08.08.24
Howdy Grif-friend,
Erica here, Griffin’s trusty Marketing Manager! I’m a theatre person through and through—I wouldn’t be at a wonderful company like Griffin if I wasn’t. But, boy, does Olympic fever unlock something in me that lays dormant for four years. Naturally, I gravitate to the more artistic sports; gymnastics, synchronised swimming, diving, the newly christened Olympic sport of breaking… artistic flair with a competitive edge? I’m hooked! (Can you tell I was an eisteddfod girlie?) This year, however, I’ve found myself quite taken with “new” sports (as in, they are new to me, because I am the arbiter of sport, obviously). Sport climbing? FASCINATING. European handball? PERPLEXING! I’ve found myself hungry to learn, observe and understand these sports that I haven’t really paid attention to before and I’m getting swept right up in the displays of skill, the camaraderie, and the spirit that comes along with their turn at a games as prestigious as the Olympics.
Here at Griffin, I’m mid-preparations for our annual Olympics—our Season Launch! (Did that metaphor work? If it didn’t I’m forcing it to and you have to bear with me, reader.) It’s our yearly display of artistic skill, storytelling panache and a showcase of the best Australian writing. If you, like me, are intrigued by the bold and new, you’re in for an absolute treat with Griffin’s 2025 Season. Stay tuned for details of our launch coming soon!
Before I continue on with things that are happening in the future, it’s worthwhile looking at some of the last month’s achievements. Ellen van Neerven’s incisive debut play swim not only completed a totally sold out premiere run at Carriageworks, it also opened and closed a sensational season at BLEACH* Festival, on Country on Yugambeh. It’s having a brief hiatus before making a splash at HotHouse Theatre in September. Gold medal worthy if you ask me! There was no rest for the Griffs as the day after swim closed, we hosted the prestigious Griffin Award ceremony, this year with an inaugural keynote address by Angus Cerini. Angus’ speech was rousing and inspiring and I must shout out and congratulate the 2024 Griffin Award winner Jules Orcullo for her piece My Dad Never Saw The Beatles. The afternoon was a joy to behold and I for one can’t wait to do it all again next year.
Coming up, we’re proud to see the return of one of 2022’s smash-hit shows, Golden Blood 黄金血液 by the effervescent Merlynn Tong. This isn’t a regular return season though—it’s a cool return season. Golden Blood’s triumphant return is the result of a couple of thrilling partnerships, which means that it will be presented by Sydney Theatre Company and by Melbourne Theatre Company. If the rave reviews from its original run are anything to go by, you’ll want to snap up your tickets to this show quick-smart. Golden Blood is playing in Sydney 13 September – 13 October and in Melbourne 25 October – 30 November.
Hot on the heels of Golden Blood is one of our most out of this world productions to date; Flat Earthers: The Musical by the genius-ly cooked minds of Jean Tong, Lou Wall and James Gales. A co-production with Hayes Theatre Co, this is shaping up to be my favourite Griffin show in 2024 (no one tell the other children, I’m just a musical girlie at heart). Full of beats, bangers and Battlestar Galactica, Flat Earthers is kind of like if you cross FANGIRLS with SIX and then yeet it into space with a sprinkling of conspiracy theory. It does what it says on the tin, basically. You definitely want to get your tickets to this before it sells out—and it WILL sell out.
That’s all from lil’ ol’ me! Now, back to training for the Griffin Olympics (read: bringing you another cracker Griffin season).
Love,
E
Erica Penollar
Marketing Manager
