The Joyce world in Melbourne has been bopping since I last blogged. Very happy to report a fantastic Bloomsday with the very talented Wayne Pearn in charge of theatrical activities. You'll be pleased to know that he is also a very fine actor, and we now have the rights to do Jack Hibberd's A Stretch of the Imagination, a classic Irish-Australian comedy, and a one-hander, and one of the finest plays to emerge from the Australian Performing Group from the glory days of the Pram Factory. Watch out for notices ahead of the middle of November. We plan to stage it in the amphitheatre at 5 Courbrant Court, Mont Albert North.
Bloomsday itself is more than geared up, with the first draft of next year's script almost completed. We have a few new hands on board on the script-writing team, and the plan is to bring you a short version of the whole of Ulysses. It's a very ambitious project and more about that as it unfolds. As you know, it's a very long and intricate novel, and we're committed to doing more with it than just dramatising its plot. We want Joyce's poetry to be full-frontal and bold, which is a bit of a challenge. But it's proving fascinating to work on.
Bob and I just back from the Edinburgh Fringe, where we took in Dermot Bolger's adaptation of Ulysses in a bold new production by Tron Theatre Glasgow. A fuller account of that experience (and an account of another Irish play) is to be found in the (free) online Irish Australian magazine, Tinteán (why not subscribe to the magazine while you're there?). We loved it, and our few reservations will hopefully show in our own attempt to do something similar. Ulysses in 90 minutes is a big ask.
In Tinteán too, you will find that there's a Joyce symposium happening on 3-6 October in Dunedin at the University of Otago.
The U3A group at Melbourne City has girded its loins for the third short course (8 weeks) this year on Joyce, what we're colloquially calling the 'Super-Advanced' class, focussing on the Stephen chapters. It has gathered up previous students from classes in 2011 and 2012, and it truly flies with what is very difficult material. Students are volunteering to give short presentations, which I think is a measure of their growing confidence with the material. The first four were terrific. We began with A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and on Friday next we start where I quixotically advise students never to start on a first reading, with Ch.1 of Ulysses. One of the attendees lives in my house, and I'm hearing dark mutterings about how opaque it is. Let's hope the class opens it up for everyone.
Bloomsday will also offer its own Beginners' and Advanced Joyce course in February 2014. Please phone 03 98982900 or email our secretary Sian (sian.cartwright
Bloomsday thanks its web designers, Ben and Maireid of Lyrebird Media for revamping the website 3 years ago. It's a very pleasing site which gives a lot of information and is easy to use and we're very grateful for their input. They have become busy with their business, and so Bloomsday is looking for assistance with website maintenance. If you can help, please let us know (03 9898 2900). It's now our main way to reach our community and to draw new people, so Ben and Maireid will be much missed.
