It’s Saturday afternoon and I’m sitting at home with the blinds drawn. It’s bloody hot outside today and the drawn blinds, combined with shorts only and a floor fan is the most environmentally friendly way I can think of to keep cool. Mind you, I could always go the shopping centre or the pub? Hmmm… let me think about that.
The last few days have been reasonably active, both socially and with work. I have had a couple of beers with workmates, a bloggers meeting, a VERY nice bottle of a sparkling Rose with Damien last night at the Four Seasons, and I’ve been to see two movies and one stage show.
The first of these movie was the new George Clooney film, Good Night, and Good Luck which is a highly stylised film dealing with the impact of McCarthyism on journalism. The central focus is the decision of a real-life television program hosted by Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn) who decides that McCarthy needs to be confronted and exposed for the unfair impact he was having on the lives of so many people.
And then on Thursday night, Colin and I went to see the new Judi Dench movie, Mrs Henderson Presents. Mrs Henderson, starring Dame Judi Dench, was based on the true-life story of a London theatre which continued in the midst of World War II, providing a wonderful farewell for so many young men who would soon be dead fighting in Europe.
After that, Colin and I went to the Darlinghurst Theatre to see The Windows Project, which featured compositions by many of the most talented composers of Australian musical theatre and cabaret including Phil Scott, Eddie Perfect and Matthew Robinson. All of the songs contain a reference here and there to windows or glass, with recurrent themes of seeing reflections, looking at people from a distance and breaking glass as a metaphor.
After a few years of extreme popularity, Australian musical theatre and cabaret is at a low ebb at the moment, with many of the jobs drying up. Recently, while attending a show, a young performer told Colin and I that after six years of almost continuous work, he was now contemplating “getting a bar job”. After the heady years of “Mamma Mia” and all of those other pop musicals, perhaps we’ll see a return to the old days with the Broadway traditions once again dominating?
Summer has well and truly arrived in Sydney. When I checked the temperature at 9.43pm on Wednesday it was 35 degrees even then! All of the pasty-faced backpackers have arrived… they must feel like they’re arrived in hell. As for me? I’m heading home to Lismore for 10 days soon, which will be good, but I’ll be spending most of summer in Sydney. And it’s a great time of the year to do it, too, especially with Sydney Festival, Open Air Cinema, etc.