Griffin Theatre Company’s FESTIVAL OF NEW WRITING is a week-long celebration of new Australian work in which the freshest, newest writing from some of Australia’s most exciting artists is brought to life through a series of performances and events.
Griffin’s successful GRIFFringe program makes its 2013 debut for one night only on Wednesday 12 June.
GRIFFringe is a night dedicated to short new works and ideas in development – it’s an experimental testing ground for brave artists and a brave audience. GRIFFringe brings together the newest contemporary work, showcasing artists who push the boundaries and think outside the square.
On Thursday 13 June, Griffin’s 2013 Studio artists present UNCANNY VALLEY, a one-night only interactive performance outing to the museum of the human mind, created by some of the country’s most exciting writers and directors including Angela Betzien, Tessa Leong, Iain Sinclair and Kit Brookman.
Following the success of previous site-specific experiences Heartbreak Hotel and Lovely Ugly, UNCANNY VALLEY will take audiences on a winding journey through Sydney’s most idiosyncratic suburb, Kings Cross. Audiences will take a trip down the promenade of dreams and despair, and explore the spooky, seedy and surprising fragments of Griffin’s backyard.
Friday 14 June sees excerpts read from the five shortlisted plays for the 2013 Griffin Award, followed by the announcement of the winning playwright.
Selected from an overwhelming 162 entries, this year’s shortlisted plays are by Donna Abela, Vanessa Bates, Rosemary Johns, Kate Mulvany and Robert Reid. Now in its sixteenth year, the prestigious Griffin Award recognises an outstanding play or performance that displays an authentic, inventive and contemporary Australian voice. The Griffin Award is generously sponsored by BDO, and supported by Copyright Agency Limited.
On Saturday 15 June, the 24 Hour Play Project hits the stage. 24 hours earlier, six playwrights will be given an object, a NIDA directing student, photos of their actors and a bottomless coffee cup, before being locked in the Griffin office for the night. Their challenge is to write six brand new short plays overnight, which are then rehearsed the next day, before being put before an audience. Think speed dating, for playwrights. The result is a thrilling night of fresh new works made exclusively at Griffin. New writing doesn’t get any newer than this.
The festival concludes with a reading of Robert Kronk’s Fly-In Fly-Out, presented by Parnassus’ Den on Sunday 16 June. A funny and gritty play about growing up in a mining town, Fly-In Fly-Out looks at how families and communities deal with upheaval and how we strive to adapt. This new work examines universal themes through the prism of the mining boom and the influx of fly-In fly-Out workers in a small community.
The Festival of New Writing, jam packed full of ideas, dreams and words, will take place at the SBW Stables Theatre, 10 Nimrod Street, Kings Cross between Wednesday 12th June and Sunday 16th June, 2013.