St Kilda's Theatre Works celebrates its 35th anniversary this year and creative director and chief executive Daniel Clarke says the 2015 program is as diverse and exciting as any so far in his successful tenure.
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"It's my fourth year at Theatre Works and - as it should be - I think each year has got stronger and stronger," he said ahead of the theatre's program launch.
"I'm really excited about this program; there are a lot of great artists; new artists we haven't worked with before and artists that we've developed relationships with over the last four years."
The first big show of the year is a world premiere tour of British performance artist Bryony Kimmings' new show Fake It Til You Make It, a co-commission between Theatre Works and London's Southbank Centre.
The show, which promises "homemade music, stupid dancing, onstage arguments, real-life stories, tears and truths" co-stars Tim Grayburn and explores clinical depression.
It is, Clarke says, something of a coup for the indie theatre company.
"It's amazing! We're developing it now and it's a project that we're doing from the ground up, which is one of the visions I had when I started at Theatre Works, to do more of that," he says.
Kimmings appeared in the hugely successful Credible Likeable Superstar Role Model at Theatre Works last year.
"This project came from that, from the relationship we developed with Bryony," Clarke says.
The work will premiere in Perth, play a month in Adelaide and will, be, he says "in top shape when it opens in Melbourne".
Such long-term relationships with artists are reflected throughout the 2015 program, with everything this year either commissioned, produced or co-produced by Theatre Works.
Since taking on the role of creative producer in 2011, Clarke has won praise for expanding the company's scope, partnering with international events including the Melbourne Festival and the Comedy Festival, as well as progressive local festivals such as Next Wave and Midsumma.
This year he's forged another partnership with the VCA, with Flight, a mini season-within-the-season which will give a platform to recent graduates of the VCA Masters in Writing for Performance course, led by acclaimed playwright Raimondo Cortese.
After several applications from graduates of the course, which started three years ago, Clarke was inspired to give these new writers a "leg-up".
Five plays will be showcased throughout July and August at Theatre Works and Footscray Community Arts Centre.
"These graduates develop a play over a whole year with Raimondo, and I thought it would be great to find a context to give a season to these works, and acknowledge these new voices coming out of VCA," he says. "It's something we hope will be an ongoing relationship."
Other works include Adena Jacobs and Aaron Orzech's world premiere The Bacchae, a co-commission between Melbourne Festival, St Martins and Theatre Works which features an ensemble of 30 actors on stage; Dracula, an intriguing theatrical concept from Little Ones Theatre in which performers try to recreate a silent movie on stage with a live score; and a double bill of work from two Singaporean-Australian artists. Saltwater, by Jamie Lewis, is a participatory work for just 15 audience members, who take part in the preparation of a meal.
"It's more of a live art experience, and quite a ritualistic work," Clarke says "It's really a conversation where you're making a meal with Jamie and sharing stories. I'd use the word 'delicate' to describe it. You're there with a group of strangers but somehow, within that space, you remember your own family as Jamie talks about her own experiences."
Saltwater will play with Letters Home, by Singaporean artist Joe Lui, who explores his life in exile after refusing military service in Singapore, making him a criminal and unable to return home.
Then there's Rust And Bone, which Clarke himself is directing. Adapted from short stories by Canadian author Craig Davidson, the work is described as an exploration of masculinity.
After stepping back from his own creativity to foster that of others, Clarke is, rightly, excited to be directing again.
"I didn't direct a work last year, so I need to do it - and I should flag that when I do direct for Theatre Works, it's me doing it independently!"
The whole 2015 season is, he says, "big - in terms of scale and artists pushing themselves".
"Although last year felt pretty huge, I feel like this might be one of the most ... comprehensive, and solid."
