This is a cross-posted entry from my substack newsletter Sunday Night In. To have the newsletter delivered straight to your inbox every week, visit the substack page here.
Hello friends
Welcome (back) to Sunday Night In. I missed a few months over the summer, but I’m back with this year’s first eclectic selection of arts and cultural goings-on from Adelaide and beyond.
How do artists find audiences and audiences find artists in these strange times? Increasingly, small publications like this one have a vital role to play. My aim is to bring you news about the local people, books, theatre and other cultural events you might not otherwise hear about (especially as we witness the implosion of social media).
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I did an in-house review of this newsletter over the summer—a fancy way of saying I looked at the statistics and at which links were getting the most love. Based on my findings and learnings I’m going to mix things up a bit from now on.
Here’s how I’ll publish for the next little while:
- I’ll send out more frequent newsletters, but with fewer links in each one. Why? Because people really don’t read through to the end, and there’s more link clicks at the top of the page than the bottom. A lot more!
- I’m setting up some pages on the homepage of this newsletter with permanent links to regular events. I’ll include a link to that page in the newsletter but not to so many individual events. Why? It will be much more efficient and will also reflect your reading habits better. It was taking me ages to put in the links to all of the regular events but in recent newsletters they got almost zero clicks. I’ll still highlight regular events, just not all of them all of the time. That might stop you getting bored with seeing me mention the same events 🤣
- I’ll be including a lot more emojis. Why? I just discovered the fn+e function on my keyboard, and it’s so much fun!💃
I’ll look at the statistics again in a couple of months and see what’s the what and whether it needs another shake up then.
🌺 With all of this in mind, I have a small favour to ask…please do share this newsletter with anyone you think might be interested. Local news is more precious than ever before, but also harder to find than ever before. In this weird, uncertain media landscape, little newsletters like these are increasingly vital in helping artists to find audiences and audiences to find artists. The arts keep us connected. They give us space to listen to each other, to hear each other, and to enjoy each other’s company. Oh, and if someone has shared this newsletter with you don’t forget to subscribe here (it’s free).
Share this post to help us connect local artists with audiences, and audiences with artists.
And now, let’s get on with the show …
🌻 Okay, look, I’m going to open with links to my own shows at this year’s Adelaide Fringe. I’m doing my complete back-catalogue of six shows. (I’m calling it a ‘retrospective’ but you might think more along the lines of my cousin who said, ‘oh, yeah, rehashing your old shit’ 🤣). Here’s the lineup:
- Pearls (for anyone who has tried to understand their mother)
- The Forgettory (for anyone who has been alone with their thoughts at 3am)
- An Evening With the Vegetarian Librarian (for anyone who loves books and reading)
- I Made an Adult(for anyone who has failed to make a Women’s Weekly birthday cake look just like the picture)
- Where to From Here (for anyone who has ever wanted to meet all the people they might have been)
- Stitches (for anyone whose friends have always been there).
You can see your favourite again or catch one you’ve missed. And if you book two at the same time, you get a sweet, sweet discount. And if you’ve seen enough but you know someone else who might like them, let them know. For small shows like mine, word of mouth really is everything during fringe time.
/end self-promotion
🔥 Windmill Theatre has announced an outstanding opportunity: the Indie Mill which they describe as “a paid opportunity for independent artists to take the reins in developing an idea for the Windmill audience. Pitch a concept, gather a team and use the full breadth of our company resources to develop and share your work (in an informal showing) with an audience.” There’s space for four teams, so if it’s not for you, but you know someone who might be interested, let them know.
📚 There’s a new publisher in town! Serendipitously coinciding with the display of Don Dunstan’s pink shorts at the Art Gallery’s Radical Textiles exhibition (get along if you haven’t already) is the launch of Pink Shorts Press who are about to release their first publication, a new edition of Barbara Hanrahan’s Sea Green. I have pre-ordered a copy, and cannot wait to add to this my precious collection of Barbara Hanrahan’s novels. (Hot tip: if you are wanting to collect Barbara Hanrahan first editions, make regular visits to the Lion’s book shed in Glenunga).
🎤 January’s evening at tenx9 was hands down one of the best nights of storytelling I have ever been to. It’s a really warm and welcoming community of people. If you’d like to sit and listen, get along to the Jade, Feb 20 at 7pm or join the mailing list to receive updates about dates and themes. (If you think you’ve got a story you’d like to share, get in touch with tenx9 and they’ll let you know how to go about it).
