Scenes | Edition 2 - 2018

EDITION 2 – 2018

Leticia CĂĄceres Sweltering suppression

Lee Lewis On target

Zindzi Okenyo Wilde expectations

Marta Dusseldorp Where freedom sparks

Welcome Ten years ago, Melbourne Theatre Company was preparing to move to our new Southbank home.

The Southbank Arts Precinct is unique in its high concentration of arts organisations whose work is seen locally, nationally and internationally, and are all key contributors to Australia’s cultural landscape socially and economically.

We’ve seen a lot of growth within the precinct over the past 10 years and throughout all the changes MTC has always remained at the gateway of this thriving arts and cultural hub.

It is an exciting time for the area as we welcome new neighbours – such as the newly opened Buxton Contemporary, the Stables and the Ian Potter Southbank Centre currently under construction – and the local government gets underway with their Southbank redevelopment blueprint.

From June this year, the City of Melbourne’s development will elevate the area to an amazing, world-leading arts precinct adding over 2 hectares of open green space and a major public art strategy to Southbank – making it a truly wonderful experience for visitors, art lovers, residents and students.

and access as we get more information. To ensure you receive these important updates, make sure we have your email by updating your contact information online or by calling our Box Office today.

As we look forward to the coming months and the brilliant theatre ahead (all of which you can read about in this edition) the team at MTC and I have been reflecting on the important role everyone in our community plays in making MTC the wonderful, vibrant Company it is.

The contributions we each make ensure the future of MTC is prosperous, artistically and financially, so that we can continue to bring stories to life and stage exceptional theatre for generations to come.

Virginia Lovett Executive Director

As with all major redevelopment of public spaces, there will be disruptions in the process. We will keep you informed of the works and interruptions to traffic, parking

N E W S T R E A M L I N E D O N L I N E E XC H A N G E S

We have recently upgraded our online exchanges to be faster, simpler and easier to use. You can now exchange multiple tickets simultaneously instead of one at a time for any 2018 Southbank Theatre Production.

SIMPLY LOGIN USING YOUR REGISTERED EMAIL ADDRESS AND FOLLOW THE STEPS!

Cover: Richard Piper, Sarah Goodes and Jean Tong Photo by Jo Duck Production Photography throughout: Justin Ridler Scenes is a publication of Melbourne Theatre Company.

All information was correct at the time of printing.

Melbourne Theatre Company reserves the right to make changes.

EDITOR and WRITER Sarah Corridon ART DIRECTOR Emma Wagstaff GRAPHIC DESIGNER Helena Turinski

MTC Headquarters 252 Sturt St, Southbank Vic 3006 T 03 8688 0900 F 03 8688 0901 info@mtc.com.au mtc.com.au Southbank Theatre 140 Southbank Blvd, Southbank Vic 3006 BOX OFFICE 03 8688 0800

Melbourne Theatre Company is a department of the University of Melbourne.

MTC acknowledges the Yalukit Willam Peoples of the Boon Wurrung, the Traditional Owners of the land on which Southbank Theatre and MTC HQ stand, and we pay our respects to Melbourne’s First Peoples, to their ancestors past and present, and to our shared future.

STAY IN THE LOOP MelbourneTheatreCompany melbtheatreco melbtheatreco Sign-up to receive our eNews at mtc.com.au or email info@mtc.com.au Buy a $2 programme at your next show – they are filled with great articles and useful show information.

On target Director Lee Lewis loves a challenge, and Gloria certainly delivers.

Lee Lewis

Fast-paced, wickedly funny and unforgiving, this Pulitzer Prize-nominated drama has all the ingredients director Lee Lewis looks for in a new international work. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s play Gloria is merciless in its exploration of human behaviour and modern-day tragedies.

Gloria explores ambition, among other things, the kind where competition is cut-throat and relies on cowboyjustice and a venal, cruel society. Jacobs-Jenkins’s characters paint the world as they experience it, a place where the individual's wants are placed well above acceptable community standards, and he asks us whether we’re prepared to work for, or against, our team.

The backdrop of this rampant individualism is the disintegration of an industry – America’s press journalism – and in its place the rise of the self-made publisher.

However, Lewis says this is not the ‘issue’ of the play, but rather the circumstance in which the story unfolds.

‘There’s this layer of fine grained detail about the slipping away of an industry and the impact of that generational loss.’

When MTC Artistic Director Brett Sheehy approached Lewis to direct this play, she read the first 20 pages and was bewildered as to why MTC had programmed it at all.

‘I was thinking, this better be going somewhere. And then I turned the page and WOW!’ she says. Lewis knew that the scene in question would require a lot of work to do justice. ‘I instantly knew that Gloria represented a challenge for me, which was very appealing.’

Gloria’s apex comes at a moment of reckoning that is both inexplicable and tragically common. The sequence is shocking and shows the depths of this play’s dark heart, however to reveal much more would certainly spoil your night at the theatre.

Aileen Huynh, Lisa McCune and Callan Colley

Surprise sequences are notoriously difficult to execute on stage. Unlike film, where the scene is set once, theatre demands a scene is set upwards of eight times a week. ‘I think that acts like this on stage are often so problematic that unless there is a really strong reason to do it, there’s no point engaging in that level of difficulty.’

