10.08.23
Dear Grif-friend,
Things are heating up at Griffin this August, and I’m not just talking about the hot weather my Irish heart (and Melburnian soul) is desperately trying to ignore. For theatre companies, it’s that time of year where we prepare to show you what’s in store for the year ahead…
Griffin is going to reveal its 2024 Season in late September and we cannot WAIT for you to join us for the ride. Next year is the start of the SBW Stables Theatre’s redevelopment, and we plan to say our (temporary) goodbye with a bang—before playing out the rest of our season in radically new ways throughout the rest of 2024… I’ll leave it there for now, but stay tuned for the date!
In the meantime, our 2023 Season is far from over. Last week I sat in on the first read of Blaque Showgirls, Nakkiah Lui’s so-bad-it’s-good adaptation of the so-bad-it’s-just-bad Showgirls. (jks, I’m obsessed with Showgirls, and I think the documentary You Don’t Nomi says it best when it describes that cult film as a “Masterpiece of Sh*t”). Nakkiah is one of Australia’s smartest, most fearless provocateurs and Blaque Showgirls is really like nothing else on stages this year—careening from ridiculous gags to lacerating political commentary so fast it’ll give you whiplash. It also helps that Blaque Showgirls is being helmed by two of this country’s most sought after creative brains—Ursula Yovich and Shari Sebbens—who are wrangling a team of fearless comedic actors in this all-dancing, all-over-acting First Nations satirical spectacular.
It also feels fitting that Blaque Showgirls is coming hot on the heels of Jailbaby, offering August audiences Griffin’s own version of Barbenheimer. Entirely sold-out audiences are raving night after night about the socio-political gut-punch Suzie Miller has orchestrated in Jailbaby, and we’ve had the privilege to welcome different community groups including locals, schools and legal brains to witness the power of Suzie’s writing and Andrea James’ direction. I couldn’t be prouder of the impact this show is having in real time—and if you’re lucky enough to snag one of our final Monday Rush tickets this coming week, you’ll see what I mean.
Much love,
Declan x
Declan Greene
Artistic Director & CEO
