27.06.24
Dear Grif-friend,
Somehow it’s nearly July? It’s ridiculous. I’ve still got so much to do in 2024! Spring clean, de-claw my cats, and watch the 5,000,000 hours of television I’ve been recommended since January (no more, please. It’s a form of violence).
It’s also End of Financial Year, and if you’re a serious theatre-lover (which you are, since you’re on this mailing list), your inbox is brimming with requests to donate, donate, donate…
So, why pick Griffin?
Well, it’s pretty simple. We’re the only theatre that does what we do: the singular mission of bringing new Australian plays to life. Written about us, by us, for us. Since last EOFY you’ve seen Suzie Miller’s Jailbaby, Nakkiah Lui’s Blaque Showgirls, and 4.5 hours of exquisite, heart-bursting playwriting bundled up as Louis Nowra’s The Lewis Trilogy. And the truth is, none of those ambitious, risk-taking shows would have happened without the support of people like you.
With less than a week to go, your support is crucial for us to reach our End of Financial Year goal. Any donation—big or small—helps, so donate now!
Next up in our season is swim by Ellen van Neerven. I got to attend the first reading of this play on day one of rehearsals, and, my god, what a piece of writing… Beginning with a simple trip to the pool, it soon flip-turns minute-by-minute between the tender, the brutal, the joyous, the heartbreaking. If you’re on the fence about whether to see swim it’s now or never—its premiere season at Carriageworks is already close to sold out!
Hot on the heels of swim opening is our first iteration of the revamped Griffin Award, featuring a Keynote Address by a leading playwright. And we’re thrilled that in its first year, this will be delivered by Angus Cerini (The Bleeding Tree). I’ve been following Angus’ writing for nearly two decades, ever since I saw him perform his one-man-show this thousand years I shall not weep above a bottle shop in North Fitzroy. And even if his stages have got slightly larger, the intensity of his writing has not dimmed. This will be an event that any serious lover of playwriting should not miss.
See you in a foyer soon!
Dx
