First directed by David Kendall and produced at the University of Melbourne’s Union Theatre in ’67, White With Wire Wheels heralded the emergence of a ‘new wave’ of Australian writers, actors and directors, according to the University’s Associate Professor of Theatre Studies, Angela O’Brien.
“La Mama was founded as a venue for the staging of new Australian work, and to nurture a pool of talented people looking at new ways of writing for theatre, and experimenting with new forms of theatre production. Along with Jack Hibberd, other key players in this dynamic and revolutionaly period included Graeme Blundell, Betty Burstall, Max Gillies, Sue Ingleton and John Romeril” explains Associate Professor O’Brien.
“The University of Melbourne was central to the emergence of this new energy in theatre, with many productions that would not have seen the light of day elsewhere developing in the Union Theatre.”
The 2007 staging of White With Wire Wheels (Union House Theatre, 8pm 26-30 September, directed by Susie Dee) will coincide with a symposium examining the influence of the period of theatre 1967-1970. The symposium is being convened by the University’s Theatre Board and hosted by Creative Arts, School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne.
“Enter the New Wave: Australian Theatre 1967-1970” features staged readings of Alex Buzo’s Norm and Ahmed, directed by Max Gillies, and John Romeril’s Chicago Chicago, directed by Richard Murphet, along with performance excerpts of Hibberd’s A Stretch of the Imagination by Max Gillies, Lawrence Strangio’s reworking of Stretch, (episodes from a recreation in progress) and Suzanne Chaundy’s production of Dorothy Hewett’s The Chapel Perilous.
There will also be panel discussions and keynote addresses covering topics ranging from the period of the ‘New Wave’ (1967-70), the impact of the late '60s and the emergence of the ‘New Wave’ on Australian theatre, key productions, plays, writers of the period and social and political change during the time.
More: www.sca.unimelb.edu.au/NW-symposium/
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