‘The curtain comes down at the end of Act 1 and we don’t know what play we’re going back to see … this makes for great drama.’

Gloria is a play Lewis says she wouldn’t be tackling unless it had something extraordinary to say about how tragedy is represented in our world. ‘The question that the play asks, is “How do you go back to your regular life after tragedy?

Can anything be normal again?” After some tragedies there is no normal to go back to, and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins has found a theatrical way of answering that.’

After her lauded revival of Noël Coward’s classic Hay Fever in 2017, Lewis says she cannot wait to return to Melbourne and take the reins of this important, contemporary production.

‘This play is a morality tale for our time, where we examine our current value system. I know the art of conversation is alive and well in Melbourne and I love being able to dip into that. I feel very privileged.’

Gloria by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins plays at Southbank Theatre, The Sumner 16 June–21 July and is supported by Production Partner the Little Group.

This production is recommended for ages 16+.

For detailed information about the production's content, visit mtc.com.au/gloria

Sweltering suppression Leticia Cáceres tells us about the play she has waited a decade to direct.

Leticia Cáceres

Bessie Holland, Julie Forsyth and Peta Brady

Growing up in Córdoba, Argentina meant director Leticia Cáceres was familiar with the work of Frederico García Lorca from a young age.

The famous Spanish playwright continues to have an immense impact on Latin American culture today where his rural trilogy – Yerma, Blood Wedding and The House of Bernarda Alba – have frequent revivals.

Cáceres says her fascination with Lorca’s poetry and playwriting is deeply rooted and springs from an interest in his personal background. Lorca’s proclivity to write about repression, particularly in relation to the body and sex, and its relationship to money and religion, resonated with her.

On a trip to Scotland in 2009, Cáceres came across an adaptation of Lorca’s play, The House of Bernarda Alba, translated by Rona Munro for the National Theatre of Scotland. Set in Glasgow’s gang-ruled East End, Cáceres realised this play, and the cruelty inflicted on its seven female characters under matriarch Bernarda Alba, was a universal story.

Cáceres started thinking about an Australian adaptation in 2012 just before Artistic Director Brett Sheehy took up his post. Together they started searching for playwrights who could harness the formidable perspective of Bernarda Alba in their writing. One name would not leave Cáceres’ head – Patricia Cornelius. ‘She’s got such a strong feminist voice; I knew she would understand the work politically and she has an incredible theatrical mind.’

Sheehy and Cáceres approached Cornelius with the idea; however, she was ‘not very forthcoming’ Cáceres says, chuckling. Many adaptations were being criticised at the time for taking up space where original work could go and for misappropriating and distorting the classics when their original writers were dead, buried, and unable to defend the integrity of their work. However, after some prolonged convincing, Cornelius sat down to read Lorca’s masterpiece again and it sparked her imagination.

Cáceres and Cornelius started working together on a different project around this time and the experience of collaborating as writer and director proved to be rousing.

‘I feel like we share a theatrical language and style that suits the kind of writing Patricia delivers, and that excites me a lot,’ Cáceres says.

‘They speak to me about what it means to survive; to be loved and to love; about what we’re prepared to compromise for comfort and security’

The two have been mindful not to inject too much ‘Australiana’ into this script. They would like their characters to feel the burden of their inhospitable outback landscape in a way that taps into the notion of Australia’s first frontier without being too obvious.

Cáceres says she wants the characters to feel like they are in a landscape that is actually uninhabitable, yet they are determined to dominate it.

‘It’s kind of the same as the female sex, where forever and a day – since Adam and Eve – women’s bodies have been closed off, or shut down, but despite that, the body can’t help but desire and feel, and express and rebel. So that’s why we’ve set it in outback WA. Because it feels like trying to battle those elements would be impossible, and the only woman that would be able to do that would be Bernarda Alba … or Gina Reinhart.’

The House of Bernarda Alba will welcome Cáceres back to the Company for the first time in 18 months, since her tenure as Associate Director. Cáceres says she cannot wait to get back in the building, which she describes as the ‘Rolls Royce’ of theatre companies. ‘There’s a real dedication to the craft and to telling great stories. I love the support I get at MTC. It feels secure, and luxurious and robust and I love it.’

In terms of recreating Lorca’s rural tragedy, Cáceres says she only hopes she can create something nuanced and thrilling, with a brilliant team of visionary theatre makers.

MTC’s cast includes Candy Bowers, Peta Brady, Julie Forsyth, Bessie Holland, Sue Jones, Melita Jurisic and Emily Milledge. ‘It’s a group of very brave women,’ Cáceres says. ‘There’s something about the cultural and physical mix of all of these women and bodies in that space, and in this company, that will hopefully make a big impact.’

Every character speaks to Cáceres in a different way.

‘They speak to me about what it means to survive; to be loved and to love; about what we’re prepared to compromise for comfort and security.’

The House of Bernarda Alba adapted by Patricia Cornelius after Federico García Lorca plays at Arts Centre Melbourne, Fairfax Studio 25 May–7 July and is supported by Media Partner Triple R.

