Anywhere Theatre Festival presents an exciting programme of performances for its debut season in Wollongong.
When it comes to performance, certain spaces come to mind. Plays happen in theatres, and comedy and music happen in bars. The Anywhere Theatre Festival has been redefining what kinds of spaces can be used for performance. After establishing itself in Brisbane, Mackay, Frankston and Parramatta, Anywhere Theatre Festival will make its Wollongong debut, something which excites Producer Tim Monley.
Tim MonleyTim has been performing theatre for much of his life, with a lot of love for unusual projects. A recent project of his was 'The Game' at the Woodford Folk Festival; a large scale interactive role-playing game featuring actors as characters in the game, and different adventures for players to take part in across the run of the festival. “It’s a festival that’s very much in alignment with the projects that I’ve done, and the stuff I believe about theatre and making the world more playful, more interesting and more fun,” Tim says. “I think Anywhere does that really well by taking everyone’s day-to-day environment and a whole bunch of spaces they’re not used to having art in and turning them into theatres and galleries. It’s a wonderful thing to do for the world.”
Click here for photos from the Wollongong programme launch.
'Elsie And The Bird'Past Anywhere Theatre Festivals have seen productions take over very unusual spaces, from campfires to laundromats. Wollongong will see performances in its bars, cafes, libraries, and also shows in a yoga studio, a church and Crown Street Mall. The festival will also be working with Wollongong City Council, Destination Wollongong and Wollongong Central to create a unique event. “They’re all supporting this festival and are really interested in seeing how it can invigorate the town and be a surprising and interesting festival for Wollongong.”
'A Muggle Goes To Hogwarts'A new addition to the festival will be its central hub, which will provide a central space for audiences to visit between shows.
“We’ve created a little hub space in partnership with Laughter House Productions, who are putting up a few tents in the arts precinct. We’ve got a chance to create a little hub space for a bar and a central space you can come to have a drink, find out what’s going on and there’s several shows that are a short walk from there. We’re really making it easy for you to have a night of it..You can come, see two or three shows in a night and you’ve got a place to come back to have a drink between shows.”
'Kiama Cabaret'Not only will there be a variety of spaces but there will also be a whole host of different types of shows. The festival programme is filled with theatre, comedy, circus, burlesque, cabaret and dance. The festival also features established works and artists, and new works inspired by their unique space.
'The Big Rig Show'“You’ve got that variety, so you can see a show that’s been touring around a while and is established, or you can see a new local work that’s just been created for the festival and could go on to do great things after starting here at the festival. It’s exciting as well for us because we’re providing that opportunity for first time people to put on a show or for new work to happen, for experienced artists to have the opportunity to try out new and interesting ideas and work with different kinds of spaces that will provoke their creativity.”
Click here for photos of the Wollongong programme launch.
