01.08.19
Two years ago, I sat outside on the balcony of the Nimrod Street office to read Meyne Wyatt‘s City of Gold, printed out on re-used yellow paper. At that point, it was not called City of Gold, it was titled (only half-jokingly) “I Have No Idea Yet, draft one, by Meyne Wyatt”. It was called that because as a writer the struggle to name your play is an important task and also because Meyne really enjoys giving our Marketing Manager Estelle heart palpitations.
Even though Meyne’s story did not have a name yet, it had a voice unlike anything I had read before on that balcony. His is a voice that is equal parts angry, charming, uncompromising, hilarious, truthful and knowingly theatrical. With this production, director Isaac Drandic and the team have brought a family story to life on the Stables stage with playful and painful clarity.
Although this is Meyne’s first play, I pray to the theatre Gods that this is not the last we hear from this vital new voice in Australian storytelling. Do not even think about missing this show.
Elsewhere in the land of Griffin, Lee is about to head into rehearsals for Splinter by Hilary Bell which opens in September and is going to scare the shit out of you. In a good way. We are also busy putting the final touches on our exciting 2020 Season (stay tuned for the big reveal on 25 August!), which will celebrate 50 years of storytelling in this fantastic nook in Kings Cross. It’s all happening.
If reading the above makes you think “wow, that seems like a stupid amount of stuff for such a small arts organisation to try and deliver, I’d never want to work in such a massively rewarding but high pressure environment” then you probably shouldn’t apply for our part-time Marketing Coordinator and Development Coordinator roles. But if you love new Australian writing, and if high pressure, massively rewarding environments are very much your cup of tea, we want to hear from you.
See you at the Stables!
Cheers,
Phil
Phil Spencer
Griffin Artistic Associate
