Grant winners were: Atherton Shire Council: $3,740 to employ two spray paint artists to run workshops on legal street art. The artwork will explore current youth culture and will be depicted in a mural and an exhibition; Gatton Youth Festival: $4,950 to allow young people in Gatton and the Lockyer Valley to organise, attend and perform at a multiarts youth festival called "Enigma"; Ipswich East State School: $4,000 to employ local authors to conduct sessions and workshops at the Ipswich Festival of Children's Literature to promote reading by young people and support emerging writers; Brisbane visual artist Elizabeth (Lisa) Anderson: $3,700 to create and perform the artwork/performance "Writing in the City" at the Brisbane Powerhouse; Collinsville artist Joanne Thieme: $4,500 to employ a professional performing artist to develop and conduct a winter school of performing arts for country children in Collinsville in June; Brisbane interior designer Susan Lincoln: $3,800 to produce and present a site-specific installation, exploring contemporary architectural and interior design practices in Sydney and Melbourne; Brisbane musical duo Women in Docs: $4,950 to fund a tour of regional centres in Queensland by acoustic duo "Women in Docs". The tour will include music industry workshops for young people in Innisfail and Townsville.

(16 May 2001)

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Free Giselle for Brisbane
Brisbane will be treated to a free open-air performance of Giselle by the Australian Ballet next month. The classic ballet (first danced in 1841) will be performed on Brisbane's Riverstage on Saturday, 23rd June from 6.30pm. The part of Giselle will be danced by Lisa Bolte, while Matthew Trent will dance Albrecht. Both dancers received their early dance training in Queensland. The company has revived the Dame Peggy van Praagh production, not seen in Australia since 1979. They will fly from Brisbane to China to perform Giselle in Beijing and Shanghai.

(14 May 2001)

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Savoyards seek directors
Bayside musical theatre group Savoyards are seeking directors and musical directors for two productions next year, Les Miserables (May) and Guys & Dolls (September). Prospective directors are asked to submit a CV and proposal by the end of May to Jan Raymond (3396 7839 or jraymon@tpgi.com.au), with interviews in June. An honorarium is paid.

(14 May 2001)

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Ashley Wilkie funeral Wednesday
The funeral of popular Brisbane theatre worker Ashley Wilkie will be held on Wednesday 9th May at Iona College chapel. Tributes to Wilkie from family, friends and theatre companies were published in today's Courier-Mail funeral notices. Wilkie, 39, died on 3rd May after a car accident as he drove home from QUT's Gardens Theatre after a final rehearsal for "The Caucasian Chalk Circle". Published tributes included those from the Arts Theatre, the Gardens Theatre, Iona passion Players, Wilkie's mother and sister, and his close friend and Arts Theatre production manager Phillip Carney.

(7 May 2001)

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Australian Ballet announces profit
The Australian Ballet has announced a profit for the year 2000 of $346,485, in contrast with the previous year's loss of $685,592. Total revenue was $24.8 million, of which 72 percent came from box office and other company earnings, 17 percent from government grants, and 11 percent from sponsors. General manager Ian McRae said the company gave 203 performances in 12 cities. He said the surplus was "a pleasing result after several years of budgeting for large deficits to achieve and maintain the company's artistic vision". Special Olympic events contributed to the profit, and to a 29 percent increase in ticket sales. The company sold 251,609 tickets across Australia in 2000.

(3 May 2001)

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Call for Council to build community theatres
Ignatians Musical Society secretary Jan Veacock has called on Brisbane City Council to build theatres in the suburbs to meet the needs of community theatre groups. Supporting local theatre consultant Jack Singe, who raised the issue recently in Perform magazine, Veacock has editorialised in the April Ignews about the lack of Council commitment to theatre construction or refurbishment. Other councils throughout Queensland and Australia have built suitable halls, she said. "Ignatians have lobbied the Council in the past ... but to no avail. We have venues like the Powerhouse which is fine for very alternative theatre but what is there for mainstream musical theatre? We are not the only theatre company without a permanent home — API, Villanova, Harvest rain all have the same problem. Perhaps we need to unite!"

