More Blacks, More Dogs, More Irish with Aine Tyrrell
As a lover of her Irish homeland, one of the most painful days on her adopted home’s calendar is St Patrick’s Day. Not because it makes her homesick, but because it doesn’t really tell the vast story of Irelands’ rich culture. St Patrick’s Day isn’t about getting drunk on green beer. It’s about resilience. It’s about bravery. It’s about grief and loss. It’s about honouring a beautiful ancient culture and sharing new modern reflections of that.
In this 75 minute show, Áine Tyrrell invites you around the virtual fire to help you remember, through a mix of visuals, songs, storytelling and guests. Tyrrell will be inviting a few guests like Auntie Delta Kay (Arakwal grandmother and educator) to explore some of these shared stories woven between Irish and Indigenous culture.
Wednesday 17 March, 8pm at the Regent in Murwillumbah.
Tix from the-regent.com.au
Ben Lee; been there, done that – and more
Ben Lee: Singer-songwriter, composer, music producer, activist, celebrator of wild ideas, professional adventurer… and he’s coming to Lismore for a gig.
‘I don’t look at life as a linear adventure,’ Ben explains ‘I very rarely know where I’m going next – I follow what I am passionate about and where I can be useful.’
Ben Lee’s career began in his early teens, in the early 90’s, in the Australian lo-fi punk band Noise Addict, who were discovered by taste-making artists Sonic Youth and the Beastie Boys. But it was his 2005 album, Awake is the New Sleep , that saw Ben get the worldwide recognition his songs deserved; spawning the alterna-hit Catch my Disease which has a spooky ring to it in an era of a worldwide pandemic! Ben’s latest releases include Quarter Century Classics (2019) a covers album of songs Ben was obsessed with as a teenager, including songs by Archers of Loaf, Fugazi, Sonic Youth, the Breeders, Pavement, Dinosaur Jr and more. In 2020 he released Golden State his second collaboration with Josh Radnor. Friday 26 March at Lismore City Hall at 7pm.
Tix at lismorecityhall.com.au
Music Forum for Femmes
BYS present its inaugural Women’s Music Industry Empowerment and Skill Share as part of Women’s Week 2021. If you are a woman interested in the music industry, this gig is for you.
Women are grossly underrepresented in the music industry and this forum aims to address this issue by engaging musical communities at the grassroots level. Join other women participating in workshops, Q&A sessions, and have an opportunity to perform on the One Song Wonder stage.
BYS will host four industry professionals; Julz Parker and Leesa Gentz (aka Hussy Hicks), Shiney Lefai the music producer behind Loonaloop, Reneé Simone, who is a musician, DJ and founder of Byron Bay Experience, and Anita Colenbrander from ACEntertainment and the Bluesfest Busking Comp. These powerful women will share inspirational stories, skills and expertise in their particular fields.
This event is really about women supporting other women in the industry, building relationships, and creating the opportunity to personally connect and converse with other local female musicians.
All ages event, places are limited so register at bys.org.au/womens-music-forum on Saturday at BYS. For tickets and info go to www.bys.org.au.
Tough Shit
This month, the Drill Hall Theatre Company shines a light on a world most of us would rather ignore – through Patricia Cornelius’s electrifying play, SHIT. Directed by longtime NIDA teacher Liz Chance, the play revolves around the lives of three women who have slipped through the cracks; sentenced at birth to exist in a world that doesn’t care for them or about them, living in a society that will cross the street to avoid them. They are tough, resilient, at times hilarious, and truly heartbreaking. Performed by Claire Atkins, Kate Foster and Kate Horsley, and reimagined with an original soundscape by music producer Paul Pilsneniks (Angus & Julia Stone, Powderfinger, Silverchair), lighting design by Tone Wand (Splendour in the Grass, Falls Festival) and choreography by dancer and photographer Kate Holmes.
SHIT opens this Friday 7.30pm at the Drill Hall Theatre in Mullumbimby.
Bookings www.drillhalltheatre.org.au. Tickets: $27/$24 and $20 for under 25’s and arts workers affected by the pandemic. Showing until 28 March on Fri/Sat 7.30pm and Sun 5pm. Offensive language and adult themes.
Book to Book
Legendary comedian and author, Mandy Nolan, will be appearing with Lismore-based author Sean Doyle, at the Book Room in Byron, on Tuesday 16 March, where they will interview each other on their respective books.
Mandy is the author of many books, her latest being The Full Mandy, a riotous collection of her much-loved Soapbox columns featured in The Byron Echo.
Editor and writer Sean Doyle, who has resided in Lismore for the last 15 years, has just released a memoir, Night Train to Varanasi, about his travels through India with his teenage daughter. The book was launched on 26 February by worldwide bestselling author Steve Biddulph, who described it as:
‘… wearing its bristling intelligence so lightly, darting and diving from shocking history to the profound core of India’s spiritual tradition – how it took hold of the West, and even today continues to change who we are. But it’s in the tender, self-revealing way that Doyle relates to his daughter, stumbling on a path between protecting her and letting her go, that this book touches us most deeply. It’s a jewel of a book.’
