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The Scene - Local Entertainment News

• Local Gig Guide

Literary Local Shortlisted

Local writer John McPherson, who has been shortlisted in the Glen Eira National Literary Awards, with his sons Jem, 10 (left) and Julian, 8.

Local writer John McPherson has been shortlisted in the Glen Eira National Literary Awards for his short play Young Man's Reflections on his Old Age.

The 20 minute monologue is about a 30 year-old man with a terminal illness who reflects on how people in his past have dealt with death. John will compete against 100 other entries for the award, with the winning work being announced next Thursday, May 23, in Melbourne.

'It's absolutely great - a fantastic surprise,' John said. 'In a way I've achieved what I wanted to - which is to get shortlisted. If I win then that's a huge bonus and I'll certainly have my fingers crossed!'

John said he had written a draft of the play, but was inspired to take it through the final draft by the new management of the Lismore Theatre Company.

'I was encouraged by the new management of the Lismore Theatre Company, who are showing a commitment to local production and local material,' John said. 'Already this year we've seen the LTC produce Yellow Aubergine by Lismore writer David Tindale.'

President of the LTC, Gray Wilson, said John's success in the awards reflects the high level of literary talent in the region.

'John being shortlisted is fantastic - it's another example of local talent's ability to compete at a national level and come out in front,' Gray said. 'We need to support local material more and not rely on imported arts from the capital cities.'

John is now looking at presenting his monologue, along with a number of other short pieces by local writers, with the Lismore Theatre Company later this year.

Triple Bill Means Trouble

Ragadoll (pictured) perform with the Durga Babies and The Remains at the Double Trouble Triple Bill at the Winsome next Thursday.

With local guitarist Mick Daley - a member of both Ragadoll and The Remains - heading off to the UK soon, a farewell gig featuring both his bands has been planned for next Thursday, May 23 at the Winsome Hotel.

The event, dubbed the Double Trouble Triple Bill, will feature performances by Jimmy Willing and Ragadoll, The Remains and the Durga Babies.

Ragadoll needs little introduction locally, the band renowned for performing their funky, folky style of music at many halls and venues in the region. However the band went through another line-up change recently and the current members are Jimmy Willing on vocals, Nirvana Glassey on double bass, Mick Daley on guitar and Dylan Marquis on drums. Next Thursday Lee Ivan will also join them as a special guest on lap steel.

The Remains are a fairly new country rock outfit - featuring Mick Daley on vocals/guitar, Durga Babies bass player Nathan Nancarrow on double bass, Lee Ivan on lap steel, Sean Butcher on banjo and 'Elvis' on violin.

Completing the line-up is Nimbin-based band The Durga Babies, which features Michael Turner on guitar/vocals, Tim Tonkin on drums and Nathan Nancarrow on bass.

The gig is the last chance to see Ragadoll and The Remains for some time, so if you're a fan you best be there. The gig kicks off at 8pm. Tickets are a very affordable $4/2.

Razel the House

Punk/metal trio Razel (pictured) bring their raw sound to the Canberra this Friday, May 17.

The group was named Triple J's band of the month late last year. They recently did a live set on the Oz-Music Show and are in the process of recording their debut album.

Razel play a unique punky, heavy metal style of music, adding pinches of funk and pop-laden vocals which gives it a feel somewhere between cute and aggressive.

Razel will be supported by Xylen and Jabba.

Tropfest Travelling North

A scene from the movie Lamb by Emma Freeman, which will feature in the Tropfest Short Film Festival next Friday.

To help raise funds for both North Coast CAMERA and LINC TV, the 10th annual Tropfest Short Film Festival will be screened next Friday, May 24 at the Star Court Theatre.

The screening features the 16 finalists who were picked from more than 600 entries across Australia. All films are under seven minutes and all must include the signatory item, which this year is a match.

And the really fun thing about the festival is a huge diversity of styles and ideas within the 16 films. Formats range from 35mm to mini DVD, from documentaries to animation and from first time filmmakers to former Tropfest finalists.

This year the festival features a local flavour with one of the documentaries, Murbah Swamp Beer, made in Murwillumbah. The film captures the spirit and characters of this small Aussie town when a truck laden with 40,000 beers crashes into the river (sound familiar...?).

Other films are just as clever and hilarious. These include Wilfred (a man and a dog vie for the affections of one woman) and Matchbox (a fast-paced love story about a match who loses his box). A great night out for film buffs and people who enjoy a laugh (the great thing about shorts is if you don't like a film, you won't have to wait long for the next one).

The screening will start at 7.30pm and tickets are $10/8 at the door.

Tropfest will also be screened on Sunday, May 26 at the Great Northern in Byron Bay.

For more information phone 6621 5444.

A Topp Night Out

Lynda Topp, half of the comedy/singing/yodelling duo the Topp Twins, believes the secret to a good night out with the girls is spontaneity.

'We're having fun - if you're having fun people pick up on that,' she said. 'Our comedy is visual, not witty one-liners, we're not standup - we're a combination of being funny, characters, singing real songs as best as we can and putting it all together in one show.'

Lynda also believes the personal touch the Twins throw in makes their show successful.

'There's a real art to it. You've got to make the audience come with you; make them feel safe, feel part of the show and be a big star,' she said. 'You can get a laugh from putting someone down or religious jokes or getting laughs out of misfortune of other people but that's not how we do things. We make the audience feel like laughing at and with us rather than at other people.'

One of the aspects Lynda believes makes the duo so funny is their relationship - they are biological twins.

'I would never perform on stage with my clone but with my twin the classic humour and relationship shows through,' Lynda said. 'If you do something completely different that makes your twin sister laugh then you know everyone is going to have a good time too.'

