SMOKE & MIRRORS
In recent years Smoke & Mirrors has garnered unprecedented acclaim, from critics and audiences the world over. Their final Sydney season is this May at The Seymour Centre and in the lead-up, director/writer Craig Ilott gets personal with us.
Where is your favourite holiday destination and why? Galway, Ireland. My best mate lives there and it feels like a second home. I get a warm buzz every time I arrive. Being in a foreign country and yet feeling familiar brings a certain bliss, don’t you think?
What is your favourite book and why? Cannery Row by John Steinbeck. I lived with the characters and themes for quite a while in my twenties, drafting an adaptation that never saw the light of day. It taught me so much about literary structure. Maybe the first time that words on a page offered anything as visceral as music.
Which phrase or word do you most overuse? “Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant.” Can be used in many situations – even when it isn’t so brilliant.
What is your favourite film and why? The Shawshank Redemption. A beautiful uplifting story of the importance friendship. My friends have been my family over the years.
When was the last time you said ‘I Love You’ and to who? That’s a bit bloody personal, Paul. Ok … hopefully every day – to my darling fiancée.
What is your favourite song and why? I’m a bit of a floozy when it comes to favourite songs. Changes all the time. Currently Switching Off – Elbow. Somehow, with Elbow, the words plus the music amount to more than the sum of its parts.
When was the happiest period of your life? Now.
What couldn’t you live without? Music. A dear friend said once he doesn’t know how he would have coped with so many things in life without music – I know how he feels.
Who, dead or alive, has had the greatest influence on your work? Hard to nominate one person. Anyone or anything that truly moves me finds its way into and improves my work, I think.
Which song would you like played at your funeral and why? No music. If I’m dead no one is allowed to play any music again, ever.
May 4-14, The Seymour Centre, cnr City Road & Cleveland Street, Chippendale, 9351 7940, sydney.edu.au/seymour/index.shtml
BY PAUL STRUTHERS
