Interview | Wayne Harrison
January 26th 2009 00:56
Wayne Harrison was the creative force behind Sydney’s New Years Eve celebrations 2001 - 2004. He directed Absinthe and Desir for the Spiegeltent in New York and a new work for Bell Shakespeare, Just Macbeth. He directed the UK return season of Mum’s the Word. In 2006, he was director of the closing ceremony of the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, the Helpmann Awards and also End of the Rainbow, starring Caroline O’Connor. During Wayne’s decade-long term as Artistic Director of the Sydney Theatre Company he directed numerous new Australian works including Heretic, Money and Friends, Third World Blues and the original production of the much-loved Two Weeks with the Queen. He has assisted the development of many more, including, recently, Through the Wire and Satango.
Satango
Produced by Griffin Theatre Company, Wayne Harrison, Camila Rountree, Ross Mollison & Robert C Kelly
Cast: Simon Burke, Sharon Millerchip, Jaro Sanchez Rivera
Music & Lyrics: Stewart D'Arrietta and Justin Fleming
Book: Stewart D'Arrietta and Justin Fleming
Director: Wayne Harrison
Australian Premiere: SBW Stables Theatre, Sydney. November 10, 2004.
This interview by David Jobling took place in 2004.
DJ Wayne Harrison tell me what are you doing theatrically at the moment?
WH David I’m back in Australia working on a new musical for David Berthold at Griffin Theatre Company and the musical is called Satango it’s written by my old friend Justin Fleming and the music has been composed by Stewart D'Arrietta who was responsible for Looking Through A Glass Onion with John Waters, the tribute that is on its tenth anniversary tour at the moment. I’m also here putting a new actor Mark Mitchell into Defending the Caveman. Defending the Caveman’s been on tour the last couple of years and we’re about to send Mark out on a national tour.
DJ What were you doing prior to that? You had something to do with the opening of Luna Park didn’t you?
WH I did, I was back here at Christmas and met with Warwick Dougherty at Luna Park and he asked me would I produce the opening events there. You may know that Luna Park in Sydney has had a 100 Million dollar make-over I think you could call it and has a 2000 seat venue Big Top has been built there so Warwick wanted me to launch that venue and also contribute to the general re-launch of Luna Park so we did a big Gala Concert on a Friday night and the following night we did a big concert version of Sunset Boulevard starring Judi Connelli and Michael Cormick and Anthony Warlow.
DJ Working on big musicals like that is not really new to you is it because that’s pretty much where you started is it not?
WH Well I began as a child actor in musicals for JC Williamson's back before the dawn of time. That was actually in the 1960’s. Then when I left school I postponed my University education and went into like four or five of JC Williamson’s musicals; that was in the death throws of Williamson's when they were being run by the accountant at that stage. But it was very educational of course we managed to earn a living from there I went back to University and then sort of got involved in the subsidized theater system where I was able to do other musical work as well as do sort of legit plays at the same time.
DJ You’ve developed a lot of new Australian work in your time as a dramaturge and as a director haven’t you.
WH That’s right I have, and indeed I’m here at the moment doing the workshop of Satango which is the main act of dramaturgy the principal inspiration of the work; when I joined Sydney Theater Company originally in 1981 I was the first person to use the title Daramaturg which really means sort of, play doctor, or it can be a literary manager but mainly it’s to be a liaison between the director of a work and the author of a work so as to help in the evolution of the play and Richard Wherrett who was running the Sydney Theater Company at the time employed me to be his Dramaturge and the STC’s dramaturge and over the years I’ve worked a lot on the development of new Australian plays; I find that the most satisfying thing that I do in the theater. That special thrill you get from taking an idea whether it’s your own idea or that of a playwright and helping them create something that didn’t exist before.
DJ What have people got to look forward to with Satango this new Australian musical that you are working on?
WH Well they’ve got to look forward to Simon Burke and Sharon Millerchip playing some quite eccentric roles. You’ll get to see Simon and Sharon do a tango on stage at the Griffin which should be quite remarkable given those of you who know the Stables Theater that there’s not a great deal of room so a tango in there is quite a feat but they’ll also get the very special wit of Justin Flemming the libretto is very cheeky and has a great intellectual component to. And of course Stewart D'Arrietta’s music is fantastic. We open the first week in November.
DJ Jolly bloody good. Do you hae any burning political comment you want to make?
WH Burning political comment?
DJ Yeah. Anything you feel like needs a sort of mention at this point in time, Free Trade Agreement, War in Iraq, anything like that?
WH No, but one shouldn’t be surprised to find some of those issues, you know, Iraq and the free trade agreement and some of the other evils of our time mentioned in this play, this musical at the Griffin which is about of course the Devil; that’s why it’s called Satango and he seems to have a hand in a lot of things that have currency in our society at the moment. It’s about a young girl who wanders into the Devils realm and teaches him a few tricks so maybe there’s a metaphor there or an allegory for contemporary society.
