28th September – 4th October at the Arts Centre !

God of Carnage

29 August 2009 – 3 October 2009 at the Arts Centre, Playhouse.

Presented by the Melbourne Theatre Company.

‘God of Carnage is an expert piece of stagecraft and savagely funny.’ International Herald Trib

Human nature, red in tooth and claw. Yasmina Reza, the writer who drew maximum laughs from Minimalist art in Art, uses her corrosive wit to strip away the thin veneer of civilization.

The other day in the neighbourhood park, little Ferdinand whacked his playmate Bruno with a stick, breaking two teeth. So it is important that the parents of the boys set the right example and sit down to discuss the matter calmly and reasonably. After all, nothing will be gained by behaving like children …

‘Like her French comic predecessor Molière, Yasmina Reza knows that prejudice is just another name for seeing motes in everyone’s eye except your own. Delightfully airy and deliciously vicious, God of Carnage heats up quickly and rises out of its basic situation like a poisoned soufflé. O ur productions of Art and Life x 3 have both been sell-out hits for the Company and with Pamela Rabe lending her unsurpassed gifts for elegance and laser-like comic timing, Peter Evans’s production is bound to follow suit.’ Simon Phillips, MTC Artistic Director

Pricing

$58.20 – $79.20

Click onto my EVENTS CALENDAR for specific time and date of the event.

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Who’s That Chik?

29th September – 4th October at the Arts Centre, Fairfax Studio.

FULL TILT at the Arts Centre presents CANDY BOWERS in Who’s That Chik?.

A hip hop tale of a brown girl with big dreams

After the smashing success of Sista She and The House of The Holy Bootay in Australia and abroad, Candy Bowers is back in Melbourne with her Adidas smokin’ and this time she’s flying solo.

Who’s That Chik? is a razor-sharp, personal and political ride through the highs and lows, blocks and flows of growing up brown with an afro and big dreams in Australia. It is served up in Candy’s own hip hop comedy style – with plenty of sass, and a pinch of Lionel Richie to boot.

As the only brown girl in ballet class at Seena Bird Dance Academy, the only brown girl in drama class at NIDA then graduating into an industry of whiteness – this is the true story of Candy B, born to South African parents in North Dandenong.

In Who’s That Chik? Candy re-unites with her sister and long time musical collaborator Kim Bowers A.K.A Busty Beatz – the nastiest female beats producer in the Southern Hemisphere.

“…a killer sense of humour… everything about this girl is big from her hair to her talent” 4 stars The Brag

Pricing

$28 – $23
Preview on 29 Sept: All tickets $14

Groups 6+ $20 per person

Click onto my EVENTS CALENDAR for specific time and date of the event.

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And No More Shall We Part

30th September – 10th October 2009 at the Arts Centre, BlackBox Theatre.

Presented by A Bit of Argy Bargy.

After thirty years of marriage, what is there left to say?

Two of Melbourne’s finest actors, Denis Moore and Margaret Mills star in this deeply moving play about love, fear and the need to be together.

This production is the world premiere of another exquisitely wrought play by Tom Holloway with a moving and often humourous portrayal of the minutiae of a marriage dealing with the ultimate relationship crisis.

Supported by FULL TILT.
Part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival.

Time

7pm (except for Sunday at 6pm)

Pricing

Adult: $20

Concession: $15 (Pension card, Student*, Fringe Festival Artists**)
*available by phone or in person, ** available in person only

Tightarse Tuesdays (6 Oct): All tickets $15

Click onto my EVENTS CALENDAR for specific time and date of the event.

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Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

30th September – 4th October 2009 at the Arts Centre, State Theatre.

Presented by The Production Company

Based on the 1988 film, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is the story of two con artists living on the French Riviera. Suave and sophisticated Lawrence Jameson (Bille Brown) talks rich women out of their money while small-time crook Freddy Benson (Matt Hetherington) swindles them with tall tales of heroic deeds and sick grandmothers.

When these two meet they realise that Beaumont sur Mer isn’t big enough for the both of them. They agree that the first one to swindle $50,000 from heiress Christine Colgate can stay and the loser must leave town. But The American Soap Queen has a few tricks of her own.

Marina Prior returns to The Production Company in the role of Muriel Eubanks, a wealthy American divorcée who falls for Lawrence’s con and the charms of the local Chief of Police (Grant Piro).

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a riotous night in the theatre, complete with fake German accents, phony French royalty, corrupt police, and our two con-men taking on a variety of roles.

Freddy is Sergeant Buzz Benson, a war veteran with no feeling in his legs (aka Dance Fever) and Ruprecht, Lawrence’s mentally-challenged younger brother. Lawrence is the Prance, a prince fighting for his throne and Dr Emil Shuffhausen, a psychiatrist from Vienna who specialises in Dance Fever.

