Thursday, May 18, 2017

Come to the Cabaret


The set of Cabaret at the Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne


Last night was a treat. Deborah Klein, Paul Compton and I saw a production of Cabaret at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne. Deborah caught the atmosphere perfectly in this photograph, taken from our seats close to the action. Characters in this stage production are missing in the film, but in this performance we are seeing a truer version of its source material - Christopher Isherwood's Mr. Norris Changes Trains.

Paul Capsis played the role of Emcee and he lit up the stage with his magic, but all the performances were magnificent. Sally Bowles was played by Chelsea Gibb and she made the role her own. The mixture of faded glamour, the bizarre and prevalent seediness were perfectly realised and the songs of Kander and Ebb were at times poignant, funny or sinister. John O'May played Herr Shulz and Kate Fitzpatrick played Fraulein Schneider, both wonderful performances. I mention these actors because after the show we had a drink at the bar and most of the cast turned up too. We had a chat with Paul Capsis, Kate Fitzpatrick, John O'May and Chelsea Gibb, so that made it a double highlight for the night.



 Deborah Klein, Paul Capsis, Shane Jones





The two Pauls, Compton and Capsis

Sunday, May 7, 2017

Land, Rain & Sun forms part of ART+CLIMATE+CHANGE 2017







At the opening of LAND, RAIN & SUN exhibition with a selection of my small cloud paintings.


LAND, RAIN & SUN

The Charles Nodrum Gallery is pleased to present a group exhibition of Australian and European landscape painting and works on paper dating from the 19th century to today, presented in collaboration with Climarte.

Land, Rain & Sun forms part of ART+CLIMATE+CHANGE 2017 - a program of specially curated exhibitions across Melbourne and Regional Victoria, with related public programs, events and speakers that broadcast Climarte's advocacy for action through the arts to restore a sustainable environment.

Selected works will be accompanied by analysis and comments from participating climate scientists Penny Whetton and Joelle Gergis, shedding light on how changing environments approach hopes to produce new readings of the works beyond the purely aesthetic, and extend this vision in the direction of Climate's mission.

Over 100 works, this exhibition will be the largest and most broad ranging in the program.