENE) with apologies to Giuseppe Verdi Text by Ash Flanders & Declan Greene (with Emma Maye Gibson, Michael Lewis and Zindzi Okenyo; selections from La Traviata by Francesco Maria Piave and Camille by Alexandre Dumas, fils.) Director DECLAN GREENE This production of La Traviata opened at Belvoir St Theatre on Saturday 29 August 2015. Set & Costume Designer MARG HORWELL Lighting Designer MATTHEW MARSHALL Composer & Sound Designer STEVE TOULMIN Dramaturg ANNE-LOUISE SARKS Assistant Director EMMA McMANUS Stage Manager KEIREN SMITH Production Manager ELIZA MAUNSELL Design Secondment CHRIS BRAIN With ASH FLANDERS EMMA MAYE GIBSON MICHAEL LEWIS ZINDZI OKENYO
THANK YOU Andrew Dalton, whose expertise, insight and true Romantic spirit contributed to the early stages of this work. Also thank you to Ralph, Brenna, Luke, Eliza, Will, Eamon and all at Belvoir. PHOTOGRAPHY Emma Furno DESIGN Alphabet Studio COVER ILLUSTRATION Ash Flanders by Julian Meagher
Creators’ Note Declan Greene & Ash Flanders
With the lavish, period productions of La Traviata that appear with frequency on Australia’s opera stages, it’s easy to overlook what a radical piece of art it was when first composed. In their opera, Giuseppe Verdi and librettist Francesco Maria Piave depicted a 19th century Paris plagued with both hedonistic aristocratic corruption and bourgeois Christian hypocrisy. The moral compass of the work was, scandalously, a consumptive courtesan, who suffers through a series of trials to attain a kind of Christ status at the opera’s conclusion – forgiving her betrayers, giving the remains of her money to the poor, and ultimately dying for her passionate belief in the value of love. Standing against the stark rationalism of the Enlightenment, Romanticism valorised the mythic, the passionate, the sublime. It was a direct reaction to the industrialisation of the Western world in the mid-19th century – dreaming of a mythic, pre-capitalist utopia, and projecting it into the future as an idealistic goal.
artistic criticism as its starting point – critiquing our own irony-laden artistic present, while looking at a contemporary Australia where many traditionally Romantic values have become fully assimilated into corporate, industrial structures. The dream of the pastoral is sold as ‘sea change’ real estate that requires a mortgage. Unlocking your emotions requires years of help from psychiatric professionals or self-help gurus. Lucrative industries have been built around ‘pre-historical’ knowledge: from paleo diets to ancient grains. But even so, Romanticism’s resistance to capitalist systems of economy still has great resonance in 2015. It’s one reason that the term ‘Romantic’ is often used to describe those who prioritise social justice over economic sustainability, as well as those who dream of radically alternative systems of governance – be it socialism, communism, fascism...
However, as a Romantic opera, La Traviata is a strange beast. Verdi marries a score which bears all the hallmarks of Romanticism with a libretto that is pointed in its social realism. In doing this, he indicts not only the moral hypocrisies of the period, but also the naivety of Romanticism itself. Through the figure of Violetta, he suggests that the Romantic spirit cannot truly exist in the industrialized present. His heroine’s valiant idealistic purity is what, in the end, sees her martyred.
It’s also a term often used to describe artists. In 2015, art that exists outside the art market – that is, live art – has little entrepreneurial potential. If it can be franchised within the commercial sector, like with big musicals or circus spectaculars, it can certainly make a great deal of money. But professional, non-commercial theatre, dance, opera, and live art make very little financial sense – operating, as they do, at a base deficit. Every ticket sold within this sector costs a great deal more than you, the audience, actually pay – and this difference is covered by either the government, a corporate sponsor, a private donor, or some mixture of the three.