(14 Apr 2001)

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R+J go MODDern
Queensland's premier theatre, opera, ballet companies and orchestra are combining resources to give school students a multi-art introduction to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Styled MODD Romeo + Juliet (with MODD standing for music, opera, dance and drama), the performances in the Lyric Theatre on May 3-4 use a young cast of actors, singers and dancers from the Queensland Theatre Company, Opera Queensland and the Queensland Ballet, accompanied by the Queensland Orchestra. Director Carol Burns said the production would include parts of Shakespeare's text and music by Prokofiev, Gounod and Leonard Bernstein. "MODD gives young audiences a taste of the great western art forms, encourages them to broaden their minds and hopefully shows them how the arts enlarge our understanding of ourselves and others," she said.

(12 Apr 2001)

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Government orders Aida inquiry
The failed open-air Aida venture has sparked a government inquiry into the entertainment industry in New South Wales. NSW Fair Trading Minister John Watkins yesterday announced a review of fair trading practices by a group including the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, the Australian Consumers Association, the Ministry for the Arts, arts associations and the NSW Department of Fair Trading. "Aida was a tragedy for ticket buyers and suppliers who lost a great deal of money in this flawed venture," Watkins said. "We need to take steps to help prevent such large scale theatrical flops occurring again." Aida was to have been staged at Darling Harbour and the Hunter Valley, with ticket prices ranging from $100 to $180. Italian entrepreneur Giuseppe Raffa's production company, Operama, was placed in voluntary administration late last month with only $100,000 in assets. Mr Raffa, who raised $1.5 million in ticket sales, has left Australia pleading ill-health. Watkins said the 90 percent of ticket-holders who had used credit cards would receive full refunds. "Suppliers and venue operators who did business with Mr Raffa suffered much heavier losses," he said. The inquiry is to look at fair trading laws and the NSW Entertainment Industry Code of Practice. It will recommend voluntary and/or legislative changes, including whether money from tickets should be held in trust until performances occur. The Sydney and Newcastle Aida performances were to have starred international diva Wilhelmina Fernandez, who sang the title role in the Brisbane open-air performance of Aida at QEII in 1997.

(4 Apr 2001)

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Bolshoi Theatre 225 years old
Only six years after Captain Cook discovered Australia's east coast, the Bolshoi Theatre was founded at the command of Catherine the Great. It is currently in the midst of gala celebrations to mark its 225th birthday. The theatre, founded on 28th March, 1776, was destroyed by fire in 1805 and moved to its current location near Red Square in 1825. It was almost destroyed again in 1853, and the current building is the restored version of 1856 by architect Albert Cavos. The Bolshoi is most famous for its world-class ballet company but also hosts an opera company and other performing groups. In recent years the theatre has been embroiled in controversy, with a first-ever strike by performers over working conditions, and dismissal of artistic director Vladimir Vasiliyevby and his deputy by Russian president Vladimir Putin. The building is in poor condition, with deteriorating walls, rotting wooden foundations and electrical wiring unchanged since the 1940s. But it looks to a new lease of life through the efforts of UNESCO, which has launched a $350 million international campaign to raise funds to restore the building.

(3 Apr 2001)

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Theatre community mourns lighting designer
Brisbane's theatre community is mourning the sudden death of leading lighting designer David Whitworth. Mr Whitworth's designs for dance and theatre were well known locally and overseas. He died aged 49 as the result of an accident. Shaaron Boughen, dance lecturer and choreographer at QUT where Mr Whitworth had recently been engaged for the forthcoming production "Dance Bytes", today described his work as "very sophisticated", with a rare talent for illuminating dancers' bodies effectively. "He was very generous with his time and very sensitive to the needs of the work and to dance in particular," she said.

(2 Apr 2001)

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World Theatre Day fails at box office
World Theatre Day came and went this week — without anyone in Australia noticing. People are encouraged to see a play, organise a play reading or throw a party some time this week to help celebrate the importance of theatre. The day, inaugurated in 1962 by the International Theatre Institute and UNESCO, is set down for 27th March. Greek playwright Iakovos Kampanellis prepared an international message for World Theatre Day this week, in which he said that the art of theatre had been re-created for thousands of years and was an art of the future: "Theatre dates from the time that the first human beings began to memorize their experiences and represent them in imagination, from the time that human beings began to plan their actions, imagining how to accomplish them. The first theatre company and the first theatrical performances took shape in the minds of men and women," he said.