Wilde expectations Zindzi Okenyo steps into a role she never thought could be hers.

Zindzi Okenyo

Oscar Wilde penned An Ideal Husband at the height of England’s Victorian era of decadence. It was a booming time for literature and drama – particularly concerning the social, literary and political challenges of the day.

In MTC’s upcoming production, playing upright heroine Lady Gertrude Chiltern is Zindzi Okenyo. Okenyo shares with us her take on Wilde’s classic 19th century drama.

Zindzi, you last appeared on MTC’s stage in 2016 playing Jory in Disgraced – a play about the minefield of race and identity politics in contemporary America. Now you’re returning to perform in Oscar Wilde’s quintessential English drama – a play about traditional values relating to power, marriage and politics. What attracted you to the role of Lady Chiltern?

Being a person of colour, I had literally given up on ever being in a period piece like this. For so long these kinds of classics were only available to their originally intended cast – all white performers. Australia is well behind the rest of the world when it comes to consistently casting non-white actors, not just ticking a box. But it’s really terrific to be able to play a role like this because as an actor you think, ‘I can play that, I am trained and willing and able.’ But of course you have no control over external social and cultural boundaries.

Many themes in the play relate to a woman’s standing in society. Lord Goring claims, ‘A man's life is of more value than a woman's.’ What do you think Wilde is trying to say here?

I think Wilde is, and was, very clever at social commentary. That’s the power of his work, he uses wit and intelligence to hold a mirror up to humanity and all its foibles. In 2018, I think we always have to be aware of gender and sexuality, and how these themes operate in classic texts. We also have a responsibility to find ways to subvert and shine a light on any inherent problems with a text. Although I (of course) don’t agree with the above statement [from the play], Wilde is offering up a specific point of view; the point of view of elitism and privilege, which of course still exists today. I’m looking forward to seeing how we unpack these knotty bits in rehearsals.

Michelle Lim Davidson, Christie Whelan Browne, Gina Riley and Simon Gleeson

MTC has staged many productions of Oscar Wilde’s plays over the decades, including a version of An Ideal Husband in 1972 under the direction of George Ogilvie.

What do you love about Oscar Wilde’s writing and why do these plays remain relevant today?

It stands the test of time as being smart and laugh-outloud hilarious. I am a big believer in this combination.

He manages to write plays that are entirely entertaining and a great night out, but when done well, the social commentary comes to the fore and the audience has the opportunity to really reflect on human behaviour – which is why I love the arts in general.

An Ideal Husband is set in London at the end of the 19th century, and the action takes place over a 24-hour period. It’s a comedy that relies on its darker themes of blackmail and political corruption to drive the narrative.

Can you tell us about some of the challenges in this script?

I am very much looking forward to the rigorous text work and finding what this comic rhythm will be. Finding that individually and as a company. I’ve never done Wilde before so I’m really excited to know what it feels like to navigate the world he has set up.

What are you looking forward to about your return to Melbourne Theatre Company, working with MTC Associate Director Dean Bryant?

I loved working on Disgraced [in 2016] and am so pleased to be back at the Company. It will be my second time working with Dean, we did Gaybies for Darlinghurst Theatre Company [in 2015] together. He has such a terrific sense of the grand and shows that require a huge vision and scope. I haven’t worked with any of the cast members before which is rare, so that’s an exciting element too.

Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband plays at Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse 16 July–18 August and is supported

by Media Partner smoothfm.

Play your part From artists to audiences, we all have an important part to play at Melbourne Theatre Company.

We asked some members of MTC’s community what the Company means to them.

Richard Piper | Actor I have had a wonderful relationship with Melbourne Theatre Company over the past three decades and I feel very privileged for it. In some ways it feels like an eternity, and in other ways it feels like a very short period of time.

Simon Phillips and Roger Hodgman gave me my first entrance into the Company so I suppose I owe it to them that I stayed in Australia when I moved in 1987.

I crash-landed into theatre and had the most amazing performers around me.

The first play I did was with Shane Bourne, Judith McGrath and Bob Hornery – I was re-educated in the life of theatre.

’When I get into a theatre, I feel I’m home.

It gives you energy, so you give it energy.’

I worked flat-out for Melbourne Theatre Company when I arrived. Between 1987 and 1990, I did twelve productions. That’s quite different to how it is now. The way it worked back then was in repertory – two

thirds of the time with Simon Phillips and one third of the time with Roger Hodgman.

At one stage, we were performing two plays in repertory at night and rehearsing two plays during the day.

We turned the dressing rooms into a pub … we literally lived in the building. I mean some people wouldn’t go home at night, they would just stay! We were a huge family and Simon Phillips was certainly key in this empire of incredibly innovative art and wild productions. We were pushing envelopes. It was fantastic.

MTC was, and remains, the thumping heartbeat of Melbourne’s drama community. I’ve always loved theatre, it’s always been my great love, and it’s always been what I wanted to do. It’s just too ingrained in me. When I get into a theatre, I feel I’m home. It gives you energy, so you give it energy.

