Issue 810

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The Scene - Local Entertainment News

• Local Gig Guide

Eco-Warrior Films Screen Locally

Film-maker Dean Jeffreys and family on location in the Amazon.

Byron Bay independent filmmaker Dean Jeffreys has made two extraordinary documentaries over the last decade. At the end of the month, he's off to Borneo with his family to make a new documentary, titled 'In search of the Spirit of Borneo'.

His first doco Amazon the Invisible People, screened on SBS TV and the just completed Shamans of the Amazon has been submitted to a number of international film festivals and has also been bought by SBS.

Next week Dean is offering a special sneak preview of the film with screening in Nimbin and Lismore.

Amazon the Invisible People looks at, amongst other things, Lismore Rainforest Information Centre volunteer Douglas Ferguson's work in Ecuador to help preserve the Rainforest and help the indigenous People. Shamans of the Amazon also has some local material from the Nimbin Mardi Grass and from Terence McKenna's Rave at Byron Bay, where he talks about the local wattle trees being 'Jammed with DMT'.

Both films will screen at the Bush Theatre in Nimbin next Monday, March 18, and in Lismore on Wednesday, March 20. Both sessions start at 7.30pm. The cost is $10/8 conc.

After the documentaries, Dean will hold a Q & A section, where local filmmakers and anyone interested can ask him questions about his films.

For more on the films, visit www.shamansoftheamazon.com

Maddy and her Mates

Maddy Prior performs at the Star Court Theatre this Sunday.

In a special one-off concert, Maddy Prior & Friends will perform this Sunday, March 17 at the Star Court Theatre from 7.30pm.

Maddy is best know as the singer of legendary British folk rock group Steeleye Span, however, she is currently in Australia as part of her second solo world tour.

Last fortnight she was presented with the Performer of the Year award at the Port Fairy Folk Festival and this year she also became the first woman to be awarded an MBE (Member of the British Empire) for her contribution to folk music.

On Sunday Maddy & Friends will perform songs from Maddy's latest album, Arthur the King, which features original songs based on the story of England's 5th century king.

The album also breathes new life into traditional songs such as Reynardine and Lark in the Morning, and Maddy will also perform some old favourites from her Steeleye Span days. Maddy will be joined on stage by Nick Holland on keyboards and Troy Donockley on uillean pipes, guitar, cittern and whistle.

Tickets to the gig are $27.50 for an adult and $12 for children aged 1-16.

To book phone 66 215600.

A Tale of Two Johns

Lennonist John Waters performs at Lismore Workers this Sunday.

John Lennon has been dead for more than two decades. But 30 years after his band broke up, they were number one on the charts with a compilation of hit songs. Such is the power and enduring legacy of the Beatles.

Actor John Waters knows how it feels. He grew up in England and, as he says, was part of the 'target audience'.

But the man who 'tries to put on a bit of Lennon skin' in the one-man show Looking through a Glass Onion, confesses that he was more a Spencer Davis, The Animals and Steve Winwood fan, listening to them on pirate radio when the Fab Four first came on the scene. He had his own band, but his tastes were more R 'n' B and Blues.

'I loved anything that was radical and was looking for black American influences in music,' Waters said. 'Take the power of that black R 'n' B and you could infuse a fairly whitebread pop song with some style.'

But Waters thinks he wasn't alone.

'Lennon listened to the same records I did. You listen to Love me do, their first single, it's got an R & B edge,' he said.

At age 19, Waters took his chances as a £10 Pom and came to Australia. He lucked it in as an actor 'being in the right place at the right time'.

Some 30 years later, he's managed to combine his two great loves - singing and acting in the hugely successful Looking through a Glass Onion. Waters first devised the show about the life and music of John Lennon in the early 90s. It spent two years touring Australia before heading to London's West End. Now, a decade on, he's revived it for a regional tour, which includes an afternoon performance at the Lismore Workers Club this Sunday.

Backed by a band and strings section that includes people who played with Beatles producer George Martin, Waters delivers a series of anecdotes about - in Lennon's Geordie accent - and songs by the Beatle.

'The anecdotal things are to go with the songs. I don't think they're full of enormous revelations. But he was riddled with insecurity and a lot of sorrow. He'd been neglected by his mother and brought up by his aunty. And I think a lot of his life was therapy on a world stage. He did hang himself out there for all the world to see,' Waters said.

'I can do all that painful part of his life and you really feel it in the show.'

While the Beatles buffs will no doubt analyse every word and gesture, Waters offers a cabaret-style show that everyone can enjoy, even if you have, god forbid, never heard of the Beatles - though it might help if you're going to get the jokes about Yoko Ono.

John Waters' Looking through a Glass Onion is on at the Lismore Workers Club this Sunday, March 17, at 4pm. Tickets are available from the Club. Phone 6621 7401.