(31 Mar 2001)

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Anyone can be a star in 10-hour singathon
Wannabe choral singers, soloists and conductors can put their money where their mouth is this Saturday (31st March) at the Brisbane Chorale's 10-hour second annual singathon. For $5 per session they can join in the singing of some of the greatest choral works of all time at St Andrew's Uniting Church, Creek & Ann Streets, Brisbane. The day starts with Renaissance and Baroque pieces at 10am, followed by the Messiah at 11.30am, Bach's Mass in B Minor at 1.15pm and Verdi's Requiem at 2.30pm. Other sessions are: Lloyd Webber songs at 4.15pm, Brahms' Requiem at 5.45pm and romantic and 20th century music at 7.15pm. For $20, participants can conduct a movement or sing a solo. Proceeds go to two medical charities to help with children's speech and hearing. (Inquiries: 3369-6174.) Meanwhile, the Albert Street Uniting Church has abandoned plans to have a singalong Easter Messiah. Famed for its December "People's Messiah" on the Sunday before Christmas, the church polled singers on whether to stage the event at Easter this year as well. Music director John Stehbens says there were too few singers available, but volunteers can sing two Messiah choruses with the church choir on Good Friday (13th April) and the Hallelujah Chorus on Easter Day. (Inquiries: 3886-5180).

(28 Mar 2001)

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Four actors win awards
Four actors in that form of theatre where there are no risks of forgotten lines, missed cues, being sick on opening night or being booed by a live audience received awards at a ceremony in a west coast United States city yesterday. They are Russell Crowe (best actor), Julia Roberts (best actress), Benicio del Toro (best supporting actor) and Marcia Gay Harden (best supporting actress), who received Oscars at the 73rd Academy Awards in Los Angeles. All but Roberts (who went into cinema from television and modelling) have some theatrical experience or training. After some work as a movie extra and as a successful rock musician, Crowe did some study at the Academy of Performing Arts in Western Australia, and was involved in musical theatre, including two years in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Del Toro studied for a time at a New York drama school, and then with the renowned Stella Adler Academy in Los Angeles. Harden took a masters in theatre from New York University after a theatre degree from Texas U, and earned a Tony nomination for her Broadway role in Angels in America.

(27 Mar 2001)

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Olympics win gold at Helpmann awards

The inaugural Helpmann Awards for Australian performing arts gave gold to the Olympic Opening Ceremony with four awards — best special event as well as best costume, scenic and sound design. The Helpmanns, established by the Australian Entertainment Industry Association, are designed to match Broadway's Tony Awards and the West End's Oliviers. The full list of awards announced last night is: best musical: The Boy From Oz (Gannon Fox Productions); best play: Life After George (Melbourne Theatre Company); best opera: The Eighth Wonder (Opera Australia); best ballet or dance work: Skin (Bangarra Dance Theatre Company); best visual or physical theatre: Slava's Snowshow (Backrow Productions (UK) Ltd and International Management Group); best new Australian work: Skin (Bangarra Dance Theatre Company); best special event/performance: Olympic Opening Ceremony Sydney 2000 (Ric Birch, Spectak Productions (Australia), for SOCOG); best direction of a musical: Gale Edwards, The Boy From Oz (Gannon Fox Productions); best direction of a play: Benedict Andrews, La Dispute (Sydney Theatre Company); best direction of an opera: Neil Armfield, The Eighth Wonder (Opera Australia); best choreography in a musical: Ann Reinking, Chicago The Musical (Barry & Fran Weissler, David Atkins Enterprises, International Management Group) best choreography in a ballet or dance work: Graeme Murphy AM, Body of Work Gala (Sydney Dance Company); best original score: Paul Grabowsky and Wayan Gde Yudane, The Theft of Sita (Adelaide Festival Corporation and Performing Lines); best musical direction: Max Lambert, The Boy From Oz (Gannon Fox Productions); best costume design: Meryl Tankard and Dan Potra, Deep Sea Dreaming — Olympic Opening Ceremony Sydney 2000; best scenic design: Peter England, Awakening — Olympic Opening Ceremony Sydney 2000; best lighting design: Trudy Dalgleish, The White Devil (Sydney Theatre Company); best sound design: Bruce Jackson, Olympic Opening Ceremony Sydney; best male actor in a musical: Todd McKenney, The Boy From Oz (Gannon Fox Productions); best female actor in a musical: Sharon Millerchip, Chicago The Musical; best male actor in a play: John Gaden, The Unexpected Man (Company B Belvoir and Melbourne Theatre Company); best female actor in a play: Caroline O'Connor, Piaf (Melbourne Theatre Company); best male performer in an opera: Grant Smith, The Eighth Wonder (Opera Australia); best female performer in an opera: Anke Hoppner, Madama Butterfly (Opera Australia); best male dancer in a ballet or dance work: Steven Heathcote AM, In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated (The Australian Ballet); best female dancer in a ballet or dance work: Miranda Coney, In the Upper Room (The Australian Ballet). No awards came to Queensland, although there were three Queensland nominations, Opera Queensland's Cosi Fan Tutte for best opera, Timothy DuFore for best male performer in an opera (Cosi Fan Tutte), and Michael Scott-Mitchell for best scenic design for Il Trovatore.

