Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - Page 101
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Radio: Reader challenges figures .................. Page 102 Veritas: MSO tickets start at $20 ...................... Page 103 The Spoiler: Advance plotlines for TV soapies .......... Page 103 Jim and Aaron: Top 10, best movies and DVDs ............ Page 104 Cheryl Threadgold: Local theatre shows, auditions ........... Page 105 PLUS THE LOVATT”S MEGA CROSSWORD
HEART THY NEIGHBOUR ‘Brief Encounter’
● Noel Coward ■ Brief Encounter is one of those films that everyone knows and for which most people have a soft spot, so it's not surprising that it has done a full creative circle from play to film to play. Originally penned by the great English wit, writer and composer Noel Coward as the play Still Life, it came to worldwide prominence when filmmaker David Lean adapted it for film and it became the 1945 classic Brief Encounter starring Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard. Nearly 70 years later Melbourne is about to welcome a stage version of Brief Encounter as one of the highlights of the 2013 Melbourne Festival. It's being brought to Melbourne by English theatre company Kneehigh, a touring company based in Cornwall. While this production is an English one, there is a nice cross-cultural influence with Australian actors Michelle Nightingale taking the lead role of Laura, and Kate Cheel playing the secondary role of Beryl. They are joined by actors Annette McLaughlin, Damon Daunno and Joseph Alessi for the 2010 Broadway production, as well as Scottish film and television actor Jim Sturgeon, with Dave Brown and James Gow completing the cast. One of the things lovers of the film Brief Encounter enjoy is the chance to visit a bygone era of romance on the big screen, as our married woman Laura finds herself attracted to Dr Alec Harvey in the prosaic surrounds of a railway station tearoom. For director Emma Rice, this is a labour of love. "I love romance and I also love fairy tales. Noel Coward wrote a play about an affair - not a sordid affair but a love affair, an impossible affair, a painful affair that became an unacceptable affair. It's written with such empathy, such observation and such tender agony," she said. All these emotions are caught in the new production, and Melbourne Festival Creative Director Josephine Ridge is convinced that Brief Encounter will be a 2013 festival hit. "I love this company and am thrilled that we are presenting them to Melbourne audiences for the first time this year - Brief Encounter will warm your heart, make you laugh, cry and cause you to remember again the magic of a good story, imaginatively and beautifully told," Josephine commented. As an extra treat, on Saturday October 19 at 7pm there will be a free screening of the famous Brief Encounter film in Federation Square. Older readers may recall the famous story of Noel Coward visiting Melbourne and being asked by a keen reporter on a grey Melbourne day if he had any words for the Melbourne Sun? "Shine, dear boy, shine!' was the reputed reply. I think Coward would be delighted that one of his major works is coming down under to remind us what a talent he had for penning a good story to enthrall an audience. Wednesday, October 9 - Sunday, October 22 at the Athenaeum Theatre, 188 Collins St, Melbourne. Bookings: www.melbournefestival.com.au or Ticketek 1-300 795 012. - Julie Houghton
By CHERYL THREADGOLD
● Greg Pandelidis and Arta Mucaj in Heart Thy Neighbour, being presented from September 18-27 at the Sketch and Tulip in North Melbourne. Photo: Sarah Walker ■ ReAction Theatre presents the premiere of Camilla Maxwell’s new comedy, Heart Thy Neighbour from September 18-27, as part of the 2013 Melbourne Fringe Festival. In Heart Thy Neighbour, we meet Eliza, Doug, Rossco, Sarina and the new guy in the street, Fitzo, and unearth what really goes on in suburban Australia. Are your friends really your enemies? Are your enemies your friends? Or are they simply your neighbours? It is said the audience will feel surprised to find themselves frighteningly comfortable with the goings-on at Doug’s barbie. ReAction Theatre is thrilled to have on board a stellar cast for this comedy, including veteran Australian actor Greg Pandelidis, and relative newcomer to Australian shores, Kosovan actor Arta Mucaj, former actor and artistic advisor for nine years at the National Theatre of Kosovo. Camilla Maxwell is an Australian-born writer currently living in New York, where she is working on a number of projects. Artistic Director Louise Howlett says she and Camilla have a powerful collaborative relationship. “She is hugely talented and has a terrific knack for creating original characters.” One of ReAction Theatre's main aims is to nurture and support young and unique Australian talent. “We are relishing the opportunity to work with Camilla again,” says Howlett. Performance dates and times: September 18-22, 25-27 at 7.30pm. Venue: Sketch and Tulip, 364 Victoria Street, North Melbourne Duration: 60 minutes Tickets: $20 full price, $15 Preview. Bookings: melbournefringe.com.au or call 9660 9666.
New kids TV boss
■ Deirdre Brennan, one of the television industry’s most experienced executives, has been appointed ABC’s Controller Children’s TV. Brennan will take up her new role in the new year. Her career has included roles at MTV Networks and the ABC. She joined BBC Worldwide from Nickelodeon Australia, where she was Director of Programming from 2007 to 2010. She is currently Director of Content Australia and New Zealand for BBC Worldwide which she joined in 2010. Brennan was responsible for the ongoing performance and development of the linear channel portfolio – UKTV, UKTV NZ, BBC Knowledge, BBC Knowledge NZ and CBeebies - as well as managing local operations for BBC World News. “My three years experience at BBC Worldwide has been invaluable, but I am excited about the opportunity to return to ABC TV as Controller Children’s, an area of content that I hold a deep passion for.”
‘Winter Words’
● Christopher Busietta ■ Young expatriate Australian tenor Christopher Busietta is back briefly from Germany and decided to celebrate his temporary homecoming with a concert. Joining this talented young tenor is one of the best young pianists in Australian, Amir Farid, who will accompany Christopher in a concert called Winter Words - A Celebration of Verdi, Wagner and Britten on Sunday, September 1 at 3pm at St Martin's Anglican Church, 27 Cromwell Rd South Yarra. Christopher started his international career by winning the German Australian Opera Grant in 2009, which took him to work for a year at the Staatstheater Wiesbaden, where he still appears alongside his other operatic work at Theater Augsburg. He has returned to Melbourne between seasons and was delighted to catch up with his old mate Amir from the acclaimed Benaud Trio to perform this 70-minute recital. Christopher wanted to celebrate the roles and songs that he has been singing in German theatres over the past few years, as well as arias he will be singing as tenor soloist in the next season when he returns to Germany in September. With 2013 being the 200th anniversaries of birth of Verdi and Wagner, and the 100 years since English composer Benjamin Britten's birth, Christopher has programmed arias from Verdi's Rigoletto, Wagner's Der Fliegende Hollander and the Britten song cycle Winter Words. This concert promises to be a treat for lovers of these greats of the classical vocal world. Tickets can be booked at www.trybooking.com.59604. - Julie Houghton
● Amir Farid