THEATRE: BRAND SPANKING NEW
At three years old, it may not be quite Brand Spanking New anymore. But boasting a program of emerging or just-established local playwrights, it certainly hasn’t run out of freshness. Kick-started by curator Augusta Supple to, “Give an opportunity to Australian playwrights to write something that they really cared about in a non-competitive forum,” this season includes shorts from Griffin Award winners Catherine Zimdahl and Ian Wilding; AWGIE-acknowledged Alana Valentine and Caleb Lewis; actor and playwright Ned Manning; as well as a handful of names that are sure to become more familiar. It may be non-competitive, but this is not a sympathy pat on the back. “A good play is a good play. And audiences love what is good!” Supple is deeply passionate about Australian theatre, and has this advice: “We need to celebrate them here and now before we lose them all.” She credits the main challenge to a lack of actual production time. While there is a lot of developmental support via organisations such as Playwriting Australia, “That doesn’t translate to production. Only 11% of plays on the major stages are by Australians. That doesn’t allow a lot of room for people to take risks. It can become very disheartening … so playwrights go overseas.” Brand Spanking New places each short within the same set – this year, suspended mobiles of crumpled paper designed by Paul Matthews – to accentuate the fact that what is being presented is an overall vision. “No one wants to see Hamlet for the rest of their lives. We want to diversity.”
Oct 27-Nov 6, New Theatre, 542 King St, Newtown, $22, 1300 306 776, mca-tix.com.au