🏺I know everyone is all about Chihuly in the Botanic Gardens right now, but do not miss the Gathering Light exhibition at the Jam Factory. I mean, look at this work by Jessica Murtagh:
Astonishing.
Of course right now, most of the arts sector is deep in preparation for the Adelaide Festival and the Adelaide Fringe. I’ve invited some friends to send me their recommendations for the fringe and I’ll be including them in the coming weeks of Sunday Night In. But I thought I’d get things started with a small list you might be interested in (I mean besides my own, already brazenly noted above 🤣). The shows that we highlight fit the general brief of this newsletter, so they are all local. This isn’t to say that we don’t love the many brilliant artists who visit at this time of year, only that it’s not the brief of this newsletter.
Let’s get started:
★ In one of the newest spaces that the gorgeous Simone Avramidis has created at the Goodwood Theatre and Studio is An Incomplete Encyclopedia of Hugs, written by Sarah Peters, performed by Claire Glenn, directed by Eliza Lovell and produced by SAPT. “Blending spoken word poetry with round-the-kitchen-table style storytelling, Juno journeys through her personal hug repertoire, weaving tales of loss and love as she figures out what to do with this one glorious life. One hug at a time.” I saw this during its run late last year, and if you’re looking for something a little bit lovely, a little bit life-affirming then this is it.
★ Dust. ‘A boxer, a soldier, a boilermaker, a miner: one man fights to defy the odds.’ I met writer Charlaina Thompson at the Fringe Meet the Media event. I would have gone to her show based on that meeting alone, because she was so smart and lovely and just someone I wanted to sit and listen to. But since then I’ve also been reading about her work, including the youth theatre she has recently established. One to watch.
★ The Good Decisions Project by Dani Lim. I shared a theatre and a dressing room with Dani last year, and I was so glad I stayed on one night to see her show. It was outstanding, and this new one looks to share the same characteristics. Conceptually and thematically fascinating (what defines a good decision? I mean, I’ve been trying to answer that for years!), she also brought a great sense of humour and some serious acting skills.
★ Stabbing the Ghost‘a dark comedy about cheap words and cheaper secrets … probing the death throes of truth in the clickbait age.’ I’ve seen a reading of this, and it definitely had some funny lines even in the draft stage. Presented by Safari Street Creative whose earlier plays have had some great reviews.
★ Curiositeas Fantasy Tavern: The Silver SpoonI didn’t get along to the quirky storytelling event in the super-cute tea-room Curiositeas last year, and I’m going to make a proper effort this year (though there’s very limited performances, so get in quick). Apart from anything else, I’m here for these lovely spaces that give our city texture. So even if I don’t get to this show, this is my reminder to get myself to a high tea sooner rather than later.
★ Anna Thomas is bringing back a return season of How to Drink Wine Like a Wanker which I’m pretty sure I’ve seen twice, and would probably go to again. ‘Part performance, part storytelling, part wine-tasting…’ it introduced me to one of my new favourite wines, though it’s quite hard to find so I do indeed sound like a wanker when I ask whether it’s available. The show is in two venues this year, both with small capacities so I think it will sell out. I’ve seen it in the Treasury 1860 Bar, a gorgeous venue.
★ I am going to try and find myself an eight-year-old so that I can get along to Stephen Sheehan’s Once Upon a Jar. He is an incredibly talented storyteller and performer. His work is warm and generous, a little bit silly and very, very smart.
The End of This Issue of Sunday Night In
Okay, that’s it for this Sunday, but I’ll be back again soon. The focus over the next month will be on the Adelaide Fringe, and I’ll have a good range of shows introduced by knowledgeable friends with great taste. In the meantime … don’t forget to share this newsletter and tell all your friends to subscribe (okay, not all your friends, they aren’t all going to be interested, but tell the ones who would be interested, okay?). I publish all year round with my eclectic selections of arts and cultural happenings from Adelaide and beyond.
Talk soon
Tracy xx
A disclaimer: I take a lot of care to make sure I’ve got details correct, but I’m often working on my phone or uploading things from word to substack and I spend a lot of time in places with terrible internet connections. So mistakes will happen. Please double check all of the details about events before you head out.
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