Our adaptation of La Traviata takes Verdi and Piave’s bitter social and
But what happens when an artist’s anti-economic Romanticism clashes
About Sisters Grimm with the organisations that underwrite their financial deficit? How do they maintain their ideological ‘purity’? This occurred in a spectacular way during the artist boycott of the 2014 Sydney Biennale, when a number of participating artists learned that a major festival sponsor, Transfield Services, was running offshore detention centres. This boycott became a major source of inspiration for our response to La Traviata. In it, we saw a number of questions about Australia in 2015. What is value of art? What is the value of idealism? And, if the answer to these questions is ‘nothing’ – then what determines our value and worth as human beings in a capitalist world? We think this is an opportune time to be asking these questions. The Minister for the Arts recently stripped $104.5 million from the national arts funding body – the Australia Council – to set up his own National Program for Excellence in the Arts. Applications to this program will be ‘recommended’ to the Minister, who gets final say on what is funded – ensuring this enormous amount of public money will be filtered through Senator Brandis’ own personal criteria for ‘Excellence’. This means that, in coming years, artists who create experimental, innovative, or politically questioning work may have to make enormous sacrifices to keep making their art – or simply give up. Whether or not you care about art, there’s something that resounds much more deeply here – apart from the irony that, if Senator Brandis had set up his NPEA in 19th-century Venice, a work as socially radical as Verdi’s La Traviata might never have been made at all.
Sisters Grimm have been working together for nine years, cultivating a unique style of queer theatre which is cheap, accessible, and extremely faggy. Their shows eliminate the boundaries between ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture – mashing up theatre, film genre, drag, trash-TV, internet memes, and pop culture detritus in order to question the world we live in. Recent work includes Calpurnia Descending (Malthouse Theatre/Sydney Theatre Company), Summertime in the Garden of Eden (Theatre Works/Griffin Independent) and The Sovereign Wife (MTC NEON). Artists: Ash Flanders & Declan Greene Producer: Nina Bonacci www.sistersgrimm.com.au www.twitter.com/sixxtersgrimm www.facebook.com/sixxtersgrimm
Biographies DECLAN GREENE Co-Creator & Director Declan is a writer and theatre-maker based in Melbourne. His plays include Moth, Eight Gigabytes of Hardcore Pornography and I Am A Miracle, and have been produced across Australia, the US, the UK and Europe. As a playwright he has been awarded the Malcolm Robertson Prize, the Max Afford Playwright’s Award, an AWGIE for Theatre for Young Audiences, and a Green Room Award for Best Original Writing. He co-runs independent theatre company Sisters Grimm with Ash Flanders, and has directed and co-created all their shows to date, including Calpurnia Descending (Malthouse/STC); The Sovereign Wife (MTC’s NEON Festival); Little Mercy (STC); Summertime in the Garden of Eden (Theatre Works/Griffin Independent), as well as numerous shows in non-traditional spaces. ASH FLANDERS Co-Creator & Performer Ash was most recently seen by Belvoir audiences in Hedda Gabler. In 2006 he and Declan Greene formed queer DIY theatre company Sisters Grimm and together they have written and produced numerous shows including Calpurnia Descending (Malthouse/STC); Little Mercy (STC); Summertime in the Garden of Eden (Theatre Works/Griffin Independent); and The Sovereign Wife (MTC’s NEON Festival). As a solo performer he created
the shows Negative Energy Inc. and Special Victim as well as the short satirical film The Divine Decadence of Cheesecake. Recently Ash co-created and performed the You Tube-sourced cabaret Meme Girls (Malthouse) and will soon be seen in the one-man play Buyer & Cellar at the MTC. Ash has been awarded two Green Room Awards, one for Cabaret – Writing for Special Victim and one for Independent Theatre – Male Performer, for his work in The Sovereign Wife. EMMA MAYE GIBSON Performer Emma Maye (AKA Betty Grumble) is a Sydney-based performance artist. Through performance and study both in Australia and internationally she has been engaging with the woman body as a political site. With a BA from UNSW (HONS, MFA Performance Studies) and a recent Stephen Cummins Queer Artist Bequest, Emma Maye’s performative landscape straddles both nightclub/cabaret and theatre/ gallery spaces. Notable performances and training include Day for Night (Performance Space); Siti Company (New York); Block 9 (Glastonbury); The Box (London); Pretty Peepers Cabaret (Melbourne/Alice Springs/ Perth Fringes); Minge World (Perth Fringe); Best of the Fest (Edinburgh Fringe); Mardi Gras (Sydney); ArtBar (MCA); and an ongoing curatorial role at Sydney’s infamous Tokyo Sing Song. As Betty Grumble she becomes an obscene beauty queen, surreal showgirl and feminist clown. She is working towards an eco-sexual feminism and wants to save the world.
