28.05.26
Dear Grif-friend,
For those of you who haven’t met me in a foyer yet—hi! I’m Jake, Griffin’s Head of Development, which, in practice, means I have the pleasure of talking with some of the most generous people I know about a theatre company we all love. Somehow this is a real job.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how I ended up here. It tends to happen around this time of year—the end of financial year has a way of making you reflective, possibly because it’s almost June (?!), the tax deadline is looming and the existential questions come free with it.
Small town beginnings, big dreams.
I grew up in Townsville. For those who haven’t been, it describes itself as “The Big Small City”. I always thought that was a little on the nose. And then I went and built my entire career around it.
When I got into QUT to study a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Drama), my parents were thrilled. Then came the questions. Oh wonderful, so you want to be an actor? No. A director, then? No. What else is there? I don’t know. But I’m going to find out!
It turns out there is quite a lot else. I just didn’t have the language for it yet. What I knew was that I wanted to figure out which cog I wanted to be in the big machine of the creative industry.
My first stop was Brisbane—arguably Australia’s own small-big city—where I became something of a Jake-of-All-Trades, cobbling together experience across a clutch of different roles and responsibilities with many different organisations. Then came the huge leap: Sydney, and Opera Australia. If I wanted to know what enormous felt like in Australian arts, I found it.
And then, Griffin. A homecoming of sorts—back to the art form I love most—with the chance to bring big-company experience to a more intimate scale.
What I found here, was a small donor family with an enormous amount of love. Since joining Griffin in 2022, I have been a custodian of some genuinely grand acts of generosity, and some quiet, human moments that have made my heart sing. I am, somewhat absurdly, very lucky.
Which brings me to what’s happening right now. Prima Facie—Suzie Miller‘s tour de force that started its life in our humble 105-seat theatre, then crossed to the West End, onto Broadway, and to screens around the world—is coming home to Sydney in its original production at the Roslyn Packer Theatre. I was lucky enough to attend Opening Night in Melbourne last week at the beautiful Comedy Theatre and I will say only this: Sheridan Harbridge is extraordinary and the play still hits exactly as hard as it did the first time. Treat yourself. Bring a lawyer friend. They’ll have a lot of big feelings.
And if you’re in the mood for something smaller in scale but enormous in emotional weather—SAVIOR by Happy Feraren has just opened in the Downstairs Theatre, Belvoir. A story that moves from 5-star hotels in Manila to Tacloban during catastrophic devastation, with a ticket price (one of the cheapest in town) that makes a compelling case for seeing the Philippines brought vividly to a Sydney stage rather than travelling overseas right now. In the middle of a fuel crisis, the economics practically make the decision for you!
As a Griffin News reader, audience member, subscriber, donor and everything in between, thank you for being part of this incredible company. We mean it every time we say it.
Small cog, big love,
Jake
Jake Shavikin
Head of Development
