The way we (literally) view theatre in Australia has been transformed in the last few tumultuous months. From artistic hubs driven to the edge by the financial hit to artistic directors scrambling to recalibrate for the future to actors embracing online platforms to reach audiences or doing things a little differently IRL, it’s a brave new world.
Even the artistic powerhouse enveloped within the iconic sails of the Sydney Opera House have had to adapt to the new normal in intriguing ways, staying connected to Australian arts lovers via the SOH's From Our House to Yours digital platform.
While the program has replayed gigs by bands like Empire of the Sun and even hosted kids’ faves The Wiggles in the building, this week the Opera House will be bring theatre back in a major way, sent to you with love online.
Assembling a powerful who’s who of Australian theatre luminaries, Dear Australia will present 50 monologues written by playwrights including Nakkiah Lui, Anchuli Felicia King, Suzie Miller, Richard Frankland and Jada Alberts. They will tackle what’s happening right now and what we want our society to look like as we recover, and they will shine a light on the stories we might be overlooking.
Each short piece – livestreamed from both the Opera House Facebook page and Playwriting Australia’s YouTube channel over three consecutive nights from this Thursday, July 2 – will be performed by actors like Miranda Tapsell, Tasma Walton, Jack Thompson, Danielle Cormack and Peter Carroll, plus many, many more.
The show promises to be both comforting and confronting, and the staggering line-up of creative minds corralled here represents one of the most exciting and ambitious arts events of the lockdown. As David Berthold of Playwriting Australia puts it, “Recent months have exposed and prised open many cracks in our society. These 50 micro works address major questions, allowing us to see into some of those cracks, but also inviting us to see light ahead.”
And if you’ve got streaming fatigue, the Dear Australia monologue scripts will published by Australian Plays on Monday 6 July on its website.
The livestreams will occur on Thursday, July 2 and Friday, July 3 at 7pm AEST, and conclude on Sunday, July 5 at 5pm.
The livestreams will occur on Thursday, July 2 and Friday, July 3 at 7pm, and conclude on Sunday, July 5 at 5pm. You can also get an insight into the creative process of Nakkiah Lui, Aanisa Vylet and Donna Abela as they join a panel discussion hosted on Saturday, July 4 at 7pm.
This article is supported by the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas.
