La Mama Theatre

18/03/2022

Script Reading: La Societa Italiana [Apr 2]

The true story of Rina Codognotto and her Italian family’s Melbourne city restaurant at the outbreak of WWII, as the very culture that saved them from crushing poverty and oppression only decades before, now segregates, arrests and interns them.

A visceral, epic family saga that bursts through the confines of 20th Century Melbourne history and relinquishes its secrets to a new generation.

Book: https://lamama.com.au/whats-on/playreadings-book-launches/script-reading-la-societa-italiana/

Written by Marita Wilcox

Dramaturged and directed by Peta Hanrahan

Cast: Marissa O’Reilly – Artemis Ioannidis – Dominic Weintraub – Helen Hopkins – Carolyn Bock – Brianagh Curran – Tony Nikolokopolous – Gabriel Partington - Josh Massarotti – Kevin Hopkins – Sebastian Lamour – Samantha Kennedy – James Singleton – Christian Taylor

Photograph origin: Marita Wilcox

Image software facilitation: Adrian Prosen & Karen Wilson

ID A girl aged 10 years stands next to a sitting man who is her family's restaurant's chef. She wears a white frilly dress and he a chef's uniform and tall white chef's hat. They are in front of an old wooden suburban fence.

17/03/2022

✨We feel so lucky to have had Nilgun Guven and Olivia Muscat (and Olivia’s assistance dog, Jem) come on site the past two weeks and share with us their expertise in audio description and tactile tours. Nilgun is CEO of Vitae Veritas, which promotes cultural diversity, artistic excellence and inclusive arts leadership. Olivia is a writer and disability advocate.✨

ID
1. Thirteen people and an assistance dog stand and crouch in a group on decking in front of the rebuilt two storey La Mama HQ theatre. The Aboriginal flag is attached to the upper floor railing, a string of lights is suspended above their heads, and a leafy branch of a jacaranda tree stretches over them. They are all smiling.

2. Three people stand in front of the staircase that leads up to the new La Mama rehearsal building. They are all laughing, and the woman on the right holds the lead of an assistance dog.

#LaMama #LaMamaTheatre #Accessibility

16/03/2022

✨Chookas, team!!✨ We hope the Fire in the Head folk have an amazing opening night and season! ✨

📷 by Darren Gill
ℹ Book: https://lamama.com.au/whats-on/la-mama-courthouse-summer-2022/fire-in-the-head/

ID
1. Seven people - two women and five men - sit posed for a photograph. They wear clothes resembling the style from the mid 1800s colonial Australia with muted tones. The woman in the front wears a long striped skirt with cream blouse with a slightly frilled collar. The man next to her has long hair and a white stripe down the middle of his face. The men wear trousers, long sleeved shirts in various colours and and an assortment of braces and waist coats. The three people at the back - a woman and two men are dressed completely in black. Everyone has bare feet. The man at the front left wears a black hat and carries a violin. Everyone is smiling.
2. A man with a grey beard in a striped red shirt, sleeves rolled up, braces, leather arm bands and a low slung leather belt looks warily at something in the distance behind us. In front of him stands a woman with long hair, and out of focus.
3. The woman in the striped skirt sits in a chair and looks up, smiling. The man with long hair stands behind her, looking down at her. Three figures in black stand in the distance, watching the two of them. Shimmering teal fabric is on the floor in front of the scene and casts a teal light over everyone.
4. The teal fabric is lifted and held up. Behind it a man's head is visible, his face reflecting the greenish blue light from the fabric. He has a beard and wears all black and seems to disappear into the background.
5. A woman's back is to us out of focus, and beyond her we see the older man she's focused on. He wears black, so that only his face and hands are visible, his hands held up in front of his chest.
6. A man wearing a black hat and glasses plays a violin.
7. To the right of the photo a woman, her hair pulled back, holds her hand to her mouth to conceal her words as she utters. Behind her the woman in the striped skirt and the bearded man in black look at each other out of focus

15/03/2022

Join us for ✨Cinematica: Edition #5✨ this Sunday March 20 as we explore notions of place and displacement. "...as you grow up, your priorities change / You find yourself in the middle of a different kind of game / One with different rules for different people" - Yogashree Thirunavukarasu

Find out about the filmmakers and book: https://lamama.com.au/whats-on/la-mama-cinematica/cinematica-edition-5/

📷 by Jessica Barclay Lawton

Curated by Tessa Spooner with support from Chris Luscri

ID A man and woman in a phone booth at night. The man is on the phone. The woman has red hair and purses her lips.

