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Join the cream of Australia’s theatre crop for this very special event to celebrate the publication of Colin Batrouney’s second novel, Creative Writing for Beginners.Actor Geoffrey Rush, director…
Studying a book or film can be a short-cut to consigning it to boredom. But our Texts in the City series – a gift to students, their teachers and lifelong learners – brings the VCE English and…
Once the Apple Isle, Tasmania’s size and isolation made it the butt of mainland jokes. But those qualities – and its stunning natural environment – are now seen as major advantages. And the buzz…
Adam Zwar directs a reading of the classic American film, presented in a distinctly Australian accent.Twelve actors will inhabit the roles of twelve unnamed jurors (a cross-section of society…
The courtroom: the ultimate arena for dramatising issues of justice and morality, and a stage where the most admirable and most despicable elements of human nature are performed in equal measure…
There was a suitably festive atmosphere at the Regent Ballroom for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards dinner last night, as writers swapped their standard work wear of tracksuit pants and…
Over the past week or so, we’ve been celebrating Melbourne’s arts festivals at the Wheeler Centre Dailies.Today, we interview Brett Sheehy, artistic director of the Melbourne International Arts…
In this instalment of Texts in the City, we look at Hannie Rayson’s Two Brothers. Host Ruby Murray and guest speaker Stephen Armstrong examine the text’s themes of political and social justice…
Dava Sobel is the author of Longitude, Galileo’s Daughter, The Planets, and A More Perfect Heaven: How Copernicus Revolutionized the Cosmos. In this appearance, she speaks with ABC Radio National’s R…
In this globalised world, we’re increasingly drawn to stories from other places; talesthat immerse us in faraway cultures. And where better to find our stories than in fellowUNESCO Cities of…
In this session of Texts in the City, Andrew McDonald is joined by Josh Nelson to discuss Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire. (For dedicated students, Tony Wilson and Hannie Rayson…
In this major new weekly series hosted by Ramona Koval, running in parallel with the university calendar, contemporary writers speak on seminal Australian texts, giving context, sharing their…
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Australian Writers’ Guild, David Williamson AO – president of the AWG and acclaimed playwright and screenwriter – presents a major State of the Industry…
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Australian Writers’ Guild, a major State of the Industry Address will be presented by David Williamson AO, president of the AWG and Australia’s most…
No matter how compelling a novel or a film might be, if you have to study it, there’s always the risk you’ll end up hating it. Not any more! A gift to VCE students, their teachers (and of course…
This year, PEN Melbourne’s annual International Women’s Day event features a conversation with the playwright Tracey Rigney, a Wotjobaluk and Ngarrindjeri woman from Victoria and South Australia…
What are the challenges and new possibilities of writing for radio in the digital age? Online listening means that local networks are now portals to the world. Is this a boom or a bust for the local …
A gift to VCE students, their teachers (and of course life-long learners) Texts in the City is a weekly exploration of the classic texts – both old and new – that appear on the VCE English reading…
The National Theatre of Scotland (NTS) has taken responsibility for what a Scottish national theatre might be through innovative programming and having no building. They tour extensively across…
What makes a work travel? What role can cultural agencies play in ‘internationalising’ a writer and their work? How can companies work internationally? And how can writers get heard overseas?Another …
Writers and theatre-makers may take a unique approach to the world evoked in their works but all can’t help but let the world around them seep into the pores, the cracks, the architecture, the…
We’re always a broad church here at the Wheeler Centre and never more so than at Christmas time. Forget tinsel and fairy lights; we’re making our own festivities with two big events on the one big…
Tom Stoppard joins us to speak about a career that spans nearly half a century. The winner of an Academy Award, four Tonys and a Gold Lion, Tom is the creator of several classic works for stage and s…
Tom Stoppard joins us to speak about a career that spans nearly half a century. The winner of an Academy Award, four Tonys and a Gold Lion, he’s joined in discussion by writer and critic Alison…
Today we finish our week-long series of reviews written by Victorian librarians of books shortlisted for the Premier’s 21. There are five categories, and we’ve published a different category every…
Each year the country’s peak academic body for Australian writing – Association for the Study of Australian Literature – comes together to unpick and discuss the ideas and climate of our literary…
Between the academy and the marketplace, how well do we look after our playwrights, and what is the health of our theatre community? Raimondo Cortese, Hannie Rayson, Lally Katz and Jenny Kemp…
In this instalment of Texts in the City, Hannie Rayson and Tony Wilson turn their eye to A Streetcar Named Desire — the classic play by Tennessee Williams.Want more? See our 2012 Texts in the City…
Respected stage and screen actor Barry Otto joins Tony Wilson in this fifth Texts in the City session, this time looking at Louis Nowra’s Così.Drawing on Otto’s experience of playing colourful…
(Click to watch video.) Why is it that we see so few plays by Australian women on stage? Why is it that women are still so under-represented, despite the…
Why do we see so few plays by Australian women?Something, somewhere, in Australian theatre is not working. Are female playwrights not out there, or are they being denied opportunities? And if there i…
Why do we see so few plays by Australian women?Playwrights Patricia Cornelius and Van Badham, Artistic Directors Marion Potts and Ralph Myers and moderator Chris Mead discuss contemporary Australian …
Depiction of Queen Scheherazade telling her stories to King Shahryar in The Arabian Nights, via WikiCommons Arnold Zable’s popular story collection Cafe Scheherazade has…
Life is a musical old chum… but how do those who write for Music Theatre even begin? How does song relate to story? Do you sacrifice narrative integrity in the name of something you can tap your toe …
Sydney Opera House 1975, image by Gregory Melle, Flickr A theatrical wildfire has sparked up at Crikey following a review of David Williamson’s sequel to Don’s Party, Don…
Click to watch video. Playwright Hannie Rayson is over our politicians. “There’s something excessively enervating about opinion polls,” she argues as she…
Let us assail your ears, with an afternoon conversation between two of Australia’s leading graphic novelists and illustrators. In her 2007 adaptation of The Great Gatsby, Nicki Greenberg burst onto t…
Moving forward, playwright Hannie Rayson laments the uninspired, derivative and vapid catch phrases of the contemporary Australian politician. Turning to her theatre background, she considers how…
Despite all the corporate weasel words about leadership, during the election campaign we were glued to our tellies longing for a glimpse of a fully-fledged leader in action. Did either party…
Is theatre criticism in Australia failing practitioners and audiences? In this energetic discussion, Alison Croggon, Julian Meyrick, Cameron Woodhead and Stephen Sewell assess the role of the…
The Independent reports that Agatha Christie’s heirs are dragging Wikipedia to court for the online encyclopedia’s spoilers that give away the plot twists and ending of the 1952 mystery play.Wikipedi…