Crow About It

You don't have to be a famous actor with a crappy rock band if you feel a burning desire to read poetry before a live audience. And the good news is that at Lismore's monthly Live Poets evening, you won't be edited.

The Live Poets return to the Rous Hotel, Lismore, next Wednesday, March 20, with a lucrative poetry slam. For a good two minute poem, you can win almost as much as the fee for Gladiator - well, $100 anyway. The comp is open to anyone.

Also featuring is guest poet Stephen Oliver, from the land of the long white metaphor. He'll be performing works from his latest collection, Night of Warehouses.

As always, there's open and invited readings.

Any questions, phone producer David Hallett on 6688 8294. But please don't threaten to punch him out.

Gypsy Duo

Two special performances by the Paganini Duo will be held next Tuesday and Wednesday, March 19-20 at the Channon Tea House.

The Paganini Duo is the collaboration between Polish violinist Gustaw Szelski and German guitarist/cellist, Georg Mertens-Moussa.

The duo perform an eclectic mix of Hungarian and Spanish gypsy tunes and many of the songs in their current repertoire are from their latest CD, Blue Mountains Gypsies, which will be available at the gig.

People are invited to dress up as gypsies for the shows, which both start at 7.30pm.

Tickets are $15/10 and kids $5 at the door.

Selling Yourself

Northern Rivers Dance Action will present a Creative Marketing workshop for dancers and performing artists next Saturday, March 23 at the Byron Bay Primary School Hall.

The workshop will be led by Cate Cormack, a marketing communication specialist with more than 20 years experience. Cate has worked on many different projects, including the Olympic bid for Melbourne, and she currently teaches through ACE.

The workshop will give people an opportunity to share ideas on promotion and marketing and while the workshop is focused on dance practice, other artists are welcome.

During the workshop Cate will also look at 'creating, capturing and keeping audience mindshare', which basically gives participants an idea of how to effectively engage an audience or a student, to keep them coming back.

The workshop costs $12 and will run from 1.30-4.30pm. Places are limited and interested people should RSVP to Emma ASAP on 6622 0300.

Good & Bad

The good news is that the brilliant Michael Franti and his band Spearhead arrive in Byron this weekend for a series of three concerts at the Great Northern. The bad news is that unless you've got a ticket already, you're going to have to listen through the brick walls - the gigs are already sold out.

One Banana Two

Entries are now being taken for the Cool Bananas Short Film Festival to be held in Coffs Harbour later this year.

Films must run for under 10 minutes, be shot on video in any genre and include a banana. There are two award categories - youth (18 and under) and an open, with prizes for the best films in both categories. For entry details, deadlines and guidelines phone
Robbie on 6656 4829.

Singing in Easter via Satellite

People can watch the Easter Celebration in Word and Song concert live from Sydney Town Hall this weekend without going further than your local Seventh Day Adventist Church.

The Seventh Day Adventist Churches in Lismore and Alstonville both have the facilities to down-link the concert live by satellite and people of all denominations are welcome to attend.

The concert, compered by former This Is Your Life host, Roger Climpson, will feature performances by the Combined Churches Choir and the Australian Boys and Girls Choir as well as the Sydney Congress Hall Band and the The Salvation Army.

While the concert is free, donations are always appreciated, with any proceeds being used to buy bibles for communities in the Solomon Islands and China.

The live broadcast will be held this Saturday, March 16 at the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Lismore (44 Uralba Street) and Alstonville (about 1km up Pearces Creek Road) from 7pm.

A Cheeky Concert

Cindy Hall from Beefcheeks performs with Indigena at the regular jazz night at Maggie Moores next Wednesday.

The regular jazz night at Maggie Moores will take on a funky flavour next Wednesday, March 20 when bands Beefcheeks and Indigena perform.

Beefcheeks predominantly play chunky grooves and rhythmic blues combined with Latin, jazz and funk influences.

Anyone who loves dancing to drums will particularly like Indigena, who cross-blend Afro-Latin chant with hip hop rhyme. Blend this with jazz and blues elements, and you have an energetic, soulful and highly original sound that is fantastic for dancing or listening.

The bands will be joined by Sean Tait on keyboards and saxophone, Nick Adams on drums, Linden Lester and Scott Greenway on bass and many other special guests. The gig start at 8.30pm. Tickets are $5 at the door.

New NORPA Season Fires up the Barbie

Northern Rivers Performing Arts (NORPA) has started a new initiative called NORPA Community Partnerships to raise money for the St Vincent's Palliative Care Unit and the Our Kids Northern Rivers Children's Health Fund.

Throughout the year NORPA will hold a number of charity concerts to raise money for the two organisations, the first of which was held a fortnight ago with the RAAF Air Command Band.

