Present by Batton & Broadway
Circus veterans Debra Batton & Sue Broadway will charm you with their wit, fearless presence and acts of age rejoicing brilliance! They have curated and compered six versions of The Classics – a circus performed by elders of the Circus World with every performer over fifty – since 2014. Now they turn their knowledge and skills to La Mama Elders. Four plays will be written and performed by an extraordinary array of talents drawn from the history of this remarkable place to celebrate its restoration and its future.
LOCATION: Theatre
Burning Mirrors
The 70s was an iconic period in Australia’s theatre, film and television scene. No-one was more central to this exciting time than actress Sandy MacGregor. Sandy is famous as the female lead of the legendary comedy series, Aunty Jack and for her work in high-profile Australian films including Peterson, High Rolling and The Great McCarthy. Sandys career spans from Australia to Los Angeles where she was critically acclaimed for her work with directors such as John Cassevetes. Despite facing a number of challenges, including a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, Sandy’s is a tale of talent, tenacity and triumph.
“As a fragile innocent whose goal of being a dancer lands her only in a go-go club, Sandy MacGregor is poignant, sympathetic and utterly believable . . .” – L.A Times, review of David Rabe’s In the Boom Boom Room
“I still believe that Sandy is one of the truly original Australian comics” – Grahame Bond (aka Aunty Jack) in his book Jack of All Trades
Content warning: Mental illness: discusses depression. Some crude language.
Running time: 20 minutes
Written and Performed by Sandy Macgregor
Directed by Sue Broadway
The Conversation of Artists
A woman visits an Italian café she believes is frequented by artists hoping to overhear their conversations but, instead, encounters stories that are bizarre and troubling. Does the presence of strangers, some troubled like herself, empower her? How can music sustain us in times of struggle towards renewal?
Running time: 15 minutes
Written and directed by Peter Murphy
Performed by Jo-Anne Armstrong
Music composed/produced by Peter Graham
Jean and Jeanine
This new piece comes from truth and is wildly exaggerated in order to make it truer still. A mother at a housing commission flat refuses to give refreshment to her middle-aged child. According to playwright Barry Dickins, “In the end, both mother and grown-up child screamed at each other in the most loving way. The upheaval seemed comic, as opposed to tragic…In my experience of it at least”.
Running time: 14 mins
Written by Barry Dickins
Directed by Sue Broadway
Performed by Sally McKenzie and Sophie Smyth
Untitled Peace
Two blokes in the middle of nowhere going somewhere. There is no set, there are no props, just the pair in the wondrous space that has been and, importantly, will continue to be La Mama Theatre. There will be a few lights and a sound effect.
Running time: 10 mins
Written by Kevin Summers
Performed by Dennis Coard and Kevin Summers
Specific accessibility information for this event:
Visual Rating: 50%
This event is partly subtitled or includes dialogue, background music and/or sounds, so d/Deaf and hard of hearing audiences can have some engagement with the event.
Aural Rating: 50%
Has both sound and visual components, but sight isn’t essential to be able to engage with the event.
Due to limited capacity, this event will also be livestreamed on La Mama’s Facebook and Youtube Channel.
Part two: https://youtu.be/0aIcJHVNcgM