The outrageous score includes Give Them What They Want, Oklahoma?, What was a Woman to Do?, Love is My Legs, Ruffhousin’ Mit Shuffhausen and Like Zis/Like Zat.

Pricing

Adult: $84 / $62 / $39

On sale to general public on 1 Jun 2009

Click onto my EVENTS CALENDAR for specific time and date of the event.

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The Suicide Show

30th September – 10th October 2009 at the Arts Centre, BlackBox Theatre.

Presented by A Bit of Argy Barg.

An extravaganza of vaudevillian ennui, The Suicide Show is an exploration of men’s mental health and the Australian male suicide rate.

Blackly humourous, subversive, honest and deeply moving, you (and all the men you know) can’t afford to miss it.  Created by Martin White with Tom Holloway, Mark Jones and Stephen Taberner, The Suicide Show will stay with you long after the band has stopped playing.

Supported by FULL TILT.
Part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival.

Pricing

Adult: $20

Concession: $15 (Pension card, Student*, Fringe Festival Artists**)
*available by phone or in person, ** available in person only

Tightarse Tuesdays (6 Oct): All tickets $15

Click onto my EVENTS CALENDAR for specific time and date of the event.

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Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique: Master Series Concert 8

1st – 3rd October 2009 at the Arts Centre, Hamer Hall.

Presented by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

“Just as I was starting on my journey [to Paris in 1892], the idea came to me for a new symphony. This time with a program, but of the kind which remains an enigma to all…” So Tchaikovsky wrote of the symphony that he was to premiere just a few days before his death, and which has come to be seen as his finest symphonic achievement. In its melodic richness and emotional power, it is one of the greatest of all Romantic orchestral works.

Bartók’s Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste is, in effect, a concerto for two facing string orchestras in which percussion instruments literally take centre stage. It is a richly complex and beautiful piece, in which folk elements are completely absorbed into a deeply expressive, rhythmically exhilarating world of sound.

In her homage to the music of Argentinean composer Astor Piazzolla, Re-Collecting Astoroids, Elena Kats-Chernin’s aim is, likewise, to absorb his language into her own. As she says: “I am taking three of his pieces as a source of inspiration and moulding them into a piece of my own.”

Re-Collecting Astoroids was commissioned by Symphony Australia for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra with financial assistance from the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.

Paul Daniel conductor

Bartók – Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste
Kats-Chernin – Re-Collecting Astoroids (World Premiere)
Tchaikovsky – Symphony No.6 Pathétique

Pricing

Price type: Adult | concession | youth

Premium:  $125 | $100 | $75
A Reserve:$100 |  $80 | $60
B Reserve:  $80 |  $60 | $40
C Reserve:  $55 |  $45 | $30

Click onto my EVENTS CALENDAR for specific time and date of the event.

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Sounds of Colombia featuring Aterciopelados

4th October 2009, 6pm, at the Arts Centre, Hamer Hall.

Presented by the Arts Centre in association with Multicultural Arts Victoria.

‘A Spanish-language Patti Smith’ Rolling Stone

Fresh rhythms and sounds come to Hamer Hall this October from the heart of Colombia. Don’t miss this opportunity to see Latin Grammy Award winners and Colombian music icons Aterciopelados (the velvety ones) as part of the 2009 Mix It Up program.

Hector Buitrago’s stunning guitar melodies meld effortlessly with Andrea Echeverri’s soulful vocals to create songs that are influenced by a variety of Colombian and Latin American musical traditions as well as contemporary rock elements. Poetic, political and unique Aterciopelados has been honored by the United Nations for their work denouncing violence in Colombia and drawing attention to political injustice, women’s rights, and environmental destruction.

Aterciopelados will be supported by Melbourne band Kimbaya – a new and impassioned musical collaboration between Colombian born and Melbourne based songbird, Rose Páez and pianist, Vashti Sivell.

Arrive 2 hours prior to the show experience a taste of free performances, workshops and stalls as part of Colombia – Tierra Querida (Loved land) featuring Melbourne’s own Colombian and Latin American community.

“The miracle of Aterciopelados is that it backs up its message songs with beautiful, infectious music.” Billboard Magazine

Pricing

Premium: $79
A Reserve: $63 / $54/ $45
Dance Area A Reserve:  $63 / $54/ $45
B Reserve: $43/ $35 / $30

** Please Note: All Stalls seating is listed as Dance Area A Reserve. Audience members are invited to dance in this area if they wish. Please select seating in the Circle or Balcony areas if you do not wish to be in the Dance Area.

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