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WINNER: 2017 State Theatre Company Young Playwrights Award
CJ McLean is the 2017 winner of the Flinders University Young Playwrights Award, State Theatre Company’s major award for the encouragement and support of new writing talent, now in its 17th year.
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What’s in a Name?
In 2014 I went to Oxford to go to summer school and study playwriting. It was one of those sweet experiences you only get by privilege and severely misunderstanding how HECS debt works (turns out the loan to travel the UK was harder to shake than the STIs I skirted fate with on that trip).…
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REVIEW: The Rivoli, Sydney Festival
Nostalgia is the name of the game when it comes to the Dance Makers Collective’s new show, The Rivoli, staged as part of Sydney Festival at the historic Granville Town Hall. The locale is one of many delights in this surprising combination of dance and memory. There are lots of things to praise in this…
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INTERVIEW: Dina Panozzo
I had the absolute delight of sitting down with renowned actor Dina Panozzo ahead of STCSA’s premiere of The Gods of Strangers, a new play by Resident Artist Elena Carapetis. Panozzo is playing Assunta in the play, and I can say with some certainty that she has more life in her pinky toe than I have…
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INTERVIEW: Charles Sanders – Director of House Of Sand’s Welcome The Bright World
Prior to House of Sand and State Theatre Company of South Australia‘s production of Welcome the Bright World, I was able to sit down with director Charles Sanders to discuss religion, politics, arts and everything in between, along with a healthy dollop of 1980s Berlin. Check out the full interview here. Welcome the Bright World is on now at…
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INTERVIEW: Tim Winton, Acclaimed Australian Author
I got the opportunity last week to have a chat with Tim Winton ahead of the State Theatre Company of South Australia‘s production of That Eye, The Sky. It was a fantastic chat that touched on religion, unexamined privilege, environmentalism, and family life. Check out the full interview here. CJ xx
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REVIEW: Heathers the Musical, Adelaide Fringe 2018
Originally published in Glam Adelaide Colour-coordinated croquet bats have never looked so good. In fact, the last time primary colours were used to this effect was The Wiggles. Fans of the original 80s teen flick (slasher flick? I guess it defies genre) will not disappoint in this musical update, which features all of the violent…
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REVIEW: Orpheus, Adelaide Fringe 2018
Originally published in Glam Adelaide There’s something sort of comforting about Orpheus. It’s like a hot cup of a tea at the end of a big, seedy night out. This modern adaptation of the ancient Greek legend weaves dirty pubs, backstreets and karaoke into the fearful Underwood of Hades. It’s simple in its concept, and features…
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UPDATE: 2018
Hi guys, Just a quick update; Adelaide Fringe and the Adelaide Festival are both coming up pretty quickly, and this year I’ll be writing reviews for Glam Adelaide. I’m excited to be reviewing for Adelaide Festival as well this year. Both programmes are full of exciting new works, as well as several old favourites (and…
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REVIEW: Vale, STCSA
Originally published in Glam Adelaide Thumbnail image credit: Chris Herzfeld Welcome to Vale indeed. Being presented with this wickedly dysfunctional family is less of a welcome, and more like ten rounds in a boxing ring. Taking place in the penthouse suite of a premier Vale hotel, the New Year celebrations of the Vale family are interrupted by…
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REVIEW: La Vida Breve/Gianni Schicchi, SOSA
Originally published in Glam Adelaide Thumbnail image credit: Bernard Hull First, a quick admission—I’ve never seen an opera in my life. I’ve never even had the impulse to go and see one. I’ve listened to a few choice selections, mostly Maria Callas, but it has never crossed my mind to actually go to the opera.…
Callum McLean 