Melbourne est le New-York australien, et pas seulement pour ses graffitis ! Fitzroy, notre quartier préféré avec la balnéaire St Kilda, nous a vu passer de longues journées le long de Brunswick et Gertrude Street. Difficile de résister à tant de designers originaux, à cette ribambelle de restos branchés, de looks farfelus et souvent bariolés, ainsi qu’à la bonne humeur ambiante !
Et puis, il n’y a qu’à Fitzroy qu’on tombe sur des laveries australiennes taille ‘chorale’, des karaokés 70ies décapants installés au milieu de jardins publics, des bancs en mosaïque XXL, des promos de disques outdoor organisés par l’indé Polyester Records, et le marché de créateurs de la rue de la Rose…
Du coiffeur à l’ancienne au mécano passionné de vélo, en passant par le bonzaïman et l’artisan du cuir, le Rose St Artists’ Market a tout pour (nous) plaire ! On note des idées cadeaux et on craque un peu aussi au passage…
Il semblerait qu’on ait trouvé un artiste de la trempe d’Yves et Gilles en Australie !! Nous étions de passage pour une après-midi d’opéra à l’Arts Centre et n’avons pas résisté à l’envie de vous faire partager cette chouette découverte…
Plus qu’une vedette, Reg Livermore est devenu une légende qui a inspiré plusieurs générations. Jusque fin février, Melbourne rend hommage à 55 ans de carrière humoristique, théâtrale et musicale sur la scène australienne et américaine au travers d’une exposition-événement.
Découvrez ses personnages au travers de costumes de scène ainsi que d’extraits vidéos de la comédie musicale qui l’a fait connaître, Hair, et de son one-man show le plus connu en Australie : Betty Blokk Buster.
Australian icon Reg Livermore’s bawdy career on the theatre stage is celebrated in a new exhibition at the Melbourne Arts Centre that just opened. Reg Livermore – Take A Bow displays the legend’s life story with costumes, scripts, and never-before-seen photographs.
Reg fell in love with the bawdy side of Australian theatre from a very young age. The rough-around-the-edges Borovansky Ballet, pantomime at Sydney’s Tivoli Theatre, imported West End musical theatre, cabaret, and Gilbert and Sullivan operas.
Reg has preserved this slapstick, knockabout style of theatre in his work. “I love it,” Reg says. “It makes me smile – the honesty of it all. It’s entertainment for the people.”
While he has always been adventurous and sometimes controversial, evolving as an artist has been paramount to Reg’s success. So, at 30 years old, he found the show that would allow him to evolve and mature like no other experience could: 1969’s countercultural ‘Love-Rock’ musical, Hair.
Reg had 15 years of onstage experience prior to joining the cast of Hair, but he’d never seen anything like it. “When Hair came along, I could see how moved audiences were, and what it could give a performer like me – freedom,” Reg recalls. “I realised that’s where I had to be.”
The musical, with its infamous nude scenes which let all that sunshine in, revealed to Reg that horizons in the theatre are limitless.
Following Hair, Reg performed in musicals and further developed his one-man shows, winning hearts in Australia and making an indelible mark on the world stage. Betty Blokk Buster is Reg’s most famous one-man show – featuring a less-than-grand parade of tawdry variety acts from the freaks and fallen stars of a circus ring.
Betty is a heartbreaking, yet hilarious, backstage pass to a sideshow alley and it brought Reg exactly the sort of success he’d always wanted.
“My desire to communicate with the audience, and have a communion with them was well and truly fulfilled,” he says. “I thank Betty, the scary hairy-legged monster I gave birth to. She was one hell of a weird baby but she was mine.”
Reg’s career hasn’t always been easy, but he believes in journeys over destinations. His career has been about challenging himself – and challenging audiences, too, even to the point of once getting booed off stage for offending London audiences. “Most of it’s been good,” he says. “I thank my lucky stars.”
The exhibition also showcases his groundbreaking solo shows that began with Betty Blokk Buster Follies. Featuring stage costumes worn by Livermore and material from his personal archive, this is a rare opportunity to experience the creative talent of an Australian theatre 55-year career-long legend.
A must see !
Reg Livermore – Take A Bow
Melbourne Arts Centre – Gallery 1
5 Nov 2011 – 26 Feb 2012
Open daily until late
FREE
Touted as the best jazz club in the southern hemisphere, Bennett’s Lane Jazz Club hosts compelling world class performances pretty much every night. We were so bound to try it someday !
As YM is a guitarist, we chosen Albare Dadon Band’s gig (feat. Evripides Evripidou, Daniel Farrugia & Scott Griffiths) to discover Bennett’s Lane Jazz Club. Albare and his travel diary band perform his original material inspired by composers as diverse as Django Reinhardt, Tom Jobim and George Gershwin just to name a few. With a body of work encompassing two decades Albare and his band draw from his diverse catalogue of compositions. Ecoutez-ça !
Bennett’s Lane Jazz Club
25 Bennett’s Lane, Melbourne
03 9663 2856
Gigs from 8:30 pm
Entry fee: $10-$20
