...only two weeks out from the extended date of 30 September to raise $1.8 million to secure the purchase of its Faraday Street home in Carlton, in the words of the inimitable Maureen Hartley. A Federal Government grant of (impolite to quote these numbers, but) $175,000 was announced at the end of the Bash last Monday, which lasted forever and had some very good music (notably, the new hopes of that Melbourne brand of Russian rock, Vulgargrad) and wog comedy (featuring emo jokes, always welcome in this wog family) by the extraordinary Simon Palomares.
This means that we may be spared peddling little bits of paper (confirmations of our tax-deductible $2 donations) with every La Mama ticket we buy in the future. Due to the frequency with which La Mama rotates its many splendid shows, even this theatre-goer, fresh from the Old Continent, has already accumulated an unsightly bunch.
The heroic little venue has indeed been my the site of my first theatre experience in Melbourne, back in the cold winter of 2006. Its effort in promoting local writing, acting, and theatre-making, it sometimes looks (as it did on Monday) that everyone, everyone, started off in that little black box, and many a career was launched at the sound of bottles being dropped into the alleyway bins.
Good for the city. Good for all of us. These little scares are not exactly what the local arts scene needs, and Fringe is about to commence…