Presenting the proceeds cheque of $924.82 to coordinator of Palliative Care Services, Jenny McFarlane (far right) last week was (l-r) major sponsor Heather Williams from the Northern Rivers Echo, NORPA fundraising coordinator Dee Tipping and major sponsor Warren Elliott from Channel Ten.

As well as donating money to the two organisations, NORPA will also give the volunteers from the organisations free tickets to the concerts as a thank you for their efforts. The charity concerts will be held about once every two months.

The curtain was lifted on NORPA's 2002 Season programme at Lismore City Hall on Tuesday.

Lyndon Terracini, NORPA's Artistic Director, described NORPA's 10th season as 'a celebration of art and artists' and there's much to celebrate.

The first show of the season will be the World Premiere of the NORPA produced music theatre cabaret piece, Mr Barbeque.

Starring Terracini, Mr Barbeque combines the talents of some of Australia's most distinguished artists, including Elena Kats-Chernin (music), Janis Balodis (text) and Eamon D'Arcy (design).

Members of The Queensland Orchestra will accompany Terracini on the newly extended stage at Lismore City Hall in April. Mr Barbeque is a funny and entertaining observation of the great Australian barbeque and a great opportunity to see Terracini performing in his 'own backyard'.

Fans of comedy and all things Irish are in for a double treat with The Sydney Theatre Company's production of Stones in His Pockets and La Boite Theatre's production of Milo's Wake keeping things light during the winter months.

The show will open at Lismore City Hall in May and is guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser. With as many laughs as a stand-up comedy, Stones in His Pockets will be a dazzling night at the theatre. Actors Jeremy Stanford and Greg Stone play their hob-nailed boots off performing 13 roles between them. The result is a fast paced and quick witted piece of Irish comedy.

Milo's Wake was awarded the 2001 NSW Premier's Literary Award for Best Play, and the 2000 QLD Matilda Award. Featuring fabulous performances from the ensemble cast and live music on stage with The Wren Boys, Lismore audiences can share the craic, the stories, the singing the madness, the melancholy and the Guinness at the Star Court Theatre in June.

The Seed was first developed by NORPA in 2000. A collaboration between choreographers Bernadette Walong and Michael Hennessy, The Seed received a well-deserved standing ovation from a spellbound opening night audience. Featuring six of Australia's leading contemporary dancers, The Seed will be performed at Southern Cross University in July. It's an enthralling dance-theatre experience.

Shakespeare lovers will welcome a return visit by the Bell Shakespeare Company at Lismore City Hall in August. Performing the classic, The Taming of the Shrew, Bell Shakespeare are renowned for contemporary interpretations of William Shakespeare's most popular works.

The final production in NORPA's 2002 Season is HIT Production's Talking Heads by the celebrated English writer, Alan Bennett.

Starring Joan Sydney (A Country Practice) and Kevin Harrington (Sea Change), Talking Heads will be performed at the Star Court Theatre in September. These monologues shine with Alan Bennett's unique take on human foibles; they are inspiring, darkly funny, wise and deeply moving.

Tickets for each show in the NORPA 2002 Season are now on sale.

For bookings call the Northern Rivers Ticket Centre on 66215600 and ask about our special group booking discounts. If you would like a season brochure or more information on shows, call NORPA on 6622 0300.

Crafty Guitarists

Acclaimed four piece Guitar Trek play at Southern Cross University this Saturday.

The dynamic Australian quartet Guitar Trek formed in 1987 as a guitar family project, that has since become an acclaimed success story with critics and audiences alike.

Guitar Trek's pioneering and unique family of guitars of different sizes - treble, standard, baritone and bass guitars, has opened up an undreamt of new world of sound and creative possibilities for the guitar.

While the newly developed instruments remain closely related to the standard guitar in design, the resultant four-voiced ensemble has a range of over five octaves, creating a stunning, larger-than-life aural spectrum of all the guitar's most appealing timbral qualities, with a striking visual impact and a richness of colour and depth of sound that have captivated audiences world wide.

With new Austalian music at its heart, the groups fresh, innovative and popular approach to repertoire has taken it across all musical boundaries, breaking the sound barrier between different styles and tastes in the process.

Audiences and critics alike have readily acknowledged the outstanding significance of Guitar Trek's work and the group has been still more highly acclaimed for the extraordinary energy, assurance and musical quality of its playing. Their CDs on ABC Classics have become best sellers, and they'll be playing music by Boccherini, Albeniz, Pachelbel and Gershwin in the opening concert of Musica Viva's new season this Saturday, March 16, from 8pm.

The concert is at Southern Cross University's White Brook Theatre on Saturday, March 16, starting at 8pm.

Tickets are now on sale from the Northern Rivers Ticket Centre in Molesworth Street, Lismore. Phone 6621 5600 or at the door on the night.

Local Gig Guide