– Richard Piper

Jean Tong | Playwright The culture at MTC HQ radiates with warmth. As someone from a vastly different demographic to the majority of theatre audiences, I nevertheless found myself unconditionally welcomed by the Company. My approach to casting, process of developing text, and preferences for creative team were not only accommodated but also encouraged with the understanding that all of these decisions were made to allow my play Hungry Ghosts to thrive.

As a very early-career writer, writing Hungry Ghosts for MTC is the most significant step in my career. As my first professional MTC writing gig, being offered these resources allowed me to develop the project at a rigorous level, letting me develop the skills that will provide a strong foundation for future work and collaboration. The Company’s trust in my ability to deliver on this work is also instrumental in developing my confidence in pitching more ambitious works, as well as opportunities to begin conversations with other industry professionals for future works.

As a leading theatre company, I see MTC as a key voice in the nation’s public arena, providing space for debate about urgent socio-political issues through engagement with an artistic rendering of that debate.

MTC’s huge following has deep reaches into the rest of Victoria’s residents,

Price and Christine Williams | MTC Donors and Subscribers We have been subscribing to MTC for over 20 years. Every time we see an MTC show it’s like going home to see the family.

Each year we subscribe to every play in the season.

Occasionally there is a show that we don’t enjoy as much as the others, but it makes you appreciate the exceptionally good ones, and we always appreciate the work that has gone into every single production.

whether through the show itself, the conversations it sparks between patrons and non-patrons, and through its ambient marketing boldly displayed around the state. The messaging, concerns and vision aired through the programming of this major company provides ways of speaking to a national identity, helps broker connections between different communities, and opens up opportunities to engage with issues that would otherwise feel highly disconnected from our everyday lives.

For us, seeing theatre takes us away from ourselves. We tend to not read about the production before we see it. We enjoy not knowing anything about the show beforehand as we like to be surprised on the night.

As Donors to MTC we also have the opportunity to share the experience with other people who believe in the same vision as we have during our 20 years of support. They appreciate the same things as us and we enjoy meeting up with them and having the chance to discuss the plays afterwards.

It’s such a welcoming environment.

When we attend Donor events and get to meet the cast and crew, these are very special nights for us. How the actors appear on stage can be quite different to how you see them in discussion later that evening. They are very generous with their time and we try to be generous with our time too.

Sarah Goodes | Associate Director Being offered the role of Associate Director at MTC was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. Packing up my family and moving us all to Melbourne in order to do the job was a big commitment but thoroughly worth it.

Thankfully, my partner and kids have stopped longing for Sydney and are now complete Melbourne converts with both bikes and football scarves.

On a personal level I studied directing at VCA so returning to Melbourne to work in a creative role like this was incredibly exciting. I have always loved Melbourne and think the arts community down here is so vital. I think Melbourne has some of the best actors in Australia, and possibly the world, living here.

A creative life is part of the fabric of Melbourne’s identity. People are proud to live in a city that values its art and culture and this is evident in its thriving mainstage and independent theatre scenes.

MTC creates such high quality productions. The wealth of knowledge and craftsmanship that exists within the company is incredible and its new NEXT STAGE Writers' Program is one of the most important programs running today – generating new Australian stories from writers both in Melbourne and around Australia.

Working at MTC feels like a family, and people that work here are invested so deeply in the work both on and off stage. Theatre by nature is a deeply collaborative medium – people are drawn to it because of their love of people and stories. We come to the theatre to see the human experience; to watch characters struggle, love, fight, laugh and wrestle with complexities of being humans in the hope it makes us all feel a little less alone. We are who we are through the stories we tell about ourselves, so MTC plays a vital role in the life of Melbourne; taking the temperature of what it means to be alive in this city, on this day, in this hour.

’MTC plays a vital role in the life of Melbourne.’

– Sarah Goodes

Jacinta Keefe | Indigenous Scholarship Participant MTC has given me the opportunity to learn about a multitude of things in a very short timeframe.

The people I’ve met at the Company have helped expand my knowledge of theatre and design in a practical way.

Andrew Bellchambers | Technical Manager – Staging and Design I originally trained as an engineer, and after some travel and a flirtation with architecture, I finally decided to follow my passion and re-train at the Victorian College of Arts in theatre.

It was at this point, as an unemployed student, I was offered my first opportunity with MTC. Someone was going away for six months and needed covering in the design office.

I ended up working part-time for nearly three years.

From there I went on to freelance for around nine years – working for companies within Australia and abroad, on opera, theatre and festival projects.

In 2014, I was lucky enough to re-join the Company, and currently hold the position of Technical Manager – Staging and Design.

Everyone working at the Company does so because we love what we do. The wealth of knowledge and talent is extraordinary, with everyone dedicated to producing the best

possible work we can. Being part of the Company does live up to the cliché of feeling like being in a family, including the inevitable ‘family’ altercations, that only occur in a close-knit environment where everyone is looking out for each other.

I grew up seeing MTC shows and feel that it has always been a part of my life. To be working for the Company is a great privilege. Victoria is very lucky to have such a resource dedicated to providing such a high level of theatre. The skill and innovation of production craft at MTC is comparable with the best in the world and shouldn’t be underestimated. This level of achievement is only made possible by the unique environment that the Company creates; where production staff, artisans and performers all work alongside each other under the one roof.

