01/03/2026
I would like to express my appreciation to Todd Barty for writing a delightful article in Sudo magazine about our book "THEATRE ON THE EDGE" - an anthology of six plays selected from our body-of-work created at The Edge Theatre in Newtown (Sydney) in the period 1985-2001.
It had been such a pleasure for us (the Kinetic Energy Theatre Company Inc. team) to launch the book at the end of last year in the Rex Cramphorn Theatre Research Studio at Sydney University. To receive such an insightful review has now added tremendously to the pleasure.
Reading Barty's piece, I was amazed at how deeply he had absorbed the book’s content and then created an informative and coherent set of perspectives on the book in a well articulated, vivid article. Barty is a writer/actor/director of theatre himself, and conducts a theatre research project, Contemporary Theatre Research Lab Inc., in Townsville, QLD. He never saw our plays (blame the generational gap and the tyranny of distance), yet speaks about them as if he saw them live in performance, which is a double compliment: his ability to imagine, and the book's ability to ignite his imagination via the written word, which of course had an extra chance to come to life thanks to the artistry of its design and the many splendid photographs.
This is exactly what I had hoped would happen: that reading the plays and their prefaces would activate the reader's creative participation.
It was also satisfying to read how Barty placed the book and our work in their historical context, honouring the legacy our work is built on, as well as acknowledging our own contribution to the ongoing evolution of contemporary performance and avant-garde theatre in Oz.
We have sold well over half of the books printed in this limited edition. We are planning another event in July to enable those who missed out on attending the launch to celebrate with us and purchase their copy.
Anyone wanting to be notified of the July event, and/or who would like to buy or reserve a copy, please get in touch. [email protected]
Barty's article is called "Theatre on the Edge: Knowledge Passes On, Sumptuously":
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