Griffin Theatre Podcast: Recent Episodes
Griffin Theatre Company
Griffin is the only theatre company in the country entirely devoted to producing new Australian plays. Located in the historic SBW Stables Theatre, nestled in the heart of bustling Kings Cross, Griffin has been a permanent home for the exploration of Australian stories since 1978. Many of this country's most beloved and celebrated artists started out on our stage-Cate Blanchett, Michael Gow, Louis Nowra, David Wenham, to name a few-and iconic Australian plays like 'The Boys', 'Holding the Man' and 'The Bleeding Tree' had their world premieres at Griffin, before going on to capture the national imagination. We tell the stories that will help us know who we are as a nation, and who we want to become. Stories about us. Written by us. For us.
Fresh off the back of launching his first ever season at Griffin, here’s your chance to get to know our new Artistic Director Declan Greene. From his first foray on the Stables stage through to his vision for Griffin’s future, Declan tells us why he wouldn’t want to run any other theatre company, and what’s exciting him artistically as the Stables launches into its next 50 years.
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In 1985 the Stables Theatre was put up for sale, sparking fear that the home of true Australian storytelling would lost. Griffin Theatre Company’s inaugural Artistic Director Peter Kingston and administrator at the time, Bill Eggerking, tell the remarkable story of how retired psychiatrist and Kings Cross local Dr Rodney Seaborn bought the building and saved the venue. A ‘guardian angel’ of Sydney theatre, he created the Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation which not only lends its name to the SBW Stables Theatre, but has continually provided philanthropic support to the performing arts in Australia.
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Director David Berthold and playwright Tommy Murphy discuss the pressures of adapting Timothy Conigrave's beautiful memoir Holding the Man for the Stables stage, the deep emotional currency that the piece holds, and their interactions with Timothy's family in the process.
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They are the masters of problem-solving, schedule-writing, secret-keeping, energy-reading, and show-running... And at a quirky theatre like the Stables, they take on all manner of other unexpected roles! Go behind the scenes with three of Griffin's favourite Stage Managers in this episode of the 50 Years of the Stables podcast series.
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When she was Griffin's Artistic Director, Ros Horin decisively re-established the Stables Theatre as a home for new Australian plays. Just a small part of her legacy was to program Andrew Bovell's smash-hit play Speaking in Tongues in 1996, which marked a revolution in Australian playwriting. Hear about how the two collaborated to produce the astounding Speaking in Tongues for the Stables Theatre, which later became the hit film Lantana.
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In this episode of the 50 Years of the Stables podcast series, Australian theatre stalwart Paul Capsis talks Angela's Kitchen, and reveals the emotional perils of writing and performing the deeply personal story of his family and his Maltese roots.
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From being babysat by the Stables's next door neighbours to witnessing rowdy post-show parties in the street, hear stories from artists Sacha Horler, Lucy Bell and Hilary Bell, who grew up in and around the Stables, and followed in their parents' theatre-making footsteps.
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What's the key to captaining a new writing theatre and flourishing as a trailblazer in the Australian theatre landscape? Former Artistic Director Lee Lewis and Executive Director and CEO Karen Rodgers discuss the excitement of a brand new play, as well as the risks, rewards, and the adventurous audiences of the magical Stables Theatre.
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Two industry greats and Grif-faves, Wesley Enoch and Meyne Wyatt, discuss playwriting, the power of the unfiltered indigenous voice, and the Stables Theatre's role as the national beacon of intimate storytelling.
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Some core members of the original team share how Gordon Graham's visceral, dangerous Australian play The Boys was brought to life. They recount the explosive response it elicited, and unpack how and why it became a theatrical hit.
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What is it like to perform solo in the intimate Stables space? Actor Sheridan Harbridge shares her experiences performing the gripping one-woman-show Prima Facie by Suzie Miller at Griffin in 2019, and talks about what it's like to hold the responsibility of an intensely powerful script in such a unique space.
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In 1970, a passionate group of indie theatremakers got hold of a run-down Kings Cross building and turned it into a theatre. Hear about how the legendary founders of the space made the Stables Theatre the nexus of Australian plays. Featuring Ron Blair, Lillian Horler and Anna Volska.
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We all love a good belly laugh. But what's the difference between creating comedy for the stage, screen, or as a stand up routine? And what's so different about Australian comedy? To find out, local comedy extraordinaires Nick Coyle, Phil Spencer and Sheridan Harbridge sat down to have a chat, and more than a few chuckles.
Read a full transcription here: http://bit.ly/PodcastComedyAndTheatre
Produced in association with The Prop.
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Professional and personal boundaries. The myth of the suffering artist. Method acting. In this podcast, Griffin's Artistic Director Lee Lewis has a frank and open discussion with 'The Almighty Sometimes' playwright Kendall Feaver, and the production's lead actor Brenna Harding, about mental health in theatre.
Read a full transcription here: http://bit.ly/GriffinPodcastMentalHealth
Produced in association with The Prop.
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Angela Catterns interviews a panel of theatre professionals-Darren Yap, Michele Lee & Lee Lewis-about cultural diversity in Australian theatre, now.
Produced by Angela Catterns Sound by Jason Blackwell
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An interview with Declan Greene about his play The Homosexuals or 'Faggots', which aired on Canvas: Art & Ideas on FBi Radio 94.5.
Produced by Aurora Scott for Canvas: Art & Ideas on FBi Radio.
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Why do we need theatre in Australia? Angela Catterns interviews a panel of theatre professionals, including Fred Copperwaite, Lee Lewis, Chris Mead and Alana Valentine, about the state of Australian theatre, now.
Produced by Angela Catterns Music by Charlie Chan Sound by Tony David Cray
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Our partners for 'Ladies Day', ACON, hosted a Queer Thinking panel on the 27 February at the Stables as part of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. The panel features a range of experts from the DFV and LGBTI community sectors including Domestic Violence NSW CEO Moo Baulch, NSW Police Sgt. Kate Baker, Inner City Legal Centre solicitor Cedric Hassing and Ladies Day writer Alana Valentine.
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An interview from the Tribunal rehearsal room, which aired on Canvas: Art & Ideas on FBi Radio 94.5.
Produced by Aurora Scott for Canvas: Art & Ideas on FBi Radio 9.45.
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Broadcaster Angela Catterns speaks to director Lee Lewis and playwright Kit Brookman about A Rabbit for Kim Jong-Il, a preposterous yet true comic spy thriller.
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