Ten years of ballet

This weekend Byron Ballet is staging a return season of their most spectacular show to date, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with four public performances. This tenth anniversary event will also feature a photographic retrospective of Byron Ballet’s repertoire. Byron mayor Simon Richardson is officiating, and there will be a ceremonial Welcome to Arakwal Country.

The production is not short on talent and guest-stars Michael Braun, a veteran of principal roles with Queensland Ballet, WA Ballet and the Royal NZ companies. Another three professional male dancers join the cast, including returning local Patrick Weir, who first performed with the Byron Ballet 10 years ago as a boy. Patrick, now on the threshold of his career, in April starred in Lord of the Flies under world-renowned choreographer Sir Matthew Bourne.

Artistic director Yvonne Hall feels blessed. ‘Male ballet dancers can be hard to find, but we have had remarkable success attracting some of the best dancers to spend a season with us in the Bay.’ The men provide important opportunities for our local female corps de ballet to perform in a real company environment.

‘What we are creating is something special here with Byron Ballet,’ says Yvonne. ‘Recently we had Sarah Williams, a New York City Ballet dancer of five years, perform with our company. I was struck by her humility and gratitude at being offered a lead role with us.’
Buy tickets through Byron Theatre website www.byroncentre.com.au or call 6685 6807.

Full Wainhouse

After a white-bread middle-class upbringing, Chris Wainhouse turned out an arty-trendy sort of try-hard, and a magnet for dominant women. A product of his environment, Chris lives a life of weird repetitions with no time for rational thought. Chris’s suave attitude has seen him steadily climb the comic ladder.

In 1998 he won the title of Comedian of the Year at the famous Harold Park Hotel in Sydney, joining past winners such as the Umbilical Brothers, Flacco, Carl Barron and Kenny Graham. Chris was also successful in taking out the grand final for the 1999 Triple J Raw Comedy Competition in Melbourne, which earned him a trip to Edinburgh Comedy Festival.

Chris is a regular headline act at some of the world’s most prestigious comedy venues including The Sydney Comedy Store, Melbourne’s Comedy Club, The Classic in Auckland and Jongluers in the UK. He also regularly headlines in Singapore, Jakarta, Malaysia and Hong Kong – a testament to his cultural diversity. Sharp witted and daringly clever, Chris’ fresh brand of comedy is guaranteed to bring any audience undone. From corporate functions to exclusive presentations, Chris has taken his fun and intelligent standup routine throughout Australia and overseas.

Wainhouse is the feature at the Byron Bay Brewery’s Comedy in the Garden, supported by the dry, direct and absolutely hilarious Katie Burch. With MC Nick Sun, this is a triple-header you don’t want to miss. Friday at the Byron Bay Brewery at 8pm. Free!

The Do Crew

Ngara Institute hold their Beyond the Pub Post Talk Discussion group on New Narratives on Monday at the CWA Hall in Mullumbimby. Join in the conversation that delves into the question ‘What might a new creative politics of the common good look like?’. Entry by donation of $5. 6.30pm.

Get Hooked

Fashion designer and crotchet queen Isa Catepillan is running a series of workshops to introduce the art of crocheting. Starting with the basic stitches, she will organically move participants on to intermediate levels. Isa will also share little background about the ancient process of creating fabric and insightful stories from her own journey.

Each workshop will be three hours long and consist of Isa guiding you step by step through the process. All levels are welcome; however, if you are an absolute beginner, it is recommended to attend the first workshop to join the other workshops. Bookings and enquiries: [email protected] or phone 0435 950 679.

Drill Bits #2

Drill Hall Theatre presents Drill Bits #2, a delightful collection of dramatic bits, comedy bits, dance bits, music bits, film bits, with all the bits shaken into a theatrical cocktail that will appeal to all tastes. One of the bits focuses on the philosophical adage that three monkeys typing into infinity will sooner or later produce Hamlet, while another looks at finding the light in dark places and how love can both transcend and restore memories.

