Sunday Arts Magazine

20 Dec 2015

Midsumma shows–Thrill Me & Uncovered, Art Collector Eric, Retro

Arts, Literature, Music, Performing Arts, TV & Film, Visual Arts

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It’s David and Daniel today. Daniel will be on his own next week as David and Brendan are both away. They chat about their theme music and its composer, Wonderment Walk and its new addition, the announcement of some major acts for White Night next year and the immensely popular new Star Wars film which is going back to its roots. Also, Christmas itself and its songs get a mention!

Special guests today are:

14:21 to 33:54 mins–Terrence O’Connell is a theatre director here to talk about his latest musical—Thrill Me— showing at Midsumma. Terrence has always worked in the theatre, starting as a dresser, acting for about 5 years and then as a director, after graduating from NIDA. He met many luminaries of Australian theatre when dressing and acting and learnt from them, especially Reg Livermore. After NIDA he started his own theatre Co. in Wagga and stayed for 4 of the Co’s 20 years. Then he ran a theatre Co. in Queensland which toured up and down between Cairns and Rockhampton. Terrence and David also discuss T’s involvement as director in the show Empire— a combo of cabaret, circus and burlesque– which wowed the world. Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story is a musical at Chapel off Chapel 20 to 31 January–about the 2 notorious ‘thrill killers’ from 1920s Chicago, who were young, privileged and highly intelligent law students and in a relationship together. It focuses on the relationship between the two and what drove them to kill.

34:41 to 49:42 mins–Alex Jean is a Melbourne based aerialist and acrobat who just graduated from the National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA) and is here to talk about his Midsumma show called Uncovered, on from 27 to 30 January 2016 at Gasworks. Alex is Canadian and emigrated to Australia with his parents in 2007. He did acting through school and then some plays outside it and found he wanted to do more ‘movement’. He came to Melbourne from Adelaide, to study at NICA and was in the graduation performance called Born in Sawdust which David spoke about on 22 November. Uncovered is performed by 4 NICA graduates and one undergrad and is also directed by a graduate. It is a circus show about various “first times” e.g. first kiss—but with an upbeat take on them and sexually charged. Alex will play a bartender in a cabaret and will mainly be doing aerial stunts with different apparatus. The troupe intend to take the show beyond Midsumma. Regional Victoria has already expressed interest.

As it’s the end of the year, the rest of the show is concentrating on what, in the arts, has stood out for our hosts in 2015—including visual arts, theatre and films. Joining the discussion on visual arts is our next guest:

51:43 to 1:07:53mins—Eric Harding is a major collector of visual arts (along with his partner Athol Hawke). As well as collecting art, they also donate art to the NGV and other galleries. Eric restricted himself to the NGV this year to avoid the temptation to buy more art in commercial galleries. His and Athol’s house is already full. He has noticed the efforts the NGV have made to attract more people such as the content and how it’s displayed. A ‘wow factor’ is very important. Earlier today he’d re-visited the surrealism exhibition– Lurid Beauty:Australian Surrealism and its Echoes on until 31 January 2016—and found it ‘rewarding’. David loved it too. The presentation reinforces the feeling of surrealism and forces you to look at a certain thing. Eric learnt lot about art and its historical context by reading about it. This includes artists’ interest into architecture which David loves. Both David and Eric’s favourite exhibition was The Horse, which finished in November. A spectacular world class show which was curated and researched beautifully. David and Eric then discuss NGV’s world standing and the magnificent art in the foyer from Ai Weiwei plus their successful inaugural Art Book Fair they had in May, returning in 2016.

David and Daniel talk about stage plays and musicals—David’s favourite this year was North by Northwest, the Hitchcock thriller adapted for the stage in Australia about a case of mistaken identity resulting in a man running for his life. David also loved Jerry’s Girls from the Production Co who did a wonderful job. He also loved Les Mis and he and Daniel have a discussion about it. Daniel saw & loved Kinky Boots as well as Hedvig and the Angry Inch when in New York. Also both our hosts loved Strictly Ballroom and Love Never Dies (the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera). Next they chat about film-including the latest Star Wars and Mad Max:Fury Road. No1 this year for Daniel was Still Alice about Alzheimer’s Disease starring Julianne Moore. David is less into film but did love The Dressmaker and Holding The Man. He and Daniel discuss these in depth.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:32:24 — 84.6MB)

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