The Scene - Local Entertainment News

The Best of Both Worlds

If you're a big fan of live music but you also love a good DJ set, you enjoy the best of both worlds with The Bird - one of the few live bands that play electronica dance music.

Performing next Thursday, June 27, at the Great Northern Hotel in Byron Bay, The Bird are a dynamic duo featuring drumming by Ben Walsh and keyboards by Simon Durrington.

The Bird seem to effortlessly blend the two instruments to create a pumping live techno sound - but it's harder than it looks according to Ben.

"I have had people tell me it looks really easy - you can just play on the beat and everything would be fine, but that would be boring," Ben said. "We play an organic interpretation of computer generated electronic music - a style encompassing drum and bass, break beats and trance music. It takes a lot of practice and a keen sense of rhythm to pull it off."

The Sydney-based duo have become well-known throughout Australia for their experimental musical styles and fast-paced live shows. Another quality that has seen their success continue is their ability to adapt their music as dance music progresses.

"We're not your typical free tempo group (free tempo meaning improvisational), but we're very experimental," Ben said, while Simon added "I think we're both very apt at playing organic techno because of our constant tendency to change our musical and mental outlooks."

The Bird play an electronic jazz/dub style of music - Ben playing drums and numerous forms of percussion while Simon layers bass lines and melodies on his keyboards.

The Bird performs next Thursday, but the band are popular so book now to ensure you get a ticket. Tickets are $12 (to book phone 6685 6454). Doors open at 9pm.

A Great Writers' Festival Ahead

The 2002 Byron Bay Writers Festival Program was launched on Friday night at the Byron Bay Beach Resort, home of the Festival. With 100 people in attendance the Festival program was received with great enthusiasm.

Chris Hanley, MC for the evening, reminded everyone of the Festival's small beginnings and the amazing growth that has occurred over its six-year history. He applauded the role of both sponsors and volunteers, pointing out that without them there would be no Festival.

"Although it is impossible to mention everyone in person, it is all the sponsors listed in the Program and the 70 volunteers who deserve our accolades," Mr Hanley said.

He thanked the Festival's Principal Sponsors: Southern Cross University, Southern Cross University Division of Arts, Ten, The Australia Council, The NSW Ministry for the Arts, and Sharing a Thought for Byron, a local business organisation.

The launch offered a little taste of the Festival with Marele Day, Mungo MacCallum, Jean Bedford and Peter Corris taking part in a panel Message in a Bottle: alcohol and writing, discussing the pros and cons of drinking and writing. It demonstrated that the Writers festival is unlikely to be a dry event.

Running August 1-4, the program features the cream of Australian writers. The user-friendly guide, sets out feature events, workshops, school events and the main program. Designed so you can buy a pass to all three days, two days, one day or just one single session, it has something for everyone.

You can get your copy of the program all over the district at bookshops, libraries, cafes or by calling 6685 6554 or dropping into Jetset Byron Bay where tickets went on sale this week.

If the launch is anything to go by it will be a sell out again this year, so make sure you take advantage of the 'early bird rates' and get in quickly.

String Quartet

The Goldner String Quartet perform at St Mary's Anglican Church in Ballina next Friday.

Musica Viva will present a special concert featuring the highly-acclaimed Goldner String Quartet next Friday, June 28 at St Mary's Anglican Church in Ballina from 8pm.

Formed in 1995, the quartet comprises four string players from the Australian Ensemble and is named after Richard Goldner, the renowned inventor and founder of the original Musica Viva Australia.

The quartet's members - Dene Olding and Dimity Hall on violin, Irina Morozova on viola and Julian Smiles on cello - are all well-known, having had principal positions in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Australian Chamber Orchestra. The quartet has an extensive repertoire and received particular acclaim for performances of Beethoven and 20th century music. Recently the quartet performed at the Brighton International Festival and the Newbury Spring Festival in England, where the festival's artistic director commented "they were a highlight of the festival, overwhelming all who were present".

Next Friday's performance will be all the more special thanks to a guest appearance by accomplished cellist, David Berlin, who has played with just about every Symphony Orchestra in Australia as well as with the World Philharmonic Orchestra.

Tickets are available from the ABC Store in Ballina on 6686 2436.

Birnham Wood doth come to Lismore

With the pricking of my thumb... Russell Eldridge plays Macbeth in the Lismore season of the Bard's play next week.

After 10 weeks in rehearsal, the Lismore Theatre Company will present its latest production, Shakespeare's Macbeth, next week at the Star Court Theatre.

Well-known local performers Russell Eldridge and Linda Rutledge will play the title roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, with 14 other actors aged between 10 and 50-something rounding out the cast.

The epic tragedy is directed by nationally-acclaimed director Peter Barclay.

"Macbeth is a perennial play that comes back with relevance every so often," said. "I feel it's suited to the political climate at the moment. It looks at how, when a society becomes fearful of its leaders, fear becomes the way of thinking and I think it's concurrent to what's happening in western governments."

Peter says the production will be really helpful for local HSC students studying Macbeth as well as being a great night out for theatre-goers.