Celebrity chef Chablis Baster will make an appearance demonstrating her organic, vegan, gluten-free, therapeutic brain-cake; there will be songs from a local opera singer; dance routines from Sprung Dance Co and Kimberly McIntyre; a film tribute to Sandy Gandhi and a few surprises. A thoroughly entertaining evening not to be missed!

Friday and Saturday 9 and 10 June, 7.30pm, and Sunday 11 at 2pm. $20/$18conc.

Women Like Us in Nimbin!

Women Like Us comedians Mandy Nolan and Ellen Briggs are different from your usual comedians. For a start they’re women. They’re mothers. They’re middle aged and they are country girls. And, they’re from Mullumbimby. Women Like Us is two hours of standup comedy – an hour apiece. This isn’t your regular standup comedy show. This is, as one review described it, ‘a two tena pad show’. These are untold laugh-out-loud women’s stories, smack bang centre stage. Small-town showgirls, there are few sacred cows that Briggs and Nolan shy away from milking.

With seven children and thirty-five years’ stage time between them, their ‘failure to parent’ is the focus of their material, along with the beauty industry, getting older, getting fatter, strange surgeries, weird TV shows, obsessions, frustrations and, at the end of the day, who unpacks the dishwasher.

‘We want to make you laugh, but most of all we want you to go home feeling good about yourself. Women spend too much time not liking themselves, beating themselves up for being too old, too fat, a bad parent, a terrible cook, but we just say, hey, it’s what makes us human! Celebrate Your Imperfection!’

Friday 16 at Nimbin Bush Theatre. Doors 7pm, Show 8pm. Tix $25 womenlikeus.com.au or at the venue. Enquiries to 6689 0095 / 0418 824 598 or call 0422 701 680.

Mullum Open Mic

There’s no better way to celebrate the first day of winter than with a good warm laugh.

For a night of comedy with some brand-new emerging comics on the mic, come to the Court House Hotel in Mullumbimby for open mic on Thursday 1 June at 8pm! Free! Heading up the night is Mandy Nolan, just a few days before she hits the road with the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow. ‘I love open mic,’ says Mandy. ‘It gives me a chance to try some new jokes as well. There’s always this feeling that anything can happen, and as someone who has been in the game for 30 years, I have to say that’s exciting!’

POETRY slam

Byron’s iconic Writers at the Rails will be back for its winter show with special feature, current winner of the Nimbin Performance Poetry World Cup, Gold Coast poetry entrepreneur mover and shaker, poet/muso Josh Holms. The afternoon show will also include invited readings from near and far, and the ever-popular Poetry Slam. Show starts around 2pm. Free entry.

Size Does Matter

PAN is a locally based artists’ network committed to visual arts in the Byron Shire. Their latest exhibition Size Does Matter features more than 30 artists with works covering diverse narratives. At the Lone Goat Gallery in Byron Bay daily.

Cultivating Murder

Cultivating Murder Byron premiere screening is about the disastrous effects of broad-scale land clearing in Australia, and will be launched by Greens MLC Dr Mehreen Faruqi, who will also conduct the Q&A following the screening with the filmmaker Greg Miller of Film Projects. Cultivating Murder is screening at Mullum Civic Hall. Tuesday at 7pm, by Film Projects. This local screening is in association with iQ Inc. Tix online at https://www.stickytickets.com.au/52553 or at Mullum Book Shop or at the door!

Comedy for Kev

If we were asked to nominate one individual to best define Australian humour, for most of us the name Kevin Bloody Wilson immediately springs to mind. His recently released biography DILLIGAF, The Life and Rhymes of Kevin Bloody Wilson, is a raucous, earthy, in-depth look at perhaps one of the only Australian comedians who has not bowed to the pressures of political correctness.Kevin Bloody Wilson is also the only international artist who can shift seamlessly between an outback pub to the hallowed halls of the London Palladium. Don’t miss the legend at Ballina RSL! Friday 23 June at 8pm. Tix $55.