A fabulous February at Byron Theatre
After a number of long months of postponements and cancellations owing to COVID, the Byron Theatre crew are very excited to present an incredible lineup of live events over the next few weeks.
They kick the month off with Let’s Talk – Women in Politics on Wednesday 9 at 5pm.
This event will ignite debate and discussion why Australian women are still largely under-represented in politics by bringing together local and national female politicians to share their stories, insights, experience, and perspectives.
For lover and others on Sunday 13 at 7pm, Rachael Beck and Michael Cormick will take you on a special journey, performing selected hits from Moulin Rouge! – plus a variety of classic musical numbers – while you sip on a complimentary glass of bubbly with your Valentine.
Celebrate Truth, Beauty, Freedom & Love with the 21st anniversary of Baz Luhrmann’s musical classic Moulin.
The Vagina ConVersations are back for two huge shows on Monday and Tuesday, February 14 and 15 at 7.30pm. Vagina ConVersations is funny, sad, exciting, challenging, and celebratory, and is a more contemporary evolution of the Vagina Monologues, bringing a courageous fresh local flavour to our community.
The National Theatre Live film screening brings Bill Nighy (Love Actually, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) and Carey Mulligan (Inside Llewyn Davis, The Great Gatsby) featuring in the highly anticipated production of David Hare’s Skylight, directed by Stephen Daldry, recorded live from the West End by National Theatre – screening Wednesday February 16 at 11am.
Byron Theatre presents their next Art On Screen documentary on Wednesday February 23 at 2pm. Marking the 500th anniversary of his death, Raphael: The Young Prodigy tells the story of the artist from Urbino, beginning with his extraordinary early portraits of women – the Mother, the Friend, the Secret Lover and the Client.
After a number of postponements, Sacred Earth Live in Concert is finally happening on Sunday February 27 at 4pm. Join Sacred Earth for one event only in the Byron Shire for a magical evening of sacred music, meditation, and community connection.
For more information and tickets, visit: byroncentre.com.au.
The False Idols of Matthew Day
The second of a two-part dance installation by internationally acclaimed choreographer, dancer, and conceptual artist Matthew Day is False Idols.
The world premiere of this piece, will be presented at The Quad on Friday and Saturday, February 18 and 19. Matthew describes False Idols as the ‘underside’ of the previous work Assemblage. Whereas Assemblage is calm, contemplative, and industrious, False Idols presents a dystopian, escapist, and sometimes apocalyptic response to the pandemic performed to a driving, beat-heavy soundtrack provided live by DJ Guy Grey.
Matthew Day has presented works at Australia’s and the world’s leading festivals.
Pre-pandemic, Matthew was living in Amsterdam and now lives in the Northern Rivers.
Day’s choreography and performance continually challenge and re-invent a dance practice that has taken him from teenage ballroom champion to contemporary stages across the world.
In each piece Matthew Day will perform for three hours, inviting audiences to experience his performances in a non-linear format, much like an art installation. There is no set beginning and end; audiences can engage with the work at any point and can freely enter and exit the space.
Bring a picnic blanket, grab a coffee or a bite to eat at Slate Café, and experience Matthew Day’s extraordinary performance installations in The Quad.
This Friday the ending of Matthew’s performance of Assemblage Series at 6pm will coincide with Lismore Regional Gallery’s six-month program launch.
Assemblage Series
Friday 4 Feb 3pm, Saturday 5 Feb 11am
False Idols
Friday 18 Feb 3pm, Saturday 19 Feb 11am to 2pm .
Free events at The Quad, 11 Rural St, Lismore.
Remember Cat?
The name Cat Stevens brings back a thousand memories with songs the whole world sang along to – Moonshadow, Wild World, Peace Train, Father & Son, Morning Has Broken, and so many more. These songs became the bookmarks in our lives, deeply personal, as if they were written especially for us.
The Remember The Days of Cat Stevens? show is a chance to relive the era and the voice of a generation in a celebration of one of the most inspiring and prolific singer-songwriters of our time, sung with remarkable authenticity by one of Australia’s most exciting artists, Darren Coggan.
Coggan has an impressive career in the Australian country music industry with a swag of Golden Guitars under his belt. He kicked off his career winning the coveted Toyota Star Maker in 1996 and hasn’t looked back.
With a voice remarkably like Stevens’s, Darren has spent the past ten years uplifting audiences with his uncanny recreation of Cat Stevens’s hits in the most prestigious theatres across Australia, including The Sydney Opera House Concert Hall and to standing ovations in concert halls throughout the United Kingdom.
Coggan’s homage to Stevens’s Remember The Days of Cat Stevens was a highly anticipated tour for music fans in 2021. Postponed owing to COVID, the tour, which kicks off in Byron Bay, highlights Coggan’s masterful storytelling.
For Darren, paying homage to Cat Stevens is a privilege. ‘The songs say something, ask questions, make statements, they have intelligent, poetic lyrics, and musically, while simplistic in presentation, they are very complex and always fun and challenging to perform. I love this show and never tire of performing the songs. I love how I can continue to find new interpretations of his lyrics. I love seeing the reaction from the audience each night and seeing them all stand up with an ovation – something I’ll never take for granted.’
Don’t miss this chance to reminisce about some of the most moving music of the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s.
Saturday, February 12 at 8pm.
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