(26 Mar 2001)

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Five shows end tonight
Brisbane will be pulsating with cast and crew break-up parties tonight as five shows end their runs. To finish to in most cases strong houses after seasons of between two and five weeks are QTC's Fred at the Cremorne Theatre, Kooemba Jdarra's Goin' to the Island at the Merivale Street Studio, Svetlana in Slingbacks at La Boite, The Merchant of Venice at Brisbane Arts Theatre, and Waiting for Godot at New Farm Nash Theatre. Also closing this afternoon is the Arts Theatre's sell-out children's show, Sleeping Beauty, while the Arts early week show, In Camera, finished on Tuesday and the musical Buddy wrapped up at the Lyric last weekend. There will be several weeks' gap for most theatres before their next regular seasons start. Shows to look out for include QTC's The Forest at the Optus Playhouse, Starbuck Productions' Murder on the Nile at the Cremorne, Popcorn and kids' show Charlotte's Web at the Arts, Are You Being Served at Twelfth Night, and Opera Queensland's The Magic Flute at the Lyric.

(24 Mar 2001)

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Annie biggest Arts Theatre earner
The musical Annie was the Brisbane Arts Theatre's most popular show last year, according to figures compiled by the amateur theatre organisation. Second biggest revenue earner was Lend Me A Tenor, followed by Whodunnit, Cosi and Relatively Speaking. Cinderella proved most popular of the children's theatre offerings, followed by Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and Hansel & Gretel. The successes helped the theatre to show a small operating profit, following losses in each of the previous two years of about $17,000. A professional production of Annie comes to Brisbane in May as part of a national tour.

(23 Mar 2001)

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La Boite cleans up Matildas
Actors, directors and writers associated with Brisbane's La Boite Theatre scooped the pool at today's $10,000 Matilda Awards. The five awards, for excellence in Queensland theatre in the past year, all went to La Boite people. They are: Mark Bromilow (director, Clark in Sarajevo), Julie Eckersley (actor, The Secret Death of Salvador Dali [and also in Harvest Rain's As You Like It], Margery and Michael Forde for their play Milo's Wake, Sean Mee (actor, Milo's Wake [and director, Box the Pony] and Yalin Ozucelik (actor, After January). Each wins $2,000. In addition, the retiring artistic director of La Boite, Sue Rider, received a Matilda special commendation for her sustained contribution to Queensland theatre. A new QPAT award for excellence (in the form of an artwork by sculptor Rhyl Hinwood) was given to international success Box the Pony's Leah Purcell. Matilda commendations were presented to Stacey Callaghan (writing/performance When I Was a Boy, Powerhouse), Sarah Kennedy (actor, Sylvia, Mixed Company), Geoff Squires (lighting designs, Closer, Genre; Clark in Sarajevo, La Boite; Redemption, Postmodern), Lisa O'Neill (actor, Rashomon, Frank, and physical theatre piece, Three Frank Women), Elizabeth Navratil (actor, Ca Ca Courage, Access Arts), and Alison Ross (stage design, The Secret Life of Salvador Dali, La Boite). The Matilda Awards, sponsored this year by Arts Queensland, are judged by seven theatre critics.

(20 Mar 2001)

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New team to head Arts Theatre
Brisbane Arts Theatre members elected a new president and vice-president at yesterday's annual general meeting of the city's largest amateur theatre group. Actor and director Ray Swenson will replace Wensley Goebel, who stepped down after 15 years as president. The new vice-president is Len Crook, who has specialised in musical theatre productions. Elected to the board were John Boyce, Sally Daly and Marie-Louise Nolan. Swenson, a former special school principal and administrator, as well as co-founder of the Ambrosian Players, told Stagediary he planned to maintain the general directions of the Arts Theatre. "I'm very proud of this theatre," he said. "We contribute more to the artistic scene in this town than most other theatres, including some professional ones." Swenson defeated Phillip Carney while Crook defeated Brian Cannon in what were understood to be close contests, while six people stood for board membership. "We've never had so many positions contested by so many good people, a sign that the theatre is alive and well," Swenson said, referring to a Courier-Mail article earlier this year which quoted criticism of the Arts Theatre for being conservative and lacking fresh ideas. He said he was very pleased with the blend of experience and youth on the new board.

