Bending the Gender with Dr Sketchy’s
Imagine a world where gender norms are thrown away, where radical faeries and guerilla grrrls can frolic and play! Where frocks and frills like champagne are spilled and women adjust their crotches in spiffy spats. Where you can sketch the models as they repose while drinking in the beautiful surrounds of this lush utopia of unbridled urges.
Sound like a place you wanna visit? Sharpen your pencils, for the next Dr Sketchy’s session at La La Land in Byron, titled The Gender Bender Agenda. Hosted by the glorious Mae Wilde in all her cross-dressing glory. Wednesday 13 May at 6.30pm.
Learning from Nature
Knowledge of nature and nature of knowledge is the title for the next talk to be given at Byron Philo Café on Thursday. Mary Gardner, regular Echo writer and local biologist will ask, ‘What do we really know of nature? And what does this suggest about knowledge itself?’
Mary will present two central philosophies about nature itself. One is from a foundation story for western society from Genesis in the Bible. The other, from Hawaiian society. Both stories date from thousands of years ago. Two hundred and thirty-seven years ago, Hawaiians were performing the story as a ceremonial chant. They were met by Capt Cook and his crew, who sailed upon their islands during the festival.
All those who enjoy her columns in The Echo will be eager to hear Mary explore important ideas about nature and related cultural practices. She will present some confronting questions about who holds and develops knowledge of nature. Who uses it? And exactly what is the nature of this knowledge?
All welcome to join us at Luscious Foods, Arts and Industry Estate, Thursday 7 May, starting at 5.30pm. Food available, BYO and donation $5.
• Mary’s articles are published in Echonetdaily in the Tangle of Life section.
Headwaters open at Lone Goat
This is the moment of fruition for the long-anticipated solo exhibition by well-known local artist Rose McKinley. The exhibition is the result of Rose’s direct experience from living in the rainforest and rural Australia, and her observations, where her artwork features swimming holes and swing-bridges, and merges the border between wilderness and farmland, native habitat and human settlement.
Lone Goat Gallery presents Headwaters by Rose McKinley – opening Friday at 6pm and running until 27 May. Open 10–4pm daily.
Hold that Space! Cowboy In Demand!
Owing to popular demand, two final Space Cowboy shows have been scheduled for Saturday at the Community Centre Theatre.
Inspired by the great thinkers of the past and present in the field of psychological persuasion and mind-reading, The Space Cowboy performs some of the most direct and precise thought-reading demonstrations that can be found in the world today.
The holder of 34 Guinness world records he is also leading the frontier of extreme performance. Experience his death-defying stunts of sword swallowing and much more pushing the boundaries of what is physically possible. Combine these two elements and you have ‘mind bending’: what the mind can conceive, the body can achieve.
His bizarre demonstrations highlight the incredible power of the human mind and the physical body, and are so unusual that they have baffled doctors and scientists around the globe. Witness The Space Cowboy draw pictures from people’s minds, bends spoons in their hands; see him swallow a 60cm glass neon tube and hear his heartbeat as his skin glows from the inside. You are invited to bring your own cutlery for The Space Cowboy to bend in your hand with no apparent physical force! Making international headlines and performing to sellout crowds, The Space Cowboy’s ‘mind bending’ show promises to do just that. This is one performance you will never forget.
Byron Theatre, Saturday 3.30pm and 7pm. Book your tickets at the box office: 6685 6807 or online at www.byroncentre.com.au.
Diva Demands!
Lock up your liquor cabinets and drag out your glad rags! Two powerhouse divas – Christa Hughes and Bethan Ellsmore – are headed to NORPA for a double bill of songs, sassiness and subversive behaviour in Cabaret Diva. Frock up, people – this is going to be a wild night of fun! With the mesmerising voice of a mermaid wooing ships onto the rocks and a dash of 1920s bravado, singing sensation
Christa Hughes (Machine Gun Fellatio, Circus Oz) takes us on an alcohol-drenched journey from the tingling buzz of that first elegant sip all the way through to the hair-of-the-dog hangover blues. Accompanied by pianist Leonie Cohen, they perform some of Christa’s own liquor-laced compositions as well as songs by Tom Waits, Memphis Slim, Cold Chisel, Dinah Washington and more. Come on in, wet your whistle and sink another with the Dive Bar Diva. Friday and Saturday at Lismore City Hall at 7pm with dinner from 6pm. Bookings to norpa.org.au or 1300 066 772.
Congratulations to Amelia Ahern, winner of the Cabaret Diva ticket giveaway.
My Honour!
The house is open and the reports are that this is one heck of a show – Honour – a bittersweet Australian play about the effect of time on a loving relationship between two creative and intelligent people. With emotionally heightened dialogue and the sort of one-liners you might expect from the cruelest of clowns, Honour will move you in ways that only the finest theatre can.
Featuring four talented local actors (Liz Chance, Aurea Morrisey, Aya Emery and Mike Russo) and directed by the very experienced Penny Irving. Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 5pm from 8 May to 17 May.
Tickets ($20 & $15) are available online at www.drillhalltheatre.org.au or from The Bookshop, Mullumbimby. There are likely to be tickets available at the door but you should definitely book for the final weekend as these usually sell out.
View from the Bridge at the Palace
London theatre critics have been totally unanimous in their praise for the latest National Theatre Live production, Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge. With a stellar cast led by Mark Strong (The Imitation Game; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) the Young Vic production was declared the top theatre pick of 2014 by the Evening Standard: ‘5 stars… magnetic, electrifying, and astonishingly good’; The Guardian: ‘A forceful production of visual brilliance. Five stars’; and The Independent: ‘Emotionally devastating. Unforgettable. 5 stars’. The great Arthur Miller confronts the American Dream in this dark and passionate tale. In Brooklyn, longshoreman Eddie Carbone welcomes his Sicilian cousins to the land of freedom. But when one of them falls for his beautiful niece, they discover that freedom comes at a price. Eddie’s jealous mistrust exposes a deep, unspeakable secret – one that drives him to commit the ultimate betrayal. The visionary Ivo van Hove directs this stunning production of Miller’s tragic masterpiece, captured live at London’s West End. A View From The Bridge screens at Palace Byron Bay Cinema at 1pm on Saturday
and 12.30 on Monday.
Swan Lake on screen
The greatest of all romantic ballets and the first inspiration for many aspiring young dancers, Swan Lake is the timeless story of good against evil. Set to an enchanting score by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, the ballet tells the now-famous story of Prince Siegfried and the Swan Queen Odette. The Royal Ballet’s production of Swan Lake was captured live at Covent Garden in March this year for screening in cinemas worldwide. Anthony Dowell’s glorious interpretation draws upon the opulence of 1890s Russia: dramatic costumes emphasise the contrast between human and spirit worlds, while glowing lanterns, shimmering fabrics and designs inspired by the work of Peter Carl Fabergé create a magical setting. The Royal Ballet’s Swan Lake screens at Palace Byron Bay Cinema at 1pm on Sunday and 12.30pm on Monday. Tickets $15–24 available now at Palace box office or online at www.palacecinemas.com.au.
