04.09.25
Dear Grif-friend,
It’s been a long, cold and remarkably wet winter here on Gadigal lands, unusually so, and we’re emerging out of our burrows like so many possums, blinking into the sun and shaking the dust off our coats. The bottle brush tree outside my flat is absolutely brimming with buds and a new season awaits.
Speaking about seasons… it’s that time of the year again when we prepare to unwrap our oh-so-carefully nurtured 2026 Season of new and returning Australian plays for our season launch on Monday 8 September.
Like so many flowers, ready to bloom—every budding theatre production promises something new and exciting—will they unfurl into something delicate and perfumed like an orchid. Or will it be something humongous and spear-ready like a giant gymea lily (who to this Yorta Yorta/Gunaikurnai woman seems to have landed from outer space). Or will it be a brilliant sometimes spikey callistemon dripping with honey and ready to be devoured by so many little birds—superb fairy wrens, wattlebirds, silver eyes, yellow throated honey eaters, rainbow lorikeets and brown thornbills…
Speaking of birds… ten points for those of you who braved the torrential rains to attend Nathan Harrison’s Birdsong of Tomorrow. What a treat it was to sit in the nest-like communal comfort of the Old Fitz Theatre to bear witness to Nathan’s heartfelt love song to birds, mates, Mother earth and everything in between. Nurtured by Griffin’s Studio program, we are so proud to see Nathan’s work take flight with a genius lo-fi remount that speaks so beautifully to the heart of this utterly delightful show.
Tickets to Birdsong of Tomorrow are as rare as a pezoporus occidentalis (night parrot)—and birds of a feather really do flock together—so we’ve extended the season! Get in quick to snaffle a ticket to this sublime show that will truly melt your heart.
Speaking of melting hearts… I had the great privilege of sitting in on the photoshoot for the upcoming remount of Dylan Van Den Berg’s Whitefella Yella Tree and the chemistry between Joseph Althouse (Pertame Tiwi) and Danny Howard (Barrd Yamatji Noongar Bunuba Ngadju) was palpable. If you missed out on this show when it played at the Stables in 2022; Griffin has taken to the waterside with our friends at Sydney Theatre Company to bring you this exquisite two-hander once again.
What a great opportunity it is for theatremakers to have another crack at remounting a show—and let’s face it, theatre makers are perfectionists—so you can be guaranteed a fresh audience experience each time a show evolves.
That’s the beauty and magic of theatre.
See you soon,
Andrea
Andrea James
Associate Artistic Director
