14.12.23
Dear Grif-friend,
I am in denial about the imminent end of the year. As is often the case, I think I’ll have all this time in December to whittle down my to-do list and do fun tasks like filing emails or tackling my sewing pile. Instead, there’s all this extra socialising and year-end activities… don’t even get me started on shopping for gifts! How are you feeling about the festive season? Is it already starting to get away from you, or are you of the “bring it on” mindset?
It’s been a mammoth year for Griffin, and I couldn’t be prouder of our achievements. We produced a huge Keralan-Australian epic in Nicholas Brown’s Sex Magick as part of Sydney WorldPride (that was this year—wild, right?!); a heartwarming, life-affirming one-woman comedy in Eloise Snape’s Pony; a sold-out smash hit drama in Suzie Miller’s Jailbaby (that’s returning for two weeks only in January!); and a twisted, belly-laughing hoot in Blaque Showgirls by Nakkiah Lui. Who could forget re:group’s mini-cinematic piece UFO, the Griffin Award, the regional tour of the premiere production of Prima Facie, another incredible year of Griffin Ambassadors… the list goes on and on. No wonder we at Griffin are feeling like we’ve been through the washing machine!
And that’s not to mention next year, when we’ll bring back Jailbaby, stage the most ambitious three-play-production ever put on the SBW Stables stage with The Lewis Trilogy (currently in rehearsal) and then say a temporary goodbye to our theatre as we embark on a major building renovation. We are such a small team, but our hearts are big, and it’s end-of-year moments like these when I burst with pride at where we’ve come from and the exciting road ahead for Griffin.
Speaking of heart-bursting, this week, a beloved member of our team, our wonderful data and strategic insights whiz Peter O’Connell, stepped back from his 15 years+ of service at Griff to focus on his next chapter. Peter has been the longest-serving member of Griffin’s staff and his wisdom, passion and love for this company, its stories, and his colleagues, cannot be overstated. We’ll miss Peter so much (even his bad Dad jokes) and wish him the very best. And especially within this festive season, we’ll be dreaming of his ingenious baked goods which have taken centre stage at many staff meetings over the years!
On that note, all of us at Griffin wish you the happiest of summer breaks as we end one year and herald in another. You and your love of the work we do are so important to us as Australia’s smallest mainstage theatre company. We wish you all a safe, peaceful and fun festive season, and we can’t wait to see you at a Griffin show in 2024.
Love,
JC
Julieanne Campbell
Executive Director
