20 years of Bloomsday are being celebrated in Melbourne in 2013. It's a big one. On Thursday 18 April (just a week away), there will be a Launch of the season with the Director, Wayne Pearn, and a Retrospective, with a gathering of actors, directors, performers from the past. We're hoping many people will come in costume, as there is a significant prize (two tickets to the Preview) for the best one. Only 60 spots, and we need to advise the venue on Monday 15th of numbers for catering purposes, so please enrol soon.
Of course, the annual ritual celebration began some time before that, probably with Ainne Szymanski, and Collected Works Bookshop, which continues to mount all-day readings on 16 June.
Bloomsday in Melbourne began its theatrical/performance-style Bloomsdays in 1994, under the aegis then of the Yeats Society. Something of the story of those days is told through images in our Gallery (it has to be said that, until recent years, we have usually been too busy - and lacked the expertise - to take photos - you can't let a tripod get in the way of a performance!), and a fuller account with Reports on each year can be found in Bloomsday's Archive, with full reports and responses and reviews on most year's performances. Six directors and hundreds of actors over 20 years. There is a lot to celebrate.
Performing Joyce has been a painstaking but exhilarating journey of understanding. There is no better way to get into Joyce's big baggy novels than through the ear, and the eye, and actors and directors have added a lot to our understanding, and to our audience's enjoyment. So much of Joyce is obsessed with inhabiting a body, and actors inhabit both bodies and space in quite remarkable ways, and directors draw nuance and meaning from words on a page, which can startle even those who think they know what the page means.
Bloomsday in Melbourne in 2013 is an extended programme at fortyfivedownstairs (45 Flinders Lane): 5 performances of an original play, The Seven Ages of Joyce, beginning on 13 June and ending on 16 June, instead of our usual 2. We'll be working in the best theatre we've ever had the privilege to be in - fortyfivedownstairs at 45 Flinders Lane. It's a dramatic expansion of our horizons, and of course quite risky for a small group like ours, but we're told and are hoping that the show more than warrants the risk.
The Seven Ages of Joyce is a rumbustious comic biographical play which shows how Joyce drew on his life to make his art. It's irreverent, fun and very moving, and a challenge to stage. I'll keep you posted as rehearsals gather more pace. The Director, Wayne Pearn, has been carefully putting his team together, and putting individuals through their paces. The whole team meets in the next few days to put a collective shoulder to a big wheel.
We're also excited about the Seminar, 'The Obstetrician and the Psychiatrist Examine Joyce's Ulysses', featuring Dr. James King and Dr. Jo Beatson. We've never drawn on medicos for insights into Joyce, and given his background (both Joyce and his father began but failed medical training), and he clearly knew more than most about such matters, it's not before time to draw on medical expertise to read Ulysses.
The Dinner also represents a break with tradition, as it will occur on 15 June rather than 16 June. Sunday night in the city many restaurants (of sufficient size and suitable for the traditional concomitant entertainment) close. Our patron, P. J. O'Brien's Irish pub at Southbank, happily have opened their doors, and have produced a great buffet menu for us. Relax in comfort at P.J.'s after an energising walk or a more sedate tram ride from the theatre. Or go to Dinner on Sat, and do the other 2 events on Sunday. Eamonn Hennessy, the Manager, has set aside the dining room, a private space, for our comfort. It will be lovely to enjoy the dinner without having to rush off to the next show, something we've never ever been able to do.
Further, because it is a festival and we want as many folk as possible to be able to access it, we're doing a series of Free Readings at the Gallery at fortyfivedownstairs on 12 and 13 June. More details about this as they come to hand.
REJOYCING again.....
Frances.
Of course, the annual ritual celebration began some time before that, probably with Ainne Szymanski, and Collected Works Bookshop, which continues to mount all-day readings on 16 June.
Bloomsday in Melbourne began its theatrical/performance-style Bloomsdays in 1994, under the aegis then of the Yeats Society. Something of the story of those days is told through images in our Gallery (it has to be said that, until recent years, we have usually been too busy - and lacked the expertise - to take photos - you can't let a tripod get in the way of a performance!), and a fuller account with Reports on each year can be found in Bloomsday's Archive, with full reports and responses and reviews on most year's performances. Six directors and hundreds of actors over 20 years. There is a lot to celebrate.
Performing Joyce has been a painstaking but exhilarating journey of understanding. There is no better way to get into Joyce's big baggy novels than through the ear, and the eye, and actors and directors have added a lot to our understanding, and to our audience's enjoyment. So much of Joyce is obsessed with inhabiting a body, and actors inhabit both bodies and space in quite remarkable ways, and directors draw nuance and meaning from words on a page, which can startle even those who think they know what the page means.
Bloomsday in Melbourne in 2013 is an extended programme at fortyfivedownstairs (45 Flinders Lane): 5 performances of an original play, The Seven Ages of Joyce, beginning on 13 June and ending on 16 June, instead of our usual 2. We'll be working in the best theatre we've ever had the privilege to be in - fortyfivedownstairs at 45 Flinders Lane. It's a dramatic expansion of our horizons, and of course quite risky for a small group like ours, but we're told and are hoping that the show more than warrants the risk.
The Seven Ages of Joyce is a rumbustious comic biographical play which shows how Joyce drew on his life to make his art. It's irreverent, fun and very moving, and a challenge to stage. I'll keep you posted as rehearsals gather more pace. The Director, Wayne Pearn, has been carefully putting his team together, and putting individuals through their paces. The whole team meets in the next few days to put a collective shoulder to a big wheel.
We're also excited about the Seminar, 'The Obstetrician and the Psychiatrist Examine Joyce's Ulysses', featuring Dr. James King and Dr. Jo Beatson. We've never drawn on medicos for insights into Joyce, and given his background (both Joyce and his father began but failed medical training), and he clearly knew more than most about such matters, it's not before time to draw on medical expertise to read Ulysses.
The Dinner also represents a break with tradition, as it will occur on 15 June rather than 16 June. Sunday night in the city many restaurants (of sufficient size and suitable for the traditional concomitant entertainment) close. Our patron, P. J. O'Brien's Irish pub at Southbank, happily have opened their doors, and have produced a great buffet menu for us. Relax in comfort at P.J.'s after an energising walk or a more sedate tram ride from the theatre. Or go to Dinner on Sat, and do the other 2 events on Sunday. Eamonn Hennessy, the Manager, has set aside the dining room, a private space, for our comfort. It will be lovely to enjoy the dinner without having to rush off to the next show, something we've never ever been able to do.
Further, because it is a festival and we want as many folk as possible to be able to access it, we're doing a series of Free Readings at the Gallery at fortyfivedownstairs on 12 and 13 June. More details about this as they come to hand.
REJOYCING again.....
Frances.
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