MARG HORWELL Set & Costume Designer For Belvoir, Marg has designed Nora and was dramaturg on A Christmas Carol. Other projects include Shit (Dee and Cornelius/MTC NEON); Marlin (Arena/MTC); Team of Life (Kage); Resplendence (Angus Cerini/ doubletap/MTC NEON); 8 Gigabytes of Hardcore Pornography (Griffin/Perth Theatre Company); Birdland, I Call My Brothers, Cock, Constellations, Music (MTC); Summertime in the Garden of Eden (Sisters Grimm); Savages, Do Not Go Gentle (fortyfivedownstairs); By Their Own Hands (The Hayloft Project); The School For Wives (Bell Shakespeare); Tame (Malthouse); The Histrionic (STC/ Malthouse); Ophelia Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (Bell Shakespeare/ Chambermade Opera); Save For Crying (Angus Cerini/doubletap). Marg has won four Green Room Awards and two Sydney Theatre Awards, and this year received a Helpmann nomination for Scenic Design for Marlin. MICHAEL LEWIS Performer Michael is highly regarded for his command of both operatic and concert repertoire. His major debut at the Wexford Festival in 1976 was followed by performances at opera houses in Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Leipzig, Amsterdam, Venice, San Diego, Pittsburgh, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera and many others. Michael has performed a wide range of roles, from Mozart to Wagner to 21st century compositions,
and he has a strong association with the works of Verdi, having performed in 12 of the Italian master’s operas. Most recently he has sung in The Marriage of Figaro, Madama Butterfly, Albert Herring (Opera Australia); Macbeth (Opera Q); and La forza del destino (State Opera of South Australia). He returned to Brisbane in 2014 as Rigoletto. Michael was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2008. EMMA McMANUS Assistant Director Emma is a director, musician and theatremaker. As one eighth of the performance collective Applespiel, she has created Applespiel Make A Band (Malthouse/ Performance Space); At the Request of Carl Sagan (Next Wave); and 24-hour performance protest In Pursuit of Excellence (PACT). She is the co-founder of feminist/queer theatre trio His Three Daughters and for them has directed Carly and Troy do ‘A Doll’s House’ (PACT/YAH/Crack-TINA/Woodcourt Art Theatre/Adelaide Fringe Emerging Artist Award); directed and composed music for Ragnarök/or how it ended/ (Shopfront); and Finger Your Friends (Bondi Feast/YAH/Crack). She was a Playwriting Australia Dramaturgy Intern in 2013. This year she travelled to Manila for Sipat Lawin Ensemble’s international artist exchange and undertook Malthouse Theatre’s Besen Family Artist Program placement in directing on Lally Katz’s Timeshare, mentored by Oliver Butler (The Debate Society, New York).
