20.04.23
Dear Grif-friend,
Exactly four years ago this week I first heard the exceptional words of Suzie Miller’s Prima Facie read for the first time by Sheridan Harbridge while sitting at Lee Lewis’s dining table.
Jump forward to the present day and Sheridan continues to so generously share her extraordinary and award-winning performance to sold-out audiences across Australia—when I last saw her in Geelong she had just done her 150th performance. It means so much to Griffin that we can take this story and this call to arms to regional audiences with the same kind of intimacy as the premiere season at the SBW Stables Theatre season. It is exactly this kind of new Australian writing that helps us to know who we are as a nation, who we want to become, and makes us take action. If you’re in travelling distance of Wagga Wagga, Wodonga, or Toowoomba, do not miss out.
At the same time, Suzie is in New York, with the West End production of Prima Facie currently in preview performances and about to open on Broadway. We’re so proud of Suzie and everything she has continues to achieve (including her recent Olivier), and thankful that she still finds a precious few hours in the wee hours of the morning to continue working with us on her next play Jailbaby that hits the SBW Stables Theatre stage in July.
Back in 2019, after that first week of rehearsals involving birthday cake at Lee’s house and lively conversations at Suzie’s, we moved to a rehearsal room at the University of Sydney. It’s the same room in which we have just begun rehearsing Eloise Snape’s Pony. If you were lucky enough to see the wild spectacle of Sex Magick, you’ll certainly know that Griffin doesn’t just do one-woman productions. But when we do, you’ll want to come along. Briallen Clarke is going to have you hanging off every one of her words as she navigates life’s unexpected hurdles with a riotous yeehaw and a rocking soundtrack.
While you wait for Pony to hit the stage, you can catch UFO for the next two weeks, created by re:group performance collective as the first offering of Griffin Lookout in 2023. It’s an ingenious, resourceful and fantastic piece of theatre that will make you contemplate what you would do when your whole life is suddenly confronted by something bewildering and unknown—which we’re certainly all a bit familiar with. You will also want to stay well after the house lights come up to get up close and personal with the set—it is truly a feast for the eyes (but I will not say too much more!).
Finally, I’m thrilled to inform you that tickets for every single Griffin production for 2023 are now on sale! Of course, the best and most affordable way to save at Griffin is to subscribe, but if you’re looking for standalone outings to the SBW Stables Theatre—you know what to do!
See you in our theatre soon,
Khym x
Khym Scott
General Manager