(19 Mar 2001)

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Art imitates art

A portrait of actor John Bell playing King Lear has won this year's $35,000 Archibald Prize. The portrait, by Nicholas Harding, depicts Bell as Lear in the challenging 1998 Bell Shakespeare production directed by Barrie Kosky. Bell said the painting reflected Lear's "monumental ruggedness". Harding said he found Bell's performance "riveting". "I sat in the front row," he said. "It was very dramatic and exciting." Harding's win in the prestigious but often controversial competition, now in its 80th year, has been generally applauded. But questions have been raised as to whether the portrait, painted in an impasto style using a knife, is more a picture of a person, John Bell, or of the character Lear. Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald (17 Mar) Bryce Hallett asked whether the Archibald rules had been "bent once more": "Nicholas Harding's red, richly textured portrait is, at a guess, 70 percent King Lear and 30 percent John Bell. It is a theatrical painting," he said.

(17 Mar 2001)

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Three playwrights win award
Three writers will share the inaugural $20,000 Patrick White Playwright's Award for an unproduced dramatic work. They are Ben Ellis of Melbourne (author of "Who Are You Mr James"), Bette Guy of Armidale, NSW ("The Other Side of the Lake") and Ailsa Piper of Melbourne ("Small Mercies"). The award, an initiative of the Sydney Theatre Company and sponsored by the Sydney Morning Herald, attracted 275 entries. The judging panel included playwright David Williamson, poet and playwright Dorothy Hewett and STC artistic director Robyn Nevin. Williamson praised the high quality of this year's entries: "The perceptions of the finalists of the human, social, political and economic dilemmas facing humankind and their creative skills in making these issues dramatically real, were of an exceptionally high order." Entries for the 2002 award will be accepted from July 2001.

(15 Mar 2001)

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House full: theatre-goers not welcome

Seasons of two plays will be suspended for four days in Sydney next week because the Opera House has been booked for a corporate function. To close on March 24 will be the Drama Theatre, where David Williamson's new play Up For Grabs is being presented by the Sydney Theatre Company, and the Playhouse, which is showing Bell Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. A U.S.-based insurance company has booked the building. The theatre companies are to be compensated for the closures, the first since the Opera House opened 27 years ago.

(13 Mar 2001)

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Critic calls for play ratings
Arts critic Des Partridge has called for a classification system for plays to warn theatregoers of the content. "Shouldn't we have some form of consumer advice for plays, such as we do for films and television, particularly given the presence of some particularly young playgoers?" asked Partridge (Courier-Mail, 10 March 2001). Partridge said the current Queensland Theatre Company play, Fred deserved an "MA" rating (mature audiences only). The play includes simulated sex, explicit language, drug references, black comedy and "adult themes". It's hardly suitable for school excursion groups. Perhaps our theatre critics could publish their own recommended ratings as a guide to parents and theatregoers?

(10 Mar 2001)

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Standing ovation for Babette
Her final audience of about 500 people gave Queensland theatrical icon Babette Stephens (left) a standing ovation at her funeral in St John's Cathedral on Friday. The tribute followed eulogies and readings from friends and family. The former artistic director of the La Boite Theatre which Babette founded, Sue Rider, described Babette as formidable and courageous: "a hard act to follow". Kaye Stevenson read exquisitely from "The Importance of Being Earnest" a speech of Lady Bracknell, a role played to critical acclaim by Babette 25 years ago. Son Christopher Stephens quoted from the first review of a Babette performance, 80 years ago, which described her as "a natural, very versatile and very confident", qualities she never lost, while Alan Edwards read Shakespeare's "remembrance of things past" sonnet (no. 30), which gave this writer goosebumps: "Then can I drown an eye, unus'd to flow/ For precious friends hid in death's dateless night". In keeping with the spirit of the occasion Arts Minister Matt Foley read from St Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians with dramatic energy. Babette died in Brisbane on 28th February at the age of 90.