This is a rare opportunity in our modern society, and something that should be treasured and nurtured by all.

My time at MTC has also helped me work in an environment that is full of people who are very close knit, which I learnt, could be difficult at times when there are disagreements or personalities that clash. However, this has ultimately helped me become a better team member in group collaborations.

The community of MTC feels very open and welcoming. If you have a question and someone doesn’t know the answer, they’ll send you to someone who does. If you’re looking to expand your skills, everyone is willing to help; it’s quite extraordinary. Being at MTC feels like you’re a part of a second family.

MTC invites you to play your part. Your donation will bring more inspiring stories to life at Melbourne Theatre Company. Every dollar contributes directly to a bright future for MTC and the cultural landscape of Melbourne and Victoria.

Learn more and donate online at mtc.com.au/PlayYourPart

Where freedom sparks Marta Dusseldorp on her love of rebellious theatre-makers, and her passion for the transience of live performance.

Marta Dusseldorp

When A Doll’s House, Part 2 came across Marta Dusseldorp’s radar she thought, ‘How ostentatious … how naughty for someone to write this.’ Dusseldorp’s reaction was in the same vein as many others; built on a scepticism and instinctive criticism of a playwright, in this case Lucas Hnath, who was willing to interfere with a classic. ‘I thought … who do these people think they are? … Americans!’

However, when Laurie Metcalf appeared as Nora in the Broadway production, the play collected multiple nominations and several awards, and Dusseldorp’s scepticism turned to awe.

She sat down to read the script and acknowledged her inaccurate assumptions. Not only was Hnath’s narrative funny, but it took Ibsen’s fiercely political work from 1879 and made it pertinent to our contemporary world.

‘It’s important to note that it’s not a feminist play,’ Dusseldorp says, ‘and it’s not an anti-feminist play.

It is a debate. But it doesn’t feel like a debate because of the emotional stakes.’

Dusseldorp was thrilled when MTC approached her for the role – the first company globally to gain the rights to Hnath’s coveted script since its Broadway premiere in April last year. The part also meant she could work with her long-time friend and MTC Associate Director, Sarah Goodes, for the very first time.

Marta Dusseldorp plays Nora Helmer in A Doll’s House, Part 2 by Lucas Hnath.

It is rare that the reinvention of a definitive character like Nora Helmer would crop up again and that the stars should align in this way, she says. The original script had been a favourite of hers since drama school at Melbourne’s Victorian College of the Arts. ‘I’d always been fascinated with Ibsen. If you want to be [theatre] literate, you have to have read all of his works … and Chekov and Strindberg. He played a big part in my learning.’

A Doll’s House, Part 2, does play out like a meta-fiction according to Dusseldorp. ‘A play about a play,’ she says.

It’s been described as a sequel and a coda, however it’s the righteousness of all four characters in Hnath’s script that makes the story so compelling and relatable.

The intricacy of Ibsen’s detail and plot-weave is like Arthur Miller’s she claims; as good as any TV drama that you would binge watch today; chapter-by-chapter, act-by-act.

‘Everyone is right in it. There are four great roles and everyone is arguing for himself or herself. It’s very “of our time”.’

Dusseldorp reflects on the parallels between Ibsen and Hnath and their relative theatrical rebellion for their era.

Ibsen came from a traditional Norwegian merchant family and was originally interested in writing plays that people were expecting to see. ‘Then finally he went, “F**k it, I’m going to write a play as if my mother does walk out.”

Because of course, they lived a very traditional life,’ she says.

Hnath’s play picks up 15 years after Nora slams the door on her family in Ibsen’s original work. For Dusseldorp, there is great pain and great humility between the lines of Hnath’s humour. ‘I think the reason Nora is even more interesting now, is because she is free in the way that we relate to as women. But she’s still bound by her family. And that is her Achilles' heel. That’s anyone’s Achilles' heel.’

‘What motivated him to do that 150 years ago, we’ll never know. But it’s in the same way Lucas Hnath – who is only 37 years old – 138 years later, decides he’s also going to create an irresponsible act, which is the imposition of a classic.

‘Of course we all want to see the abandoned child confront her abandoner,’ Dusseldorp exclaims. ‘That is something that I, as a mother, wrestle with – condemning Nora for that moment. So how does she come to a place of redemption, or does she?’

‘He understands that Nora matters to us, and he rewards us when we turn up by allowing it to be funny, as well as beautifully emotional, with real complexity.’

A Doll’s House, Part 2 will mark Dusseldorp’s return to Melbourne Theatre Company, since her 1997 role in Three Sisters. It was former MTC Artistic Director Roger

Hodgman who took her under his wing and convinced her a career in performing arts was not only possible, but also probable.

‘Immediately I felt that I could be an actor in this industry.

That was the feeling Melbourne Theatre Company gave me. That community gave me the confidence to believe that I had chosen the right path.’

