Cirrus@Austlit

'Gabriel is a nuclear engineer. Cassie is an anti-nuclear campaigner. For nearly thirty years their lives have collided and entwined, with Cassie’s cause dominating public opinion across the decades. But with political change rumbling underfoot, Cassie’s life’s work could yet be undone—and it’s all led to this explosive night.

'Against the enflamed background of one of Australia’s most divisive environmental issues, Alana Valentine’s tender, surprising new play interrogates the intersection of personal ambition and global responsibility.'

Source: Griffin Theatre.

'The fascinating true story of Wayside Chapel in Kings Cross, Sydney a quiet revolution in Australian history, from a side street of the red-light district.

'Alana Valentine's mother, Janice, was married by the charismatic and controversial Methodist minister Ted Noffs at the Wayside Chapel in 1969. Not long after that, however, Janice died, leaving behind many unresolved questions for her family. Years later, Alana found a photo of her mother on her wedding day, and the longing to speak to her about that day â" a day when her mother radiated hope for a new beginning â" drove her to seek out and find others who had begun new chapters of their lives at Wayside, an institution that is etched into the folklore of Sydney and this country more generally.

'As part of the research process for the play that was to become Wayside Bride, staged at Belvoir Theatre in 2022, Alana set up a website where people could upload stories and photos of their own marriages. This book contains many of the remarkable stories that didn't make their way into the play, stories that reshape our understanding of this country's social history, from a uniquely Australian institution where people have been welcomed for decades in spite of social taboos around race, class, religion and sexuality.' (Publication summary)

'Inspired by a story from Stephen’s grandmother from the Ngugi/Nunukul/Moondjan people of Minjerribah (Stradbroke Island), Baleen Moondjan celebrates First Nations’ relationships between baleen whales and communities’ totemic systems. The signature elements that have defined Stephen Page’s career are all present in this work with dramatic storytelling, striking choreography and haunting live music integrated into a stunningly designed world from Jacob Nash.  

'Set amongst giant whale bones on the sandy shores of Glenelg, Baleen Moondjan tells the story of a proud Elder, a curious granddaughter and the day a baleen whale comes close to shore. The whale is there to catch Granny Gindara’s spirit and carry it out to sea – a farewell, a celebration, a poignant start to a final journey. Baleen Moondjan recognises the intertwining relationships between all living creatures and our connection to earth,  sky and sea.'

Source: Production blurb.

'Fusing inquest transcripts, press clippings, private correspondence, real and imagined monologues spanning five decades of anti-gay violence, and 30 years of research by local historian Tim Reeves, this joint commission between Adelaide Festival, Feast Festival and State Opera South Australia demands the embrace of all thinking audiences, but is of special importance to this city.'

Source: State Opera South Australia.

'Alive in the present, our story is not past

'In the deep darkness just before dawn, workmen find bones while excavating for a dam. Among the workers is Bilin, a Yugambeh man, who convinces his colleagues to let him keep the ancestral remains. This ancestor is Wudjang, who, along with her young companion spirit, Gurai, longs to be reburied in the proper way.

'Composed of poetry, spoken storytelling, live music and the astonishing choreography for which Bangarra Dance Theatre is internationally renowned, Wudjang: Not the Past is an epic-scale new co-production featuring 17 dancers, four musicians, and five actors.

'Directed and co-created by Bangarra’s Artistic Director Stephen Page (Bloodland, The Secret River, Bennelong), and featuring Mibinyah language from his home on Yugambeh Country, this ambitious and powerful piece of performance illuminates the ways in which ancient traditions continue to guide and strengthen current and future generations of First Nations people.'

Source: Sydney Theatre Company.

'After years of research, and a lot of help from the community, Alana Valentine’s much-anticipated story of a little chapel in a back street of the Cross premieres at Belvoir. The Wayside Chapel under the Reverend Ted Noffs set itself up for those who might not find a place elsewhere to welcome them, and over the years has become a home and haven in a sometimes brutal town.

'This play is about the quietly revolutionary act of marriage – sometimes in the face of fierce resistance from family, from society, from the church hierarchy. It’s the story of a space where those who didn’t quite fit in to the mainstream could have their walk down the aisle.

'Moving, inspiring, Valentine’s play is about all of us – and a portrait of this city at its raffish, recalcitrant best.' (Production summary)

'INVENTOR. DISSENTER. INERTIA BUSTER

'A mesmerising series of songs. A spellbinding portrait of scientific endeavour. A homage to invention in our country that will inspire and challenge the belief ‘everything good gets invented somewhere else’.

'This compelling story of visionary Australian scientist David Warren and the invention that transformed technological and aeronautical history explores the core human emotions behind the world-changing Black Box Flight Recorder. Feel the pain of parochialism, the unconscious grind of childhood grief, and the elation of hard-won success.'

Source: The Street Theatre.

'‘Mostly it feels like you don’t know—like you’re reaching for something that you can’t quite grab. Some writers talk about their fear of the blank page, but the playwright who draws work from life can have the opposite problem. Spoilt for choice. Presented with myriad possibilities and competing ideas of how to condense the source material or arrange it in a theatrically dynamic, original and compelling way. Lost in a sea of options, yet perversely obsessed with the interview not done, the perspective not transcribed, the final piece of the jigsaw forever elusive. And it’s not about a lack of confidence, although that can hum away in the background for longer than you might expect. It’s about not trying to have clarity. It’s about waiting until you do.’