"Macbeth is a beautiful piece of work - I think it's one of the best plays in the English language," he said. "And we've kept the sets very simple, so we can push the quality and beauty of the lines and the poetry of the play. For young people in the region studying Macbeth I think it will be a great experience. That sense of aliveness isn't there when you read the text, and seeing the performance will be much more engaging. A lot of energy has gone into the play and we really hope locals will get behind the event and support us."

Macbeth will be performed from Thursday to Saturday, June 27-29 at the Star Court Theatre. Tickets are $15/12 and $10 for students, from Caddies in Lismore or Bangalow.

Coochie Coo

The Hoochers songwriters Jodie Digney (vocalist) and Matt Elliott (lead/rhythm guitar) perform with the band next Tuesday at Maggie Moores.

Local five-piece band, The Hoochers, will take to the stage next Tuesday, June 25, at Maggie Moores for the weekly blues night.

Formed in 1993, the band performs a mixed bag of music, combining elements of funk, jazz, rock, swing, bop and jive with a basic blues sound and a theatrical live show.

"Our music is unique and doesn't fit into one category," vocalist and songwriter, Jodie Digney, said. "It's basically an alternative style of blues which is funked up and energised."

The Hoochers released their debut CD Funkadelic Fever in 1997. Their sensational second album, Absofunkinbluesly, was released in 1999, and a copy of the CD will be given away at Tuesday night's gig.

As good as their recordings are, live performance is where the band really excels and they promise a fabulous night of music for blues lovers and funk fanatics alike.

Tickets are $8/6 at the door. The gig starts at 8.30pm.

Freebie: The Echo has one double pass to giveaway to this gig. To go in the draw to win phone 6622 2888 between 10 & 10.10am on Monday, June 24.

Doin' It for Themselves

Actors Susan Hedditch and Georgia Martin in a scene from Barmaids, which is being performed at the Mullumbimby Drill Hall.
Photo by John W McCormick.

Performances of Playaround Productions' new play, Barmaids, continue this weekend at the Mullumbimby Drill Hall.

The two-woman play, starring Susan Hedditch and Georgia Martin, is about Nancy and Cheryl, two mature barmaids who work at The Arms Hotel in an Australian port town.

New management at the pub puts the barmaids' jobs in jeopardy, as they see a new breed of karaoke singing, topless-barmaids moving in on their territory.

Through this avenue the play looks at the challenges women face everyday in terms of relationships, love, ageing and being valued for their work.

Barmaids will be performed this Friday-Sunday, June 21-23 and next weekend, June 28-30. The play starts at 8pm on all days except Sunday. On Sundays it starts at 7pm.

Tickets are $18/15 at the door.

Freebie: The Echo has one double pass to giveaway to Barmaids. To go in the draw to win phone 6622 2888 between 10.30 & 10.40am on Monday, June 24.

Pupa and Junbung

Above: Lismore TAFE students (l-r) Kath Richardson, Jacqui Williams, Nicole Sten and Charlotte Williams with some of the artworks from their current exhibition, Pupa.

Two new exhibitions by local TAFE students studying Aboriginal art and sculpture, Pupa and Junbung, will open today in Lismore and Casino respectively.

Both exhibitions have been created by the graduating students of the North Coast Institute of TAFE's Goori Artists Certificate 3 of Visual Art course, which is run in both Lismore and Casino.

All exhibiting artists - who range in age from early 20s to mid-60s - have completed the three year course, and are displaying their works from the last 12 months.

The Lismore exhibition, Pupa features paintings which fuse together traditional Aboriginal art with a contemporary artistic approach. Sculpture can be seen in a variety of materials including wood plaster, clay, aerated concrete and even camphor laurel.

Pupa will be on show at the Lismore campus's Drill Hall Gallery on Friday, June 21 as well as on Monday and Tuesday, June 24-25, from 10am-4pm daily.

While the students exhibiting in both shows did the same course, the Casino exhibition, Junbung, is slightly different in that it features a wider variety of media. Artworks include paintings, sculpture, intaglio prints, drawings, woodwork, batik and screen prints.

Junbung is open from today until Friday, June 28 at Buyinbin in the Casino Industrial Estate. The Buyinbin gallery is open Monday to Friday, from 10am-3pm.

For more information on either exhibition phone 6626 6400 or 6662 6672.

Refugee Film

To raise money to help rebuild a girls' school in Afghanistan, the Rural Australian for Refugees will present a screening of the film Kandahar this Sunday, June 23, at Lismore Cinema.

Former Alstonville woman, Rahima Sarmed, returned to home town of Herat in Afghanistan in March, to find her home almost completely destroyed. During Taliban rule all education systems were destroyed or dismantled and Rahima is now working with the UNHCR to try and re-build and equip the same girls' school where she was educated as a child.

"It's not easy to talk about Herat," Rahima said. "The city was once called the pearl of the world, but today nothing is left of that pearl. I've been working with the UNHCR since I put my feet in Herat."

The film, Kandahar, by Mohsen Makhmalbaf, is based on a true story, was given four stars by The Movie Show's David Stratton and is rated PG.