The rehearsal room remains the most sacred and special place for Dusseldorp in the theatre making process, and is one of the major reasons she carves out chunks of her year for the stage. ‘It’s the place where you learn how deep you can go, and how hard you have to look at something. It’s also the place where you negotiate and imprint the foundation of the production. When you perform night after night, eight shows a week, it is really important that you know you’ve got strong guidelines.

And then from that, freedom sparks.’

A Doll’s House, Part 2 by Lucas Hnath plays at Southbank Theatre, The Sumner 11 August–15 September and is supported by Opening Night Partner Abercrombie & Kent and Media Partner Time Out.

Education

Tickets to see the world MTC continues to support the value of drama in young people’s lives.

From early on in our lives, role-playing becomes a fundamental way of developing life skills, including empathy, resilience, and teamwork. Acting helps build confidence and self-esteem in children as they navigate the many different roles and characters that fill their real lives. Drama exercises that intangible part of our brains – the imagination.

In 1962, MTC introduced an Education Program – the first of its kind in the country. The Company understood the enormous value and impact live performance had on young people’s lives, and as a leading state theatre company, MTC set out to establish programs that would benefit as many young Victorians as possible.

Five decades on, MTC’s commitment to making worldclass theatre accessible to young people is unwavering, embodied in our Sharing the Light initiative, generously supported by the Crown Resorts and Packer Family Foundations. One of the initiatives under this program offers subsidised $5 tickets to disadvantaged schools and travel subsidies for those situated more than 25 kilometres from Melbourne's arts precinct, making it easier for more young people to access world-class theatre experiences.

At its core, Sharing the Light aims to reduce barriers and provide supported opportunities for students to engage with an art form that can have wide-ranging, positive effects on their learning and understanding of lives outside of their own. The vast majority of attendees under this program have never been to the theatre before and therefore the impact can be profound.

‘Thank you for the opportunity to take our students to see Macbeth – only two of the seventy in the group had ever been to the theatre before. They were absolutely blown away by the experience.

One quite disengaged student said, “That was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I can’t believe this is a thing in the world that I never knew about!”‘ TEACHER, GLENROY COLLEGE

From Melbourne, and across the state, almost 11,000 students from hundreds of schools – government and non-government, independent and denominational – have benefitted from this initiative since its inception in 2015.

In 2017 alone, over $24,000 was contributed to reimburse travel costs, meaning students from as far as the Sunraysia region in far North West Victoria could visit Southbank Theatre. In 2015, MTC reimbursed Mildura Senior College for bus hire, enabling their VCE Theatre Studies students to travel over 1000 kilometres to see Endgame at Southbank Theatre. Last year, MTC covered the cost of Leongatha Secondary College’s bus hire, making it possible for the school to bring almost 100 students to see Macbeth.

MTC Community Outreach Manager Karin Farrell said the feedback the Education team had received from the Sharing the Light initiative had been overwhelmingly positive. ‘To enable so many students from all over the state the opportunity to see theatre – many for the very first time – is exciting and vital. Research continues to show the benefits of providing young people access to cultural activities. From building greater tolerance and an improved ability to read the emotions of others, to an increased vocabulary; experiencing the creativity of others on stage can have a powerful effect and engage young people in a way other art forms cannot.’

‘Our students recently had the opportunity to see Macbeth and they absolutely loved it, saying it was the highlight of their excursion to Melbourne. Our school could not have provided this opportunity for our students had MTC not been so generous in ticket subsidies and travel support.’

TEACHER, TYRELL COLLEGE

‘We really appreciate the support with $5 tickets and travel subsidies – it makes such a big difference for these students and their families. It really opens up their world.’

TEACHER, MAFFRA SECONDARY COLLEGE

The Cybec factor MTC Literary Director Chris Mead on Cybec Electric.

The journey from small, independent theatres to the mainstage can be treacherous. The road can be long and littered with dead-ends, potholes, hoons, loons and inexplicable bypasses. More often than not it’s lonely.

MTC's NEXT STAGE Writers’ Program has been built to ensure that such a journey is tempered by wisdom, time and smooth travelling. That still leaves many writers stranded betwixt and between.

Sun Park worked across all eight plays, led by directors Prue Clark and Luke Kerridge who helped bring these stories to life.

Anchuli Felicia King’s Slaughterhouse was a brilliant, hilarious jigsaw-puzzle of a play. Something happened to Bianca and by the play’s end, the ethical eating start-up

Cybec Electric is an opportunity to strike a middle ground, which gives writers the chance to stretch their legs on our stages, while also welcoming MTC audiences to new writers, new stories and new forms; work that can be at the very cutting edge of contemporary playwriting.

with dialogue and song, when white Australia was at war with the emu.

Natesha Somasundaram put us in the affluent chaos of Chalini, Harry and Roohi’s house where possums get stabbed, trauma is evaded and silverbeet is out of control; Dan Giovannoni took us to the hilarious Gogolian

‘These new plays are a testament to our next generation of playwrights being restless, daring and defying expectation at every turn.’

