Although it can pass in what feels like the blink of an eye, surviving ten years in show biz is no small feat, and even more impressive when you throw a global pandemic into the fray. However, that’s exactly what Darebin Arts Speakeasy is celebrating – an entire decade of ground-breaking and award-winning performing arts.
Since 2013, Darebin City Council’s Speakeasy program has invested in contemporary dance, circus, theatre and multi-disciplinary work that speaks to issues that matter to the community, celebrate cultural diversity and reflect the times we’re living in.
Behind it all is a team led by Beau McCafferty, Head of Programming, who works closely with a diverse curatorial panel of artists when selecting each year’s offerings, which are performed at the Northcote Town Hall Arts Centre and the Darebin Arts Centre.
Explore Melbourne’s latest arts and theatrical events, exhibitions, productions and performances here.
View this post on Instagram
He admits, when he was first brought on from Melbourne Fringe to set things up, that he didn’t quite expect to hit this milestone. “Most arts programs last only a few years,” he laments. While Darebin Arts Speakeasy “has definitely changed and adapted over time” he says that one of the keys to their success was the fact they focused on building trust with audiences and artists.
“I brought with me my knowledge and networks of creative workers whom we consulted with for months before setting up a program that would provide certainty for planning ambitious works, whilst also elevating under represented voices,” McCafferty says of the program that is designed to best suit the needs of artists and creative companies “in an in-depth way”.
They are not a venue for hire, in that artists must pay to play. Instead, what they offer is the space, equipment, staffing and a generous fee up front for artists. “This means that artists don’t have to rely so heavily upon the risk involved with box office earnings,” he explains, adding that the financial certainty this provides, often being shored up early in the creative process, means other funding bodies can also come on board. “By coordinating across the arts sector and having longer timelines, it opens up more opportunities,” he says.
It’s been a winning strategy, and they have the impressive stats to prove it. So far Darebin Arts Speakeasy has supported over 1,500 artists to create over 150 original works presented to over 75,000 patrons, receiving 40 creative industry awards and a further 116 nominations.
“There are so many artists and creatives who have worked on multiple shows with us over the years and also work on main stage productions, tour work with different companies and organisations and have created impressive careers,” says McCafferty, who when asked to nominate some examples names companies like RAWCUS, The Hayloft Project and Little Ones Theatre.
“One that is hard to go past is ILBIJERRI Theatre Company’s show Coranderrk with Uncle Jack Charles in the lead. It sold out before opening night and then got 5-star reviews,” recalls McCafferty. “Another would be Hot Brown Honey which now tours the world…. Presenting Stella Young’s only solo comedy show Tales From the Crip is something I’m so glad we got to do before she sadly passed away,” he says.
McCafferty points out that the program has also launched the careers of those who don’t appear on stage themselves. “Lighting designer Amelia Lever-Davidson and designer Romanie Harper. Another example is Stephanie Lake, who is now one of Australia’s hottest choreographers currently experiencing a lot of international success. When she first took the plunge to form her own company we presented two of their earlier works. It was wonderful to be a part of the arts ecology that helped support a newer company as it established itself”.
Darebin Arts Speakeasy show no signs of slowing down, having just announced their 2023 season. The first half of the season, which takes place from March through to July, will feature well-known companies, hot young ensembles, and talented emerging artists, presenting two new plays, three contemporary dance works, and a cutting edge First Nations-led circus company.
It all begins with Slip by Rebecca Jensen, who is collaborating with award-winning sound artist Aviva Endean on a dance work exploring the illusion of foley (the film-making technique of creating and adding in sound affects during post production).
View this post on Instagram
That’s followed by another dance work, A Certain Mumble, by Amelia Jean O’Leary, a First Nations Gamilaroi dancer and choreographer, who is working with Chinese Malaysian artist Janelle Tan Yung Huey. The final presentation in March is Body of Work + QWERTY, a double bill from choreographer Atlanta Eke in collaboration with RDYSTYD and composer Daniel Jenatsch.
In April, a reworked version of the award-winning Arterial by Na Djinang Circus will explore the complexities of lineage within Indigenous communities, through the eyes of rising circus star, director and performer Harley Mann.
Then changing gears the following month is Crocodiles. A theatre piece produced by Elbow Room and written by Vidya Rajan, who recently adapted Looking for Alibrandi for the Malthouse and won the Best Experimental award at the 2022 Melbourne Fringe. McCafferty says this piece is “a rollicking black comedy about the crisis in the aged care sector”.
“A real hit for us in 2022 was the Bloomshed ensemble doing a wonderfully high energy, over the top aesthetic take on Paradise Lost. They’re back again in 2023 with a very unique version of Animal Farm by George Orwell … once again it is like no other adaptation of this material,” says McCafferty of the satire we’ll have to wait until July to enjoy.
McCafferty says at Darebin Arts the top priority has always been about supporting new works by Australian artists and arts organisations to reflect community diversity and share stories that matter, to offer audiences “thrilling arts experiences”.
For the full 2023 program, head to the Darebin Arts Speakeasy website here.
This article was made in partnership with Darebin Arts.