The movie is about Nafas, an Afghan-born journalist who flees the country as a teenager to live in Canada. Then Nafas receives a letter from her sister who has been maimed by a landmine, is under Taliban control and has vowed to kill herself in three days time. Nafas sets out on a perilous journey where it is illegal to travel alone and she must hide herself behind the required burga.

Tickets to the film screening are $10 from Caddies or at the door. The film starts at 3.30pm.

Great Band

The Matthew Flinders Anglican College Concert Band will perform two concerts next week - on Tuesday, June 25, at St Mary's Church in Ballina and on Wednesday, June 26, at the Lismore Uniting Church, both from 7pm.

The band's conductor, John Thomas, has had an illustrious career in brass bands, having won national and world solo titles in his 35 years playing throughout Australia and the UK.

Eight years ago he began teaching at the college and in that time he has developed a fine concert band, which placed second at the World Projects Festival in Sydney in 1997.

The band has been invited to compete in the event again in 2003.

Over the last five years the band has won three awards at the Australian Academy of Music Festival in Brisbane, two of those being first place.

For tickets or more information phone 6621 5801.

Ball Tickets

Tickets are still available for the Masked Ball, to be held after the Lismore Lantern Parade tomorrow, June 21, at Lismore City Hall.

Presented by the Northern Rivers Conservatorium, the Masked Ball will feature entertainment by local performers including the Conservatorium dancers, percussion maestro Greg Sheehan, jazz performers Sharni Russell and James Sherlock, belly dancing troupe Snakeweave and many more.

Tickets are $33 including dinner and bookings are essential (phone 6621 2266). Tickets to the ball only are $16/11 at the door. The ball start at 8.30pm.

Cup Fever Fundraisers

The Great Northern Hotel in Byron Bay is hosting its very own World Cup Kickabout this Sunday, June 23, at 8pm to raise funds for the Uncle Project.

Individuals or teams representing various nationalities will be taking part.

Great Northern Hotel manager Laurie Driscoll said "The competitive spirit of our event among nations is bound to fuel World Cup fever even more and create a wonderful atmosphere in the town."

Prizes up for grabs include Fila footballs, cartons of beer and an Opal Nera Jacket.

All proceeds from the Kickabout will be donated to the Uncle Project. "The Uncle project seems like the most appropriate cause for us to support given that football predominantly attracts males.

"Football's a great form of entertainment for bringing families and communities together and our event and the Uncle Project are perfectly allied to enhance this."

NORPA presents THE SEED

A Dance Theatre Production

Dance enthusiasts need wait no longer. The next installment of the NORPA 2002 program is an exciting dance theatre production first premiered in the NORPA 2000 Season.

Greeted enthusiastically by Lismore audiences in that year, The Seed, (by choreographers Michael Hennessy and Bernadette Walong), will be performed at the Whitebrook Theatre at Southern Cross University, July 19-20 before touring venues in regional NSW and Sydney.

Having reworked the production, Lismore-based Hennessy says "To get to a stage that we can now take a contemporary dance work out to other regional centres as well as to Sydney Metropolitan areas has been one of my aims. Not just to have a 'showing' elsewhere, but to create works in a regional centre that can help to establish a strong representation of our ideas, identity and of our work in and through dance.

"I love the idea that this sort of work can be created outside metropolitan areas and then taken to these audiences rather than the other way around." The seed was first planted during discussions between Michael Hennessy and indigenous dancer Russell Page (Bangarra Dance Theatre).

Originally talks centred on a work purely in 'dance terms' but due to the political climate of the times the intention of featuring indigenous and non-indigenous dancers in non-political or racial identifying terms became nearly impossible.

"The idea wasn't necessarily to focus on racial origins, but the more we got into it, the harder it was to separate from it," Hennessy said.

As The Seed developed under the guidance of Walong and Hennessy it became neither a political or racial showcase as such, but more about our shared origins.

Some of Australia's most recognisable and exciting contemporary dancers will feature in this new incarnation of The Seed. Alfred Taahi formerly of the Sydney Dance Company and Australian Dance Theatre, Jade Dewi Tyas Tunggal who featured in the 2000 production of The Seed, Marilyn Miller who has worked with Bangarra Dance Theatre and The Queensland Ballet; Dujon Niue who has recently toured internationally with Fresh Dance Company, dancer and choreographer Jennifer Newman-Preston and Jason Northam, a former North Coast resident and student of Hennessy's.

Other changes to the production include a new lighting design by Bernie Tan and a new set to be designed by Rohan Shearn, (NORPA's General Manager in his spare time).

The Seed will tour in July and August of this year, but as with all NORPA productions, Lismore audiences will have the opportunity to see the production first.

We hope that dance enthusiasts and theatre lovers will join us at the Whitebrook Theatre in July to help support and celebrate a beautiful and profound piece of locally produced dance theatre.

The Seed has been funded by the NSW Ministry for the Arts, Dance Fund and the Centres of Excellence Program through the NORPA Creative Laboratory and the Australia Council for the Arts.

Use the form below to search through the Northern Rivers Echo Newspaper web site.

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