And while Australia may be behind New Zealand in a lot of things - processing asylum seekers being one (Canterbury's 96-19 desolation of NSW in the Super 12 being another) - Lynda, a New Zealander herself, says we're still ahead when it comes to yodelling.

'Outside of Switzerland, Australia and NZ have the biggest yodelling populations - but Australia has more and we don't like it!' Lynda said.

The Topp Twins perform at the Lismore Workers Club on Friday, May 17. Tickets are $20. To book phone 6621 7401.

DJs Take on the Hype

Some of Australia's most well-known DJs will converge on the Lismore Racecourse for the Hype Dance Party this Saturday, May 18.

The organisers of the event - the Lismore Turf Club, CJS Promotions, Transtec and Event Guardians - have included six DJs in the line-up, so everyone who loves to dance has something to suit their swinging hips.

DJs featured on the night include Tim Deans from the 2002 Warp Bros Tour, Craig Truslove from the Attitude Dance Parties and Brisbane regular Matt Steer.

Local DJs Pop, Wallopalooza and Janome will also be doing sets.

The dance party is in an all-weather venue with a huge dance floor, and there will be some pretty spiffy lighting effects throughout the evening. The gig starts at 8pm. Tickets are $15 adults/10 students (bring student card).

Go Gonzo

Local funksters El Gonzo Green will perform at the Tatts Hotel in Lismore next Thursday, May 23, from 9.30pm.

The four-piece band have a unique and original style, which fuses together funky beats, jazzy feels and plenty of chunky rhythms.

The guys, who have been together for about five years, have also started to introduce organic interpretations of electro music - giving their music a DJ-like quality.

'We're treading down a path untouched by most organic musicians,' bass player, Ewan Williams, said. 'Our 'doof' bits are all done with traditional instruments like guitar, bass and drums. We keep our songs open to any new direction.'

El Gonzo Green will be joined by other local live supports. Entry to the gig is $2.

More Movies

While the excellent Gosford Park (see review) continues at Lismore Cinema this week, the Critics Selection films continue with Kevin Spacey starring in The Shipping News, which opens today. Next week, one of the best films to come out of the US in some time In the Bedroom comes to the screen. Critics have compared it to American Beauty. The Australian said it surpasses in its stark and insistent truthfulness.

It's the story of a couple (Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson) whose only child is involved in a relationship with an older single mother (Marisa Tomei). When the relationship comes to a sudden and tragic end, each person must face an intensely difficult decision about how to respond. It received five Academy Award nominations and won Sissy Spacek the Golden Globe award for best actress. It's a touching story, beautifully and powerfully told.

Video for Unemployed

Vacancies exist in an Introduction to Video Production Skills Course proposed to run at Lismore, by TAFE Outreach in conjunction with North Coast CAMERA for unemployed adults.

No previous video experience is required for this free course which will be held Thursdays for 10 weeks 9.30am - 4 pm starting on 23 May.

Contact Sue or Frances on 6626 6465 to obtain an expression of interest form.

'Stones In His Pockets'

Sydney Theatre Co & Melbourne Theatre Co
Written by: Marie Jones
Directed by: Garry McDonald
Starring: Jeremy Stanford & Greg Stone
Venue: Lismore City Hall
Dates: May 21 at 8pm, May 22 at 11am
Bookings: 6621 5600

Garry McDonald has had such an enormous impact on Australian entertainment that during our interview - and with some embarrassment - I mistakenly call him Norman. But Stones in his Pockets, which comes to Lismore next week as the next show in the NORPA 2002 season, marks a very difference direction for the actor - his first time on the other side of the stage as director.

It's the darkly comic story of Americans making a film in a small Irish town. Two actors, Jeremy Stanford and Greg Stone, play 14 characters.

Actor-cum-director Robin Nevin steered McDonald towards the play, wanting him to try directing, but thinking he should be in it.

McDonald said he was about 15 years too late.

'Another director turned it down, saying 'I do more than Irish plays you know.'

'We had 4.5 weeks, and three different Irish accents, plus American and English accents to learn,' he said.

'It's a light piece - what the Yanks call a light drama - and very amusing and flashy. It's not so much kicking the Yanks - that's too easy - but it explores similar questions to David Williamson, you know 'What's to rejoice in being Australian? Why do we need our own stories?

'Well, Canada doesn't produce films any more and we've got to make sure this doesn't happen to us. Otherwise you feel that real life happens somewhere else, in another accent, and we're like extras to life off to one side,' he said.

'Stones gets the message across in an amusing way. It's bittersweet comedy and it also involves suicide and depression, but it's very funny.'

This is McDonald's third go at directing the play, and with each season, he changed the way he approaches it.

'The first time I kept getting up on stage and forcing my opinion on the actors. But I also figured at the time, it was a style I knew immediately.'

After that, he read a book on directing and thought: 'oh god, all mistakes I made'.

'Too often, directors starve the creative juices of the actors,' McDonald explains. Now he's thinking like an actor again, letting Greg Stone and Jeremy Stanford convince the audience they're so many varied characters, without costume changes - from tyrant assistant director to a spunky actress, a pump Scottish security guard and a young lost soul.

'Greg is very fine actor and Jeremy has got a lovely light touch,' McDonald said.

'Stones is a real tour de force that requires extraordinary class. It's so bloody funny, but Greg is also quite heartbreaking.'

There are two performances of Stones in his Pockets at Lismore City Hall - Tuesday, May 21, at 8pm, and an 11am matinee on Wednesday, May 22.

Book at the Northern Rivers Ticket Centre on 6621 5600.

For more information the NORPA 2002 Season or coming events at Lismore City Hall and the Star Court Theatre Lismore visit www.norpa.org.au

• The winner of the double pass to Stones In His Pockets is Deborah K Fisher East Lismore

Local Gig Guide