(9 Mar 2001)

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Performing arts museum to open in Brisbane
Australia's stage history will be celebrated in the inaugural exhibition of the Queensland Performing Arts Museum, to run from 29th March to 12th May 2001. The exhibition uses archival film and soundscapes, costumes, programs and photos to illustrate the development of theatre in Australia since 1901. Included are bush melodramas, musicals, differing drama genres and vaudeville and larrikin characters. The displays can be seen free of charge in the Cremorne Gallery and QPAC foyers between 10am and 4pm Tuesday to Saturday, and 10am to 8pm on Fridays.  

(7 Mar 2001)

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Great movie: they should make a play about it
It used to be that good plays were turned into movies (not always good movies). With cinema the dominant performance arts medium, the creative flow has reversed. Associated Press drama writer Michael Kuchwara has pointed out that the following movies will be seen as plays on Broadway this year: "The Producers," "Judgment at Nuremberg," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". There's also to be a revival of "42nd Street," which began life as a movie in 1933. "The Producers" is Mel Brooks' stage version of his own movie. Last year saw a stage version of "The Full Monty". Perhaps in Australia we can look forward to such plays as "Crocodile Dundee" and "The Castle"?   

(5 Mar 2001)

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"Two houses, both alike in dignity"

With his predilection for things not being as they seem, the Bard of Avon would surely be entertained by the fact that two centuries of tourists have been led up the wrong garden path. The picturesque Tudor house (right) thought to have been childhood home of Mary Arden, Will Shakespeare's mum, is the wrong house on the wrong farm. Mary Arden in fact lived in the more modest nextdoor farm cottage, Glebe Farm (pictured below, from Constable's painting). As Norman Hammond reports in the current issue of "Archaelogy" (Mar/April 2001), "a 1587 rental agreement identifies Glebe Farm as the home of Agnes Arden, Mary's stepmother." Nat Alcock, a Warwickshire buildings historian, made the discovery. Hammond reports that Glebe Farm has been refaced with Victorian red brick, but "has proved to be an almost intact late medieval farmhouse. Tree-ring dating shows it was built in the summer of 1514 or shortly thereafter and consisted of a hall, buttery, and living chamber; a stone-walled kitchen wing was added a few years later. Although it was modernized around 1650, there was very little alteration until Victorian times." He quotes author of "The Archaeology of
Shakespeare", Jean Wilson, that "Shakespeare would probably have played there as a child, when visiting his maternal relatives. He would almost certainly have known the house." The current tourist attraction, bought by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in 1930, was not built until about 1569, some five years after Shakespeare's birth. [More info: www.archaeology.org/0103/newsbriefs/shakespeare.html]   

(1 Mar 2001)

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Playlets wanted
Nash Theatre, New Farm, is looking for short performance pieces to fit the following themes: Absurdist Night (5 March), Stand Up Comedy Night (2 April), Cabaret Night (7 May), Women's Night (4 June), Young Guns (high school playwrights) (2 July), Open Mike Punk Night (30 July), New Filmmakers' Night (3 September), Urban Australian Night (8 October). Inquiries to Megan Ball, 3254 2443.   

(27 Feb 2001)

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Andrew Miller seeks views on prospective shows
Brisbane-based director/producer Andrew Miller, whose Ocean Theatre Company staged "Singin' in the Rain" at the Conservatorium Theatre in 1999, is asking his supporters to vote on his next show. He has asked theatre-goers to choose between A Chorus Line, Chess and Man of La Mancha for his 2001 production. You can post comments to PO Box 95, Coorparoo 4151.   

(24 Feb 2001)

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Shakespearean actor/director to speak to schools
Veteran Shakespeare performer Paul Sherman, whose most recent role was Lear at the Princess Theatre Brisbane in 2000 and who directs the March Arts Theatre production of The Merchant of Venice, has received the nod from the Queensland Education Department to offer two performance-centred Shakespeare courses to schools. Called "Friar Lawrence on Trial" and "King Lear's Medicine", they're designed to bring the Bard to life for middle to senior secondary school students. For details, contact Paul at (07) 3857-5351.  

(23 Feb 2001)

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Don't break a leg
The traditional greeting of "break a leg" is used by superstitious actors before they perform to ward off any possible bad luck resulting from saying "good luck". But it didn't work for Act 1 Theatre group's Cheryl Bartlett, who broke her leg in a car accident just six days before the scheduled 23rd February opening night of "Ladies in Retirement". With Cheryl in the lead role of Leonora for the Strathpine-based company, opening had to be postponed a week while director Anne Wilson took over the part. Theatre president Michelle Radford says it's the first time in the company's 35 years that an opening has had to be postponed.   

(22 Feb 2001)

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