Latest News

Melbourne Theatre Company’s Hard Lines Play Reading Program for 2007 will present selections from four new plays by MTC Affiliate Writers Peter Houghton, Felix Nobis, Dina Ross and Nic Velissaris in the Grant Street Theatre, Victorian College of the Arts, on Tuesday 27 & Wednesday 28 November 2007 at 6.30pm.
 
These will be the final Hard Lines presentations overseen by MTC’s Associate Director & Literary Adviser Julian Meyrick, who has coordinated the scheme since its inception in 2002. Julian is leaving the Company at the end of this year to assume a post-doctoral research fellowship at La Trobe University.
 
“Over the six years the program has run, more than 20 writers have been formally developed, three of whom have been taken into the Company’s main seasons, and many more produced elsewhere,” Julian says. “In 2007, Hard Lines writers won the Patrick White, Wal Cherry and Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards. For such a modest program, this is a strong result and a measure of the talent of the artists whom MTC has been privileged to nurture.”
 
At the conclusion of the final reading on the final night of this year’s Hard Lines (Wednesday 28 November), Julian will speak about his experiences with new Australian drama and share his insights into the goals and hopes of MTC’s development program.
 
2007 Hard Lines Play Reading Series:
 
Tuesday, 27 November, 6.30pm
Summer Season by Dina Ross
A razor-sharp comedy about the clash of cultures, the razz of pantomime, the dawn of a new millennium and the agony of bad plumbing. Dina Ross’ plays have been performed in Australia, London and New York, on ABC and BBC radio and have been short-listed for a number of awards.  Her drama Trio tours Australia's east coast next year, while Waiting will open at New York’s Looking Glass Theatre, and Chrysalis premieres at the Carlton Courthouse next August.
 
Scrimshander by Nic Velissaris
The tale of an almost forgotten time in our history when whaling ships ruled the sea and their captains ruled the men who sailed them.  Nic Velissaris’ work has been performed across Australia.  What the Umbrella Did Next (Australian Young Playwright’s Award) was staged at the Australian Theatre for Young People; Brother Boy (RE Ross Trust Award) was broadcast on ABC Radio and premiered at The Big West Festival; and  Wanderlands was commissioned and staged by St Martins.
 
Wednesday, 28 November, 6.30pm
The Boy Out of the Country by Felix Nobis
A darkly hilarious tale set in rural Victoria.  Felix Nobis’ plays have been presented by Interplay and STC’s Fresh Inc. program.  He was Q Theatre’s writer-in-residence and Hawthorn City Council’s poet-in-residence.  He toured his one-person translation of Beowulf to the US and Europe, and performed his monologue Once upon a Barstool in Ireland and Victoria.  With an MA in Medieval Theatre he is currently writing a PhD on Medieval Storytelling at Monash University, where he also teaches.
 
The Colours by Peter Houghton
When the British Empire pulls out of the newly-formed republic of Batundi, they leave Sergeant Atkins behind to manage the handover and guard the flag (The Colours).  And he’s been waiting ever since.  Peter Houghton’s writing credits include The Pitch, which premiered at La Mama, transferred to the Malthouse, was presented at the Edinburgh Fringe and later in London.  Winner of four Green Room Awards, it is touring Victoria and will return to the Malthouse in December before a 2008 national tour. 
 
Grant Street Theatre, Victorian College of the Arts
27 & 28 November 2007, 6.30pm (box office opens 5.30pm)
Tickets: $5 or free for Under 28s
Reservations strongly recommended on (03) 9684 4593 (9am-5pm, Mon-Fri).