Mandy and Sean will interview each other, and discuss their writing, at The Book Room at Byron on 16 March, 6pm. Tickets are limited so be sure to make your booking now.
www.eventbrite.com.au/mandy-nolan-sean-doyle-launch-new-books-tickets-141766047063
Bangalow Comedy on the Green
There is something magical about the Bangalow Bowlo. Years ago this little club was on the brink of extinction, but the community embraced it as the heart and soul of their village.
It’s a thriving hub of diversity, of kids playing, of sporting clubs having a post game beverage, footy raffles, a social meet up… and now comedy too!
The Bangalow Bowling Club are saying ‘Thank you’ to the people who have supported them with a free monthly comedy night.
Hosted by Mandy Nolan, Comedy on the Green will be held on the third Wednesday of every month at 7pm.
To kick it off they’ve invited the fireball that is Dusty Rich. In his homeland of South Africa, Dusty Rich was a rising comedy star. He was performing as the support for Trevor Noah. He had his own TV show. But he fell in love – and his wife got a job out here. So, South Africa’s loss is our gain!
A self-confessed comedic space-warrior riding a living volcano, with one hand whipping the reins and the other gingerly fingering the lava-hot truth that flows freely down all sides – smothering the world in comedy magma. His meteoric rise in the comedy industry is owed to the fact he learnt to ride meteors at a very young age – a mind meteor, smashing through the atmosphere of mediocrity and the mundane. Each show is unpredictable and hilarious, leaving audiences gasping for air.
A true original, his style is manic but impactful. The mystical art of comedy bursts through his veins (and mouth) coupled with his razor sharp wit, taking no prisoners. Dusty Rich is, without question, an unnaturally naturally talented comedic anomaly. Supported by the fantastically funny Ting Lym.
So join us for Comedy on the Green at the Bangalow Bowling Club on Wednesday 17 March at 7pm. Come early for dinner and to nab your space. This is going to go off!
Launching NORPA
NORPA’s annual program of shows always packs a punch, delivering the highest quality theatre and performance to the region. After a major cancellation of last year’s season, NORPA can’t wait to share its 2021 season with you at their free Launch Event on Friday 19 March. Find out about the powerful and captivating performances coming to the Lismore stage (and off the stage) including two NORPA original works, an outdoor adventure, classic drama, a hit musical – and much more!
norpa.org.au/events/2021-norpa-season/
Harp and Voice
What could be better than an afternoon of music featuring the interplay of voices, piano and harp? In this unusual and exciting program, the internationally renowned soprano, Gaynor Morgan, is joined by local stars Geoffrey Webb (tenor), Nicholas Routley (pianist), and Margaret Curtis (harpist) in a ravishing program of Schubert, Schumann, Debussy, Salzedo and more.
Come and celebrate the incredible performers we have living amongst us.
Mullumbimby Civic Memorial Hall, Sunday 21 March at 3pm.
Tickets from byronmusicsociety.com
Little bites of the big blue
Comprised of sublime footage taken above and below the water’s surface, and designed to mesmerise and enthral, the Ocean Film Festival, World Tour, showcases a three hour celebration of our oceans.
Featuring all new films, this is a carefully curated selection of short films that document the beauty and power of the ocean, and celebrate the divers, surfers, swimmers and oceanographers who live for the sea’s salt spray; who chase the crests of waves; and who marvel at the mysteries of the big blue.
The films feature captivating cinematography, complete with awe-inspiring underwater scenes and fast-paced wave sequences that have been captured from unbelievable vantage points.
Inspiring and thought provoking, the Ocean Film Festival, World Tour, is filled with moving footage, touching interviews and insightful narrations. Each of the festival’s films convey a deep respect and appreciation for the world’s oceans and the creatures that call them home.
Find out more at oceanfilmfestival.com.au
The Ocean Film Festival is exempt from classification, but all coarse language is beeped out and there is no nudity or adult themes.
Byron Theatre: Adult $35 | Child under 15 $25 | Group of 15 or more $30 ea.
Firestarter –The Story of Bangarra
This is an historically important film that takes the viewer through Bangarra’s birth and spectacular growth to where they are today, entering their 4th decade. It recognises Bangarra’s early founders and tells the story of how three young Aboriginal brothers – Stephen, David and Russell Page – turned the newly born dance troupe into one of Australia’s leading performing arts companies. Through the eyes of the Page brothers and company alumni, Firestarter explores the loss – and vital reclaiming – of culture, the burden of intergenerational trauma, but most crucially, the extraordinary power of art as a messenger for social change and healing.
The documentary features remarkable archival footage and interviews with those integral to Bangarra’s establishment, including co-founders Carole Johnson and Cheryl Stone, along with a number of former dancers and creatives.
Firestarter is on at the Palace Cinema until 17 March.
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