And that’s what Cybec Electric exists to celebrate, the power of storytelling, the scope of a playwright’s ambition and the abundance of their stories. Just as Marcel Proust encouraged us to see with new eyes, ‘to behold the universe through the eyes of another, of a hundred others, to behold the hundred universes that each of them beholds, that each of them is.’ Philosopher Hélène Cixous argues that literature is queer, a body under pressure through which to shift boundaries and challenge social expectations.

For the past five years, MTC has partnered with the Cybec Foundation to present Cybec Electric’s Play Reading series. Many of the plays first heard here have gone on to have productions at MTC and other companies around the country. The aim of Cybec has always been to present audiences with a broad cross section of new writing and showcase the innovation, fearlessness and thrilling ambition prevalent in Melbourne’s playwriting scene.

Cybec Electric 2018 rehearsal reading

The opportunity for a playwright to test their work on a live audience is rare. However, it is only in this format that a new work can start to take form and thrive. Cybec provides this unique opportunity each year, allowing writers to gauge what is working and what needs development in their scripts at a very early stage.

Throughout the play reading process characters develop a third dimension, and writers and the creative team can suddenly feel the thrill of hearing an audience’s laughter or captivated silence. New work development can be a disorienting process, it is these moments with an audience that can recalibrate and set a play off in a firmer direction. It could be argued that there is no comparative experience as important in the development of new work.

From March 1-3 we presented two full-length plays and six 20-minute excerpts of plays. A dedicated cast of actors including Jean Bachoura, Mark Coles-Smith, Tahlee Fereday, Rohan Mirchandaney, Maggie Naouri and

where she works has crashed, and somebody has been mutilated. Mark Coles-Smith brought the play home, siloing the mystery, but also deepening it, with his astounding rendition of DJ, the DJ.

depths of eastern southern central Europe in the aftermath of the downing of a plane as humanity is extolled and debased; and Alberto di Troia rolled the dice on Adam and Steve’s relationship as they head to Vegas in search of Britney Spears.

Samah Sabawi’s Them was a charming and heart-breaking story of impossible choices. When your home becomes the site of a civil war is it still your home, or should you leave? Jean Bachoura and Maggie Naouri’s characters Omar and Leila and their small baby Marwan could get out of the city but only if they use poison money. Epic, humble and very, very funny, this is the human side of war.

Even from these brief descriptions, these new plays are testament to our next generation of playwrights being restless, daring and defying expectation at every turn.

Cybec Electric navigates new pathways, often whole new territories, with great empathy, humour and heart.

Kylie Trounson started scratching at some of Melbourne’s dirty secrets in a uniquely entertaining and disarming way; Katy Warner showed us the human side of a monster, and the monstrous hypocrisy that sometimes attends success; and Declan Furber Gillick reminded us of a time,

Cybec Electric is made possible thanks to the generous support of Roger Riordan am and the Cybec Foundation.

Proud Partner of the Melbourne Theatre Company

Corporate Partnerships

The world’s a stage Melbourne Theatre Company is delighted to welcome Abercrombie & Kent as a new Major Partner.

Following the announcement of Abercrombie & Kent (A&K) as MTC's exclusive Opening Night Partner, we spoke to A&K’s Managing Director Sujata Raman about her favourite holiday destinations, and the A&K travel experience.

Tell us a little about Abercrombie & Kent.

Abercrombie & Kent was born on safari in East Africa in 1962, when Founder and now Chairman Geoffrey Kent dreamt of being able to offer the most inspirational travel experiences in the world. In the decades since, A&K has become the benchmark for luxury travel adventure worldwide, taking discerning travellers to the ends of the earth in inimitable A&K style.

Abercrombie & Kent has always believed that truly great travel helps make the world a bigger and a better place, and allows us to see ourselves, others, and the world through a new lens. A&K’s travel experts create handcrafted private and small group journeys to more than 100 countries around the world. Whether you’re dreaming of a tour of the Pyramids with your own Egyptologist, would like to browse the private art collection of the Medicis in Florence or try your hand at elephant polo in Jaipur, A&K’s experts will know just how to make it happen.

Where is your favourite holiday destination?

This is an almost impossible question to answer – in my case, it is usually the last place I’ve been to. A wonderful holiday is most often the result of an itinerary that is personalised to your needs and interests. On my list of favourites would be Antarctica, which is a privilege to visit; an African safari, which everyone must do at least once in their lifetime; and culturally rich India.

How would you describe the Abercrombie & Kent travel experience?

We’re known for providing luxury travel experiences, but it’s not just about staying in nice hotels and eating great food. True luxury is the ability to go off the beaten track in relative comfort, to venture behind the scenes, to enjoy authentic experiences that only the locals know, to come away from a trip feeling enriched. One of the things that sets A&K apart is that we have our own offices around the world, so in most of our destinations, travellers are looked after by the same company they booked with at home. And through A&K Philanthropy, we are positively impacting lives and livelihoods in the communities where our guests travel. We are currently working with partner communities on 35 different projects in 18 countries across education, health care, conservation and enterprise development, and our guests can visit and experience many of these philanthropic projects when they travel with us.

Abercrombie & Kent’s Managing Director Sujata Raman

‘We often say that time is the new luxury – time to experience and enjoy without having to worry about what goes into putting together a seamless experience.’