MATTHEW MARSHALL Lighting Designer Matthew graduated from WAAPA in 2000 and since then has designed for theatre, opera and dance. For Belvoir he has designed Cinderella, Oedipus Schmoedipus and Forget Me Not. Matthew’s other theatre credits include Gotterdammerung – Twilight of the Gods, Candide (Perth International Arts Festival); 8 Gigabytes of Hardcore Pornography, Between Two Waves (Griffin); The Wharf Revue 2009–2015, Sex with Strangers (STC); New Breed (SDC); This Is Our Youth, B Girl (Sydney Opera House); La Cenerentola (NZ Opera); La Traviata (OZ Opera); Cinderella (Opera Q); Bajazet, Iphigenie en Tauride (Pinchgut); Smoke and Mirrors, Trocadero Dance Palace, Misanthropology, Domain 2015 (Sydney Festival); Tender Napalm, The Ugly One, The Goat (Perth Theatre Company); Fat Swan, Diamonds Are for Trevor (Showqueen); The Language of the Living (NZ Dance Co); Day One, A Hotel, An Evening (Black Swan). Matthew received a 2012 Helpmann Award nomination for Best Lighting Design for The Red Tree (Perth Festival/Barking Gecko). ZINDZI OKENYO Performer Zindzi is a NIDA graduate and previously appeared at Belvoir in Scorched. As a member of STC’s Residents she has performed in The Other Way, Project Brandon, A History of Everything, Money Shots, Before/After, Blood Wedding, The Comedy of Errors, The Oresteia,
Vs Macbeth, The Crucible, The Mysteries: Genesis, The Vertical Hour and most recently Boys Will Be Boys. Other theatre includes Masquerade (Griffin/STCSA); The Girl in Tan Boots (Griffin); Random (STCSA); and Angels in America (Theatre Ink). Television includes Hiding, The Code, Playschool, Hoopla Doopla and Wonderland. Zindzi won Best Actress 2013 Adelaide Theatre Guide ‘Curtain Call’ Awards for her role as Girl in Random. She also performs her own music under the name Okenyo and most recently performed at Splendour in the Grass. ANNE-LOUISE SARKS Dramaturg Anne-Louise is Resident Director at Belvoir. From 2010 to 2013 she was Artistic Director of The Hayloft Project. Anne-Louise works professionally as an actor, director and dramaturg. For Belvoir Anne-Louise coadapted and directed A Christmas Carol, co-wrote and directed Nora and Medea, directed Seventeen, Elektra/Orestes, Stories I Want to Tell You in Person, was assistant director on The Wild Duck, and dramaturg on Oedipus Schmoedipus and Thyestes. She will be remounting her production of Medea at the Gate Theatre in London in November. Medea won five Sydney Theatre Awards including Best Direction, Best Mainstage Production and Best New Australian Work. It was also awarded an AWGIE for Best Stage Play and nominated for four 2013 Helpmann Awards including Best Direction, Best New Australian Work and Best Play. Anne-Louise has also worked with other companies including MTC, Malthouse and Arena.
KEIREN SMITH Stage Manager For Belvoir Keiren has been assistant stage manager on Mother Courage and Her Children, Radiance, Nora, Brothers Wreck and Once in Royal David’s City. She has an Advanced Diploma in Stage Management from WAAPA and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Cultural Studies from Curtin University. Keiren was ASM with The Australian Ballet for three years, touring domestically and internationally including to Japan and New York, working on many repertoire and new ballets such as Don Quixote, Onegin, The Merry Widow, Madame Butterfly, Coppelia, The Nutcracker and The Silver Rose, Alexei Ratmansky’s Cinderella, Stephen Bayne’s Swan Lake and Graeme Murphy’s Romeo and Juliet. Her other credits as ASM include Solomon and Marion (MTC); Sydney New Year’s Eve – Lord Mayor’s Party (City of Sydney); The Web and Much Ado About Nothing (Black Swan).
STEVE TOULMIN Composer & Sound Designer Steve’s composition and/or sound design credits include Blue Wizard, Radiance, Is This Thing On?, 20 Questions, The Baulkham Hills African Ladies Troupe, The Seed, Scorched (Belvoir); Little Mercy, Edward Gant’s Amazing Feats of Loneliness (STC); The Bleeding Tree, Beached, A Hoax (Griffin); Great Falls, Liberty Equality Fraternity, Circle Mirror Transformation (Ensemble); That Face (QTC); Tender Napalm, Julius Caesar and Hamlet (La Boite). As a songwriter and music producer Steve has worked with artists including Megan Washington, Ricki-Lee Coulter and Samantha Jade.
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