Arts Confidential: Actor reveals details of theatre snub

The one-time artistic director of QTC, who starred in the production that opened QPAC’s Playhouse theater, has revealed details about the snub that still puzzles her.

She was in the production that opened QPAC’s Playhouse theatre and now Robyn Nevin is about to grace the stage there again.

Nevin, 78, is still going strong and getting rave reviews for her one woman show A German Life, directed by Neil Armfield and written by Christopher Hampton. That’s three theatre powerhouses right there.

In A German Life, which comes to The Playhouse from June 2 to 20, she plays Brunhilde Pomsel, an unassuming woman with good shorthand skills who, almost by chance, came to work in Joseph Goebbels’ Propaganda Ministry under Hitler.

Robyn Nevin in A German Life. Picture: Andrew Beveridge

It’s a 90 minute tour de force by one of our leading actors on both stage and screen.

Nevin has done some wonderful stuff cinematically including The Eye of The Storm, Emerald City and who can forget her in The Castle. She also appeared in the Matrix films.

We last saw her on stage here a few years ago in My Fair Lady and she was terrific.

“That role brought me a new bathroom,” Nevin says.

But here’s the thing. Though she acted in QTC’s Playhouse opening production of The Marriage of Figaro directed by Neil Armfield and alongside Geoffrey Rush in 1998 while she was artistic director, she has never been asked back.

It puzzles her.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been back to perform with Queensland Theatre,” Nevin says. “I’ve just never been invited.” Ouch.

Robyn Nevin. Picture: Hugh Stewart

Nevin was artistic director for Queensland Theatre Company as it was then between 1996 and 1999 and she saved the company from financial ruin. She remembers the time fondly and says she loved working with then arts Minister Joan Sheldon who became known as Joan of Arts.

“She is such a strong and independent woman,” Nevin recalls. “I liked her a lot and it helped that we were the same height.”

Her latest role is challenging and shows “what we are capable of and how we can be led astray”.

“It’s very satisfying,” Nevin says.

“It’s someone telling their life story and there is an innate need in us to listen to and to tell stories.”

The play was compiled from testimony by the then 103 year old Brunhilde Pomsel for the 2014 documentary A German Life and is the story of one of the last actively involved witnesses to the rise and fall of the Third Reich.

Of course it does defy that Fawlty Towers edict ...“Don‘t mention the war” but never mind.

qpac.com.au

NEW PARTNER FOR QAGOMA

QAGOMA director Chris Saines. Picture: Nigel Hallett

They have been admiring each other’s establishments from afar, but now QAGOMA director Chris Saines and Shayher Group director John Lin have formed a handy partnership.

Saines’ office looks across the river to Brisbane Quarter, the swanky Shayher Group development that includes the W Brisbane and some fine restaurants and retail outlets. Lin said he always noticed GOMA lit up at night and had often thought it would be good to have a partnership with the joint.

So on Friday, at an exclusive little gathering at Persone Italian Restaurant (where Saines is no stranger) in the $1bn Brisbane Quarter, Lin announced , alongside Saines, that Shayher would champion QAGOMA to the tune of more than $1m over six years.

Their sponsorship will include the forthcoming European Masterpieces exhibition and the next Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art later in the year.

“Part of the Shayher value system is to embrace culture and diversity in all its forms,” Lin said. “We see the arts as vital to ­creating a sense of community and making up the tapestry of everyday life.”

Saines said he was thrilled with this landmark partnership.

“As a Brisbane-based company with roots in Asia and ambitious projects around the world, Shayher Group is uniquely suited to ­partnering with QAGOMA on our world-class programming with its strong focus on the contemporary art of the Asia Pacific region,” Saines said.

He was all smiles.

WOMEN STILL IN VOICE

Good news and bad news. Women in Voice is coming back. The bad news is last time I looked the Brisbane Powerhouse shows on June 11 and June 12 were almost booked out. Well they would be, wouldn’t they?

I mean just look at the line-up ... Leah Cotterell, Roz Pappalardo, Jenny Wynter, the fabulous Bridget Boyle as MC (as her alter ego Anna Slack) and some talented newcomers.

Jenny Wynter will be performing for Women in Voice.

The show’s producer, the seasoned Lewis Jones, tells me the good news is that they have added a new show at the Redland Performing Arts Centre on Sunday arvo June 20 at 4pm and tickets go on sale this Thursday so book early and book often!

That show will reveal a new Redlands talent, Hannah Johnstone.

Women in Voice has been going since 1993 and performers over the years have included Kate Miller-Heidke, Katie Noonan, Deborah Conway and even the late great pouting Chrissy Amphlett.

THE JUDY IS BACK

It was good to be back at The Judy recently ....The Judith Wright Arts Centre (named after the poet) that is, in Fortitude Valley.

The Judy has been in the doldrums for the past couple of years while a refurbishment turned it into a bit of a no-go zone. But last Friday, Arts Minister Leeanne Enoch officially launched the new version.

“The $3.1m in funding from the Palaszczuk government has transformed The Judith Wright Arts Centre into so much more than just a performance centre,” Minister Enoch said. “It is now serving as a dynamic hub for some of Queensland’s most vibrant arts organisations.” It’s a buzzing building that is home to Yaron Lifschitz and his company Circa, Australasian Dance Collective (headed by the amazing Amy Hollingsworth), The Little Red Company (Naomi Price and her pals), Anywhere Festival and others. The theatre is intimate and back in action after a long lay-off.

Singers Luke Kennedy and Naomi Price of The Little Red Company. Picture: Tara Croser.

LOVE, LOSS AND GRIEF

More power to Metro Arts for taking on some tough subjects and presenting independent theatre that matters and makes us even a little uncomfortable.

A case in point, is its latest production Anatomy of a Suicide by acclaimed UK playwright Alice Birch. It starts tonight at the Sue Benner Theatre at Metro Arts in West End and features a great cast, including Rebecca Alexander, Elise Greig, Zoe Houghton and Tom Yaxley.

Tom Yaxley is in Metro Arts new production of Anatomy of a Suicide. Picture: Mark Cranitch.

Director Catarina Hebbard said it had never before been performed in Queensland and warned audiences to “watch out”. “It’s going to knock the wind out of your sails,” she said. “It is hard-hitting, fierce and intelligent.”

It asks big questions about inheritance, the fragility of the human mind and the legacies of grief. Birch does not shrink from the toughness and complexity of her subject matter. It’s suitable for ages 15+.

metroarts.com.au