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March 28, 2024

Culture Roundup – June 10, 2015

Latest News

Govt cost-shifting ‘erodes financially sustainable local government’

Byron Shire Council looks set to add its voice to the growing chorus calling on the state government to stop shifting responsibilities and costs onto local government.

Other News

Queer family visibility

Did you know that, statistically, if you’ve met a redhead, you’ve also met a trans person? Over 800 trans and gender diverse people live in the Byron Shire, which includes at least 200 children. They’re often a bit hidden though, so come on down and celebrate with them this Trans Day of Visibility!

Floodplains

We need a serious talk about development on floodplains with more creativity and sophistication. The recent discussion about development...

Byron Council staff baulk at councillors’ promise of free parking for locals

Will Byron Council deliver on its pledge to make parking permits free for locals across the Shire when paid parking comes into force in Brunswick Heads?

Seize the Decade report outlines benefits of renewables

The Climate Council says many more Australian families can directly benefit from rooftop solar and batteries under a new plan that spells out how we can electrify the nation and cut climate pollution this decade.

Got a creative theatre idea?

Mullumbimby’s The Drill Hall Theatre Company (DHTC) is offering two creative development opportunities for local independent artists to develop new performance piece concepts.

Workshop in Creative Writing For Beginners

Have you always felt like you have a novel in you, but don’t know where to start? Or have...

BellyLaugh in Byron

Think you are funny? Do friends laugh hysterically at your gags and scream, ‘Oh my god you should be a comedian!’ Well guess what, you now have the chance to test your mettle by giving it a run on the open mic. New and aspiring standup comedians are given a claim on Five Minutes of Fame at Byron Brewery’s monthly BellyLaugh comedy night. This month MC is Ellen Briggs. Thursday 18 June at 8pm at the Byron Brewery. FREE.

To register for an open mic spot email [email protected].

Oliver and Brownlow, opening this week for Ballina Players’ Production of Oliver! at Ballina Players Theatre on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and running until 4 July
Oliver and Brownlow, opening this week for Ballina Players’ Production of Oliver! at Ballina Players Theatre on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and running until 4 July

The Unforgettable Oliver!

Oliver! is a musical known and loved for its well-remembered songs and its story of downtrodden children, unscrupulous adults and one orphan boy made good. His song Where Is Love? echoes the longing for a loving family of Oliver (Landon Broadley), the orphan who asked for more. Escaping arrest as a pickpocket urchin, Oliver is taken in by the rich and kindly Mr Brownlow (Geoff Marsh). An errand to return some books for his host becomes a test of trust but after serious trials Oliver returns to his benefactor’s household. Mr Brownlow feels strangely drawn towards Oliver.

A photograph and a locket hold the key to the mystery and eventually Oliver finds his longed-for family.

A production of this scale is an ensemble effort, but special credit must be given to the contribution of the children. The performances of ten-year-old Landon Broadley as the innocent Oliver and twelve-year-old Sam Green as the much more worldly Artful Dodger are highlights of Oliver!

The production demonstrates the fact that there are uplifting times of warmth and frivolity in the midst of bleakness and poverty. The cast of fifty-two fills the stage with warmth and energy in production numbers such as Oom Pah Pah and It’s A Fine Life.

Directed by Clem Halpin, Oliver! will be staged at the Players Theatre from Friday till 4 July. Evening performances will commence at 8pm and Sunday matinees at 2pm. Book online at www.ballinaplayers.com.au or at Just Funkin Music, 6686 2440.

Love, Sex and Ethics

Pulitzer prize-nominated play Becky Shaw is a contemporary comedy of bad manners, love, sex and ethics, and will be coming Mullumbimby’s Drill Hall on 19 June. Georgia Martin directs Kate Foster and Madeleine Lipson from last year’s hit Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, Brenda Shero who appeared in several Theatre North productions, as well as the Drill Hall Theatre Company’s A Pint of Pinter, Sam Hemphill (Uncle Vanya, Caldera and Honk if you are Jesus) and newcomer Samuel Peacock, who has just completed a professional tour of Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia; this is a strong cast in a very strong play.

Suzanna sets up blind date for Max, her best friend, with Becky Shaw, an anxious, but socially ambitious woman who works with her husband. Their lives go pear-shaped from there – at speed!

Becky seems unsure but shows the overly confident Max that she is a woman to be reckoned with. Funny and confronting, Becky Shaw asks us: What do we owe our loved ones and the strangers who turn up in our lives? A test of loyalty and what we think we know of the people around us.

Opening night 19 June. Performances 8pm. Friday and Saturday, 2pm Sunday. $20 and $15 at the Bookshop, Mullumbimby or online at www.drillhalltheatre.org.au.

Skeleton Smoking by John Cieslak as part of the IncREDible Art Exhibition opening in Byron at the Lone Goat Gallery on Friday
Skeleton Smoking by John Cieslak as part of the IncREDible Art Exhibition opening in Byron at the Lone Goat Gallery on Friday

IncREDible Art!

The IncREDible Art Exhibition features works from Byron Bay artists in a range of media, from ceramics to paintings and also some Claymation footage. Their vision and range of abilities is expressed beautifully in this stunning range of works. Show opens on Friday at 6pm and runs until 23 June at Byron’s Lone Goat Gallery.

A show about Oz

Helpmann Award-winning director Jonathan Biggins presents Australia Day, a play he has written and directed with Christine Harris and HIT Productions. ‘Biggins wrote Australia Day after several tours of duty as an Australia Day ambassador in regional NSW,’ says writer and director Jonathan Biggins. ‘Initially sceptical about the celebration of the national day, my experiences showed me another side: the warmth, dedication and quiet patriotic pride of the organising committees and the towns they served taught me the value of uniting communities to remember what is good about being an Australian – or, more importantly, of becoming one, for the citizenship ceremony forms the emotional heart of the day’s proceedings.’ Australia Day is a laugh, a jab, a thought-provoking prod at our current political and cultural climate and certainly will be studied in years to come as a piece of theatre that exposes Australia as it is now.

Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24, 7.30pm NORPA at Lismore City Hall. Bookings: 1300 066 772 or norpa.org.au.

Bangalow Gives Nepal A Hand

Residents of Bangalow and beyond are being asked to support efforts to help Langtang Valley Health – An Australian Charity based in Nepal since 2012.

Bangalow local fitness professional Lisa Parkes has organised a fundraiser to support efforts to help Langtang Valley Health – an Australian Charity based in Nepal since 2012. The evening will feature information, traditional Indian-Nepalese food, circus performances, live music, Bollywood dancing, live auction, DJ and MC Mandy Nolan. All funds raised will go towards disaster relief for the people of Langtang Village and surrounds, a popular trekking area that was totally destroyed in the recent earthquakes.

Even in a country that has seen so much devastation and so much personal heartbreak, what happened to the village of Langtang is in a different league. Moments after the initial earthquake struck, a massive expanse of ice fell thousands of feet, creating an avalanche that wiped out a community where 400 people lived and where, at that moment, nearly 100 foreign trekkers are believed to have been. Live auction items, including Splendour In The Grass tickets, Bangalow BBQ & Bluegrass tickets, Moroccan carpets, clothing, furnishings, homewares, treatments, jewellery and much more will be auctioned on the night live by locals Dave Eller and Matt Towner. Bangalow A&I Hall this Saturday from 6.30pm. Tickets available at www.seechangebyronbay.com.au/langtangnepal.

$40 entertainment only; $65 includes full Indian-Nepalese banquet. Children under 14: by donation on the night. Kidz Club provided. To support the event with donations or for more info contact Lisa on 0429 878 902 or [email protected].


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