'So begins Bowerbird, a journey through the life and plays of Alana Valentine, as well as the creative process behind the plays. One of Australia’s most inventive playwrights, Alana shows the power of bringing new audiences into our theatres to share the space with traditional audiences, detailing how to gather and transform lived experience into compelling drama. In Bowerbird she reveals the motor of her artistry by combining stories from her life with observations from her experience.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Narelle is a high achiever, a lawyer, with working-class roots and political clout. But something keeps bringing her back to Pyrmont. This peninsula was her family’s bedrock, and the home of her extraordinary grandmother June, who held everything together through the decades: a son’s brush with the law, a daughter’s battles with demons, a husband’s decline.

'Life revolved around the sugar refinery. For a time this was the sweetest neighbourhood in the country. But the family bedrock, like the sugar, has dissolved away. Narelle can’t fix the past, but maybe she can fix the future.

'A story of Sydney – work and corruption, family and massive social change. A story of how Australia went from working class to middle class. Best of all, the great Kris McQuade returns to Belvoir.' (Production summary)

'The Azaria Chamberlain case was one of the most followed and documented murder trials in our nation's history. And we responded with grief, rage, prejudice and remorse to Lindy directly, through thousands of letters. 

'Here, Alana Valentine uses a selection of the letters sent to Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton to capture Australians' reaction to the loss of Azaria. The court of public opinion made its own ruling in the case, shown in the hurtful, supportive, accusatory or sympathetic letters received by Lindy in prison. Some of the letters are full of vitriol; some include bizarre theories. More are compassionate, sent by mothers, by people of faith or by those who had suffered similar tragedies. We hear Lindy's voice too, in candid conversations with the author. 

'The selection is a time capsule of Australia, a reflection of our attitudes and of how far we've come. These are the letters, poems and works of art we were compelled to send to Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton.' (Publication summary)

'Meet Barbara and her band the Camp Dogs. Barbara’s been trying to make it in Sydney but maybe this just isn’t her town. In all the relentless demands of city life, where’s the sense of belonging she craves? It’s time to take a break with her cousin René.

With Ursula Yovich as Barbara and Casey Donovan as her redoubtable cousin, Barbara and the Camp Dogs is a rock-gig musical about love and home.' (Production summary)

'One Billion Beats is a new theatre work that draws together Australian cinematic history with poetry and original score. Conceived and performed by Goenpul Jagara/ Bundjulung poet and filmmaker Romaine Moreton, One Billion Beats examines the historical representation of Aboriginal people in Australian cinema and its projection onto Romaine’s own lived experience and personal stories.

'One Billion Beats is a profoundly political and resonant work, an act of intellectual courage and personal candour that will privilege an Indigenous perspective on cultural representation in film and beyond. This performance is a story of insight, horror, relevance and beauty.' (Production summary)

'There are three things that have divided this nation right down the centre. Conscription, Whitlam and Lindy Chamberlain.

'Filled with humour and heartbreak, this stunning new work by award-winning playwright Alana Valentine explores the public’s relationship with one of 20th Century Australia’s most iconic figures.

'The court case captivated a nation. A mother accused of murdering her child, her claim – that the baby was taken by a dingo – denied and discredited by zealous police and a flawed legal system. The media circus, the rumours, the nation’s prejudices laid bare. And in the eye of the storm – Lindy Chamberlain.

'Over three decades, from baby Azaria’s death to the final coroner’s report, the public’s fascination with Lindy has seldom waned. The National Library in Canberra holds a collection of more than 20,000 letters to Lindy. From sympathy to abuse, from marriage proposals to death threats and photos of dogs’ birthday parties (yes, really!), the correspondence traverses the gamut of human response to Lindy’s story.

'Letters to Lindy draws on this extraordinary correspondence and interviews with Lindy herself, to create an enthralling, revealing, and long overdue dialogue between Lindy and the nation. It paints a singular portrait of the heartbreak, wisdom and resilience of a grieving mother.' (Production summary)

'It’s Ladies Day at the Broome races and the divinely beautiful Mike is the toast of the track. But amongst the froth and festivity, a brutal act of violence reminds us that life is not just all swishy hemlines, debonair gents and fascinators galore.

'Alana Valentine is one of Australia’s best playwrights. Known for her incredibly successful verbatim works, she takes her interviews and research with individuals and communities, and mixes them with a healthy dose of drama. The result is powerful, thought-provoking theatre in which the voices of her protagonists ring absolutely true.

'Alana spent months interviewing the gay community of Broome to create a play that asks questions about tolerance, isolation, love, hope and the right to have your story told. Griffin is proud to present the world premiere of Ladies Day -­ a vivid, richly evocative play with a big heart, directed by Darren Yap.' (Production summary)

'Struggling to escape the world of prostitution, Kira has recently received a large sum of compensation money. Unsure what to do with it, and under pressure from an old friend, Kira meets Nina, a social worker in training, and an unlikely friendship develops.'

Source: BBC World Service (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/FJvJkgP6qYBzPHNMLmjzvS/alana-valentine). (Sighted: 28/9/2015)

'The Fox and the Freedom Fighters is a new theatre work about Aboriginal activist Charles ‘Chicka’ Dixon, told from the perspective of his daughter Rhonda Dixon-Grovenor and granddaughter Nadeena Dixon. An iconic figure in Australian history, Chicka’s political activism left his family at the wayside at the height of his success. Mother and daughter celebrate Chicka’s lifetime of achievements, which highlight the ongoing fight to maintain cultural and spiritual freedom for Indigenous Australians in this country. This is their story.' (Source: Performancespace website)