How interesting Rob. My copy of red square included a review written by me and the congratulatory theatre scene was filled with my head. I wonder if they manage to do this for everyone who buys a copy or just reviewers…?

Once again I find myself in agreement with you Mark. The one thing I want to leave a piece of theatre doing, and what I want my audiences to do, is to engage in robust discussion about ideas and concepts. With a production background of course I care about staging and presentation and interpretation. In the end though, what inspires me or…[Read more]

A well considered essay Ben. One thing I would say is don’t be so quick to blame the medium. I have seen plenty of plays around 2 hours in length which have made me want to gnaw off my own leg rather than have to stay to the very end… 😉

Hi Alison, I have watched both sessions so far. I agree with your critique of the second session. I personally find this a great way to experience monologues though. I have always struggled with appreciating monologues as live theatre. They never quite leave me feeling sated, but this hybrid presentation – living in a space somewhere between in…[Read more]

Hi Mark, there is so much I agree with here such as your opening observation “To understand playscripts, we have to wrestle with them – where they come from, who wrote them and why, who edited and formatted them, when in the process of play-making they were put down in print.”
Then you follow with how, as a reader, you wrestle with what is not t…[Read more]

Hi Rob,

Intriguing review and great perspective. I saw it on opening and we had Katherine Neale on the panel – she initiated the original game project ( http://www.whatdidshethink.com/2019/05/return-to-escape-from-wimmera-live-art.html ) so I think we got more discussion on the game itself and how they developed it in close consultation with…[Read more]

Great article Rob. I have been saying for years a written play is more than just what is performed on stage. I don’t know what the prospects are regarding lost canon but it would be great if we would start putting energy into recognising the current canon. So much of what we know about the history of so many cultures comes through their written…[Read more]

Hi Alison, you need to check the spelling for Niklas in the review 🙂

Hi Alison,

I love this paragraph:

‘It will be a response. You will bring to your response everything that you brought to the theatre: your attention, your knowledge, your experience, your sensibility, your life. You know that the less you bring, the less you’ll have to respond with. You don’t care about your opinion. Everyone has an opi…[Read more]

You are a bit more generous than I was Robert. Yes, the big problem is the script and Beng stages most of it well but having all the cast standing around the outside of the arena made the whole thing fall in a hole for me. If I wanted to see that in theatre I would – well – just read the play.

Oh sorry, the byline lists it as posted by you.

Hi Alison

I had the same questions and reservations when I saw the show too. I wasn’t there to review, just to watch. Pretty much everything you question are the questions raised in me too. I wanted to like this show but I left not knowing if I would like myself if I liked it… 🙂

Alison, you can’t end with a sentence like that and assume the conversation would end. Firstly both you and Will have been complicit in this conversation so it is not my sole responsibility it has continued. I merely respond to you provocations as you do to mine. Secondly I never characterised Description Victoria in such a way although I don’t…[Read more]

Firstly, it is not hearsay when it is happening to me directly, Will. I was there. I heard it, I saw it, and it happened to me. In fact, I was the first describer to find evidence of the public rhetoric being thrown about and brought it to the attention of the VA audio description service. I have also said I agree everything which was said and…[Read more]

Hi Olivia and Will, I understand the point of view of the artical and I mention in both my comments I totally agree with the access issues you raise and, as I mention, Vision Australia has been wrestling with these issues for a very long time now and I hope with so many advocates the issue is redressed somehow.

Will, I absolutely do have…[Read more]

Hi Alison, yes, I am not disputing anything Olivia says about the need for more and better services. Everyone, even Vision Australia is trying to solve that one. It is always a difficult balance for describers, particularly in scripts which are script heavy, trying to provide enough description and some describers are, of course, better than…[Read more]

Olivia this is a great article and I agree with everything you are saying. I used to be a volunteer audio describer with VA (for four years) and I am mildly concerned about how you have characterised the service. It sounds an awful lot like the poor rhetoric Description Victoria bandied about when they first set up shop in Melbourne. I know from…[Read more]