11/03/2022

La Mama Poetica is back for 2022! Kicking off on March 22, the year's first event features Jennifer Harrison, Tim Evans, Lucy Van and Paul Mitchell. Curated by Amanda Anastasi

ℹ Auslan interpreted
ℹ A livestreamed event
ℹ Find out more about our poets and book: https://lamama.com.au/whats-on/la-mama-poetica/la-mama-poetica-march/

ID A woman stands left of frame front on but head angled away so that she is in profile. She stands in front of a wall of enormous stones, her mouth slightly open. We don't know what she sees...

10/03/2022

💛 As most of you are aware La Mama HQ reopened recently, having been lovingly rebuilt after the devastating fire in 2018. We can't wait for you all to check out the new HQ - complete with brand new building! - but if you haven't made it in yet, here's some terrific exterior shots taken by Joshua Pilley 📷✨💛

ℹ Find out more about La Mama's rebuild: https://lamama.com.au/rebuild-la-mama/
ℹ While you're on the website - check out our program and book yourself in to see some of that amazing independent La Mama theatre we've all been missing ✨
👉 https://lamama.com.au/whats-on/

ID All photos are taken at La Mama HQ on a sunny, blue-sky day - just a few puffy white clouds in the sky.

1. Taken from the front of La Mama HQ on an angle that shows both the new two-storey brick building in the foreground and the rebuilt original La Mama brick theatre in the background. The stunning large scale mural by Aretha Brown is on the wall to the left, wide wooden steps lead up to shutter doors on the new building, and the gate into the courtyard is open.

2. Taken upstairs at La Mama, looking over the bridge from the new office space towards the old La Mama theatre greenroom. Two mustard coloured doors adorn either side, one closed, one open, a staircase leads down from the greenroom, and the Aboriginal flag is prominent from the banister.

3. Taken upstairs from the greenroom doorway, looking at an angle over the bridge back at the new offices and rehearsal building. Several planter boxes can be seen lined up on the bridge that joins the two spaces.

4. Looking straight on at the new upstairs office, featuring the wood and metal railing on the left, the brick structure around the lift between ground and first floor, and the planter boxes on the right where tomatoes and silver beet and zucchinis grow.

09/03/2022

If you missed Solas by Diane Stubbings live last week, here's your chance to catch it in your own time, in your own home! Available at La Mama On Screen from today until March 22.

★★★★☆
"A tour de force about the daughter of James Joyce" - Vanessa Francesca | Arts Hub

Watch: https://watch.lamama.com.au/programs/solas

📷 Sarah Walker

ID Standing in blue light are two women, eyes turned upwards. The woman on the left holds her hands to her chest and smiles. The woman foregrounded on the right holds her hands by her side and appears serious.

09/03/2022

✨✨We’re very excited for Tee O’Neill’s new show Yellingbo that opens tonight at La Mama HQ - huge chookas to cast and crew!✨✨

📷 by Darren Gill
Book: https://lamama.com.au/whats-on/la-mama-hq-summer-2022/yellingbo/

ID The photos depict three characters:
Cat (woman played by Jude Beaumont) wears a pale pink square necked singlet top, blue jeans, white sneakers, and a watch on her left wrist
Kaye (woman played by Fiona Macleod) wears a pale olive short sleeved round necked loose linen shirt, buttoned down the back, with blue jeans and white sneakers.
Danny (man played by Jeremy Stanford) wears a dark blue button down shirt with collar, long sleeves rolled up to the elbows over a white tshirt, a watch on his left wrist and black jeans.

1. Danny stands over us in darkness, focussed on something behind us, his body alert. A painting of a female Ned Kelly is slightly out of focus and suspended, above.

2. Kaye and Danny kiss, their mouths, noses, chins smooshed together, Kaye’s hand on Danny’s face, their eyes closed.

3. Cat and Kaye sit separate on a plush white couch and look at each other. Cat is on the left, her hands either side of her thighs resting on the couch, Kaye’s hands are in her lap, and her body is leaning just slightly away from Cat. Her lips are slightly parted. There is furniture around them, a stocked bar behind them, an enormous healthy indoor plant next to them, lamps and a huge lush floor rug in front of them.