DJ Is she especially a young Australian girl or is she-
WH She is. She’s from a Sydney suburb called Panania and she wanders into Hell to teach the Devil how to dance. As only a good Australian suburban girl could.
DJ Well sir thank you very much
WH It’s a pleasure.
Satango
Produced by Griffin Theatre Company, Wayne Harrison, Camila Rountree, Ross Mollison & Robert C Kelly
Cast: Simon Burke, Sharon Millerchip, Jaro Sanchez Rivera
Music & Lyrics: Stewart D'Arrietta and Justin Fleming
Book: Stewart D'Arrietta and Justin Fleming
Director: Wayne Harrison
Australian Premiere: SBW Stables Theatre, Sydney. November 10, 2004.
This interview by David Jobling took place in 2004.
DJ Wayne Harrison tell me what are you doing theatrically at the moment?
WH David I’m back in Australia working on a new musical for David Berthold at Griffin Theatre Company and the musical is called Satango it’s written by my old friend Justin Fleming and the music has been composed by Stewart D'Arrietta who was responsible for Looking Through A Glass Onion with John Waters, the tribute that is on its tenth anniversary tour at the moment. I’m also here putting a new actor Mark Mitchell into Defending the Caveman. Defending the Caveman’s been on tour the last couple of years and we’re about to send Mark out on a national tour.
DJ What were you doing prior to that? You had something to do with the opening of Luna Park didn’t you?
WH I did, I was back here at Christmas and met with Warwick Dougherty at Luna Park and he asked me would I produce the opening events there. You may know that Luna Park in Sydney has had a 100 Million dollar make-over I think you could call it and has a 2000 seat venue Big Top has been built there so Warwick wanted me to launch that venue and also contribute to the general re-launch of Luna Park so we did a big Gala Concert on a Friday night and the following night we did a big concert version of Sunset Boulevard starring Judi Connelli and Michael Cormick and Anthony Warlow.
DJ Working on big musicals like that is not really new to you is it because that’s pretty much where you started is it not?
WH Well I began as a child actor in musicals for JC Williamson's back before the dawn of time. That was actually in the 1960’s. Then when I left school I postponed my University education and went into like four or five of JC Williamson’s musicals; that was in the death throws of Williamson's when they were being run by the accountant at that stage. But it was very educational of course we managed to earn a living from there I went back to University and then sort of got involved in the subsidized theater system where I was able to do other musical work as well as do sort of legit plays at the same time.
DJ You’ve developed a lot of new Australian work in your time as a dramaturge and as a director haven’t you.
WH That’s right I have, and indeed I’m here at the moment doing the workshop of Satango which is the main act of dramaturgy the principal inspiration of the work; when I joined Sydney Theater Company originally in 1981 I was the first person to use the title Daramaturg which really means sort of, play doctor, or it can be a literary manager but mainly it’s to be a liaison between the director of a work and the author of a work so as to help in the evolution of the play and Richard Wherrett who was running the Sydney Theater Company at the time employed me to be his Dramaturge and the STC’s dramaturge and over the years I’ve worked a lot on the development of new Australian plays; I find that the most satisfying thing that I do in the theater. That special thrill you get from taking an idea whether it’s your own idea or that of a playwright and helping them create something that didn’t exist before.
DJ What have people got to look forward to with Satango this new Australian musical that you are working on?
WH Well they’ve got to look forward to Simon Burke and Sharon Millerchip playing some quite eccentric roles. You’ll get to see Simon and Sharon do a tango on stage at the Griffin which should be quite remarkable given those of you who know the Stables Theater that there’s not a great deal of room so a tango in there is quite a feat but they’ll also get the very special wit of Justin Flemming the libretto is very cheeky and has a great intellectual component to. And of course Stewart D'Arrietta’s music is fantastic. We open the first week in November.
DJ Jolly bloody good. Do you hae any burning political comment you want to make?
WH Burning political comment?
DJ Yeah. Anything you feel like needs a sort of mention at this point in time, Free Trade Agreement, War in Iraq, anything like that?
WH No, but one shouldn’t be surprised to find some of those issues, you know, Iraq and the free trade agreement and some of the other evils of our time mentioned in this play, this musical at the Griffin which is about of course the Devil; that’s why it’s called Satango and he seems to have a hand in a lot of things that have currency in our society at the moment. It’s about a young girl who wanders into the Devils realm and teaches him a few tricks so maybe there’s a metaphor there or an allegory for contemporary society.
DJ Is she especially a young Australian girl or is she-
WH She is. She’s from a Sydney suburb called Panania and she wanders into Hell to teach the Devil how to dance. As only a good Australian suburban girl could.
DJ Well sir thank you very much
WH It’s a pleasure.
| 48 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