Is there anything MTC subscribers might find surprising about Abercrombie & Kent?

Travellers often say they like to make their own arrangements because they don’t like travelling on a rigid itinerary. While we also operate many small group journeys, most of our travel arrangements are for individual travellers on a handcrafted itinerary. Holidays are designed to meet your specific interests and you travel in your own vehicle with a guide. We often say that time is the new luxury – time to experience and enjoy without having to worry about what goes into putting together a seamless experience.

MTC's subscribers enjoy the best of local and international theatre throughout the year. Which A&K travel experiences would you recommend for theatrelovers?

MTC obviously attracts an audience that craves new learnings, enjoys immersive experiences and likes to be challenged intellectually and imaginatively, which sounds a lot like our own travellers, and there are any number of A&K private and small group journeys that similarly broaden the mind, indulge the senses, challenge preconceptions and shift perspectives. All the world’s a stage of course, and there are also some quite unexpected and out of the box theatre experiences on A&K journeys, including Kabuki in Japan, the vibrant

English-theatre scene in India, a night at the glamorous Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, performing arts festivals in Morocco, the historic Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, and street theatre during the Eagle Festival in far northwestern Mongolia.

What has been your favourite MTC production so far, and what are you excited about in Season 2018?

It’s a bit like my favourite destinations, I often love most the last things I’ve seen, and already this year I’ve been mesmerised by both The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and the intensity of The Children, the implications of which I’m still turning over in my mind.

I’m especially looking forward to seeing Marta Dusseldorp in A Doll’s House, Part 2 and who isn’t looking forward to Twelfth Night? I’m only sorry I’m going to miss a few Abercrombie & Kent Opening Nights this year while I’m travelling and leading small group journeys in Egypt, Georgia and Armenia, but I’m determined to see every production I can when I’m home in Melbourne.

MTC's new three-year partnership with A&K celebrates both companies’ passion for excellence, providing inspiring experiences and taking people on journeys that enrich their understanding of the world we live in.

BIG IN AFRICA Abercrombie & Kent was born on safari in East Africa in the early 1960s and has remained the benchmark for luxury travel on the Mother Continent ever since. An A&K safari is quite simply the greatest outdoor adventure holiday you will ever have.

Act now to secure the finest properties, the most knowledgeable guides and the best game-viewing experiences in the hottest travel destination on earth.

Talk to your travel agent or call Abercrombie & Kent on 1300 851 800.

abercrombiekent.com.au

Special offers Film Offer

Screening Offer

BREATH

ART ON SCREEN: CARAVAGGIO: THE SOUL AND THE BLOOD

Win a double pass to Simon Baker’s directorial debut, Breath, based on Tim Winton’s award-winning and international bestselling novel set in mid-70s coastal Australia.

Hot on the heels of the groundbreaking smash hits Vatican Museums 3D and Florence and the Uffizi Gallery comes a brand-new documentary on the life and work of Italian master Caravaggio and the birth of modern painting.

Breath follows two teenage boys, Pikelet (Samson Coulter) and Loonie (Ben Spence), growing up in a remote corner of the Western Australian coast. Hungry for discovery, the pair form an unlikely friendship with Sando (Simon Baker), a mysterious older surfer and adventurer, who pushes the boys to take risks that will have a lasting and profound impact on their lives. In cinemas 3 May.

Caravaggio: The Soul and the Blood is an immersive and visually stunning journey through the struggles and successes of the revolutionary and controversial artist, joining him on his travels through Milan, Venice, Rome, Naples, Sicily and Malta as he tries to flee his many demons.

For your chance to win an in-season double pass, email offers@mtc.com.au with BREATH in the subject line.

For your chance to win a double pass to a 1pm session at Cinema Nova on Saturday 19 May or Sunday 20 May, email offers@mtc.com.au with CARAVAGGIO in the subject line and let us know your preferred screening date.

Dining Offer

Film giveaway

DINING OFFER AT DOWNSTAIRS BISTRO & LOUNGE

TEA WITH THE DAMES

MTC Partner Downstairs Bistro & Lounge is offering you the chance to win a complimentary pre-theatre dinner for two and an exclusive backstage tour at your next MTC production. Simply show your MTC ticket or mention MTC when you book your pre-theatre dinner to enter the draw.

Located on Sturt street, 750 metres from Southbank Theatre, Downstairs Bistro & Lounge offers a relaxed space from casual drinks to the full dining experience.

Pre-theatre dinner is just $45 for two courses with matching wine or beer and a complimentary cocktail on arrival. It is available from 5pm every day and if you’re in a rush they’ll hold your dessert until after the show.

Book via 03 9686 5015 or send an email to dine@downstairs.net.au to enter the draw.

Directed by Roger Michell (Notting Hill, Le Week-End, Enduring Love) Tea with the Dames invites you to spend time with theatrical icons Joan Plowright, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Eileen Atkins, as they talk about their lives now and then: their experience in theatre, TV and cinema and the memories that they have from when they were bright young things right up to the present day. In cinemas 7 June.

For your chance to win an in-season double pass, email offers@mtc.com.au with DAMES in the subject line.