4. Close up on Cat who is doubled over in distress. Behind her and out of focus stands Danny, watching.

08/03/2022

✨ We celebrated a beautiful group of women last night with La Mama Musica: Rethinking the Music City ✨ A night of music and discussion featuring extraordinary artists from The Resonant Heart and Mother Lode ✨

📷 by Darren Gill
✨ Curated by Gemma Horbury

ID

1. Vahideh Eisaei plays qanun, a Persian stringed instrument, while Sarita McHarg and Nela Trifkovic look on in the background. They are both smiling and playing hand drums.

2. Sarita plays dolak, a two-sided hand drum, while Nela plays daf, a large circular frame drum. They are looking at each other and smiling as they sing together.

3. Sarita McHarg is smiling broadly, whilst playing sitar.

4. Eva Popov plays acoustic guitar, accompanied by Nat Bartsch on electric piano.

5. Eva Popov looks thoughtful as she listens to Nat Bartsch's piano playing.

6. Georgia Fields, founder of Mother Lode, chats to musician mothers Eva Popov and Nat Bartsch.

07/03/2022

La Mama Cabaretica: March 2022

La Mama Cabaretica at La Mama Courthouse [Mar 18]

☀️Summer is coming to a close☀️ so it’s time to kick up your heels and celebrate the season in true Melbourne fashion, with a night of cabaret 🎤🎤🎤

✨Annie Louey will have you in stitches as she guides you through an evening of dynamic performances from The Titwitchez and Diimpa✨

☀️Send out the Summer and welcome the cool Autumn change with a glass of bubbles and some incredible entertainment✨

ℹ️ Book: https://lamama.com.au/whats-on/la-mama-cabaretica/la-mama-cabaretica-march/

ℹ️ Please note that the Brunswick Neighbourhood House Cabaretica is no longer going ahead, but you can catch all the action at La Mama Courthouse.

“Cabaretica is a … bundle of entertainment” – Stage Whispers

Featuring Annie Louey, The Titwitchez, and Diimpa

06/03/2022

PLAYREADING: Where There's A Will [March 12]

In a bleakly comic battle of wills, three sisters fight it out after the death of their mother. But who is Medusa? Written by Christine Croyden

Book: https://lamama.com.au/whats-on/playreadings-book-launches/playreading-where-theres-a-will/

“The hopes and tragedies of Hester’s too-short life provide a deep well from which Croyden has constructed an eloquent and evocative piece of theatre.”
– Theatrepeople on JOY at Heide Gallery in Feb 2021

Content warning: implied violence and abusive language.

Directed by Sara Grenfell
Songs by Ella Filar
Cast: Heather Lythe, Kelly Nash, elizabeth whalley and Maureen Hartley

ID Medusa. Black and white image except for her very green eyes that look directly at the camera.

04/03/2022

✨A hearty CHOOKAS to Dennis Coard for the Opening Night of his one man autobiographical laugh-til-you-cry show - The Fall of the Roman Umpire! Have a wonderful season! ✨

📆 On now at La Mama Courthouse until March 13
ℹ️ Book: https://lamama.com.au/whats-on/la-mama-courthouse-summer-2022/the-fall-of-the-roman-umpire/

ID A black and white headshot of Dennis with a tiny young Dennis perched on his shoulder, wearing a tea cosy for a hat, an oversized shirt, holding a mop, and with a huge grin on his face.

03/03/2022

Hear playwright Tee O'Neill on 3CR discussing her new pressure cooker play Yellingbo and the fascinating background to this very pertinent piece. Opens next week; second week almost sold out.

ℹ️ Listen: https://omny.fm/shows/wednesday-breakfast/wednesday-breakfast-2-march-2022?t=67m24s

ℹ️ Book: https://lamama.com.au/whats-on/la-mama-hq-summer-2022/yellingbo/

ID A painting in the style of Sidney Nolan's Ned Kelly, Nellie Kelly is a female version, wearing the same famous hand made armour, with a rose in her rifle and pink ribbons tied to either side of her helmet.