15.09.22
Dear Grif-friend,
New kid on the block Jake here and I am incredibly excited to have joined the Griffin team a few weeks ago as the new Head of Development. And what a fantastic time to join the team and begin working with our incredibly generous supporters and partners who help us deliver some of Griffin’s amazing initiatives both on and off stage. In just a few weeks I have already been warmly welcomed with a game-changing announcement on the purchase of our home, my first Griffin Award ceremony (congratulations again Grace Chow!), the opening of Whitefella Yella Tree and suffered a little bit of whiplash as I jumped on the rollercoaster that is preparing for our 2023 Season launch!
Speaking of—mark your calendars and keep your eyes peeled for our 2023 Season going on sale from the evening of Monday 19 September. The full announcement will hit your inboxes after 7pm or if you prefer to explore things over a cuppa—my preference would be over a G&T—the brochure in all its glory will hit your letterboxes shortly thereafter (if you’d like to request a physical brochure, you can do so on our website!). I don’t want to give much away but prepare yourself for a year of thrilling works that embrace the glorious, chaotic everything of life. With a major redevelopment of our beloved theatre on the horizon, now is the time to join us at the SBW Stables and plan a year of unforgettable nights out with your nearest and dearest—or why not come alone? I am sure you’ll make friends with a like-minded theatre lover over a beveragino at The Penny Cook Bar!
Of course, you don’t have to wait until next year—we are currently wrapping up the second last week of Whitefella Yella Tree by Dylan Van Den Berg! We are so humbled by the amazing response to this tender but powerful work, from both audiences and critics. If you haven’t got your tickets yet, you have nine more opportunities to see this soaring story before it closes at the SBW Stables on Friday 23 September. After finishing the run here, Ty and Neddy will tour to Canberra for a limited season at Canberra Theatre Centre (28 September – 1 October). So, if you want some brownie points and to flex how you have your finger on the pulse—as well as impeccable taste— recommend it to your friends in the nation’s capital!
As Steve Harwell once (almost) said ‘…Well the year keeps coming and they don’t stop coming’, we are fast approaching our second Griffin Lookout show of the year, Mother May We. Written and performed by the fabulous force of nature, Mel Ree, this work is an epic poem featuring music, video and dance. Humbling hard truths, difficult questions, playful performance art. This show is a motivational manifesto for how to heal and should not be missed!
On behalf of everyone at Griffin Theatre Company, we want to extend our thoughts to Uncle Jack Charles’ immediate family, and also to his artistic family whose lives he has touched with his wisdom, his talent, and irresistible sense of humour.
Finally, overnight you may have seen an exciting announcement that Suzie Miller‘s Prima Facie will be presented by Melbourne Theatre Company in 2023! After a smash-hit premiere season at Griffin in 2019, lauded return seasons, a trip up to Queensland, a West End production starring Jodie Comer that’s shortly heading to Broadway, and a trailblazing National Theatre Live cinematic experience, we think it’s well overdue to give Melburnians a taste of Sheridan Harbridge‘s tour de force of a performance. Run, don’t walk!
Most likely seen wearing a blazer with a statement pin/brooch, I look forward to seeing you in the foyer at Mother May We or End Of. before the year is out.
Don’t be a stranger,
Jake
Jake Shavikin
Head of Development
