🌖 Sunday Night In #24
A great opportunity from State Theatre; the Cabaret Fringe fabulous but precarious; and the Penelopiad about to open.
Sunday Night In brings you the news about South Australian books, theatre and stories that the algorithm doesn’t show you. No ads, no clickbait, and it’s free!
Hello friends!
You might have noticed there has been a short break in transmission. Two Sundays ago I was slightly seedy from election night shenanigans and then last weekend I was running around cleaning my house in a pre-holiday frenzy. I’m assured that some people do leave on a holiday* without insisting that the linen cupboard be rearranged, but there’s something about leaving the house for more than a night or two that unleashes a strange compulsion to clean. Which all means that it’s been three weeks since I last sent a weekly update. Which means that there’s lots to catch up on.
(*it wasn’t so much a holiday as a few days away, mostly working from a hotel room, but I did very enjoy the change of scenery).
This last week (or two) in South Australia: the algal bloom kept growing with increasingly devastating results; the Adelaide Lightning women’s basketball team was rescued in a last-minute government bail-out; and my much-loved Thunderbirds lost to the West Coast Fever.
Coming up in the arts we've got lots to look forward to and in this week’s edition of Sunday Night In we’ve got the public consultation on the future of the SA Museum; a passionate plea from the Cabaret Fringe; and a growing arts collection at a local library.
Let’s get started …
News
🙋🏽♀️ Public consultation on the future of the SA Museum is well underway. Given the recent history which led to the Premier’s Review last September, I would guess there will be a lot of public responses. If you’d like to read more about it or add your own reflections, you’ll find it on the YourSAy platform here.
🎉 Celebrate the opening of Yitpi Yartapuultiku, a living cultural centre and new place to gather, share stories and celebrate Kaurna culture.
🗞️ InReview is once again partnering with CreateSA to offer a mentorship opportunity for an emerging First Nations writer based in South Australia.
🚸 There’s lots happening at Patch Theatre with two new appointments: Hannah Neophytou as marketing and communications manager, and Jana Drummond as producer. There are also two new appointments to their board, Sam Haren and Mitchell Cramey.
Theatre and performance
🧨 💥 EXPLOSIVE NEWS. State Theatre Company have launched a truly exciting new opportunity for independent theatre makers. The SPARK program will produce two seasons of independent work per year from 2026-2028, with the works to be presented in the Main Theatre at the Adelaide College of the Arts. They’ll be providing rehearsal space, theatre hire, pre-production support, dramaturgy, marketing and publicity. Opportunities for such comprehensive support are rare treasures, and I am excited to see the successful productions. (Note that Spark does replace the old Stateside program, but it also considerably extends the support offered to artists. It’s an overall ✅)
🏺The Penelopiad presented by the University of Adelaide Theatre Guild opens soon. Written by Margaret Atwood, The Penelopiad is an adaptation of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, told from the perspective of Odysseus' wife Penelope.
🤣 Lori Bell hosts the Adelaide Comedy Showcase on 6 June; and Vida Slayman hosts on 13 June.
🎟️ Tickets are on sale for The Construct presented by No Strings Attached Theatre of Disability.
🦋 Butterfly Theatre have a season of Shakespeare After Dark at the Glen Ewin Estate.
Sunday Night In connects South Australian artists with audiences and South Australian audiences with artists. Share this newsletter with anyone you think might be interested. Suggest they subscribe … it’s full of great information and it’s free!
Books, readings, storytelling and writing
🌊 The next No Wave poetry night at The Wheaty is ‘Generations’ curated by Ben Adams and features Geoff Goodfellow, Mei Szetu, Chelsea Avard and Erica Jolly.
📕 Author talk: Holden Sheppard, author of King of Dirt at Salisbury Community Hub.
🌳 The second issue of Writers SA’s literary journal, Splinter is about to be launched, and you can see the launch live on their Instagram feed. The list of writers is exceptional, with a special insert featuring new work by a cohort of five Deaf writers. I am really looking forward to reading this.
📚 🎭 As an ex-librarian, I think this is very cool: Vitalstatistix is working in partnership with the Port Adelaide library to develop a dedicated suit of art books. If you have suggestions or requests for playscripts, artists books, or other related titles, get in touch with Vitals. Think big!
✍🏼 ⏰ Check out Writers SA’s Writing Wednesdays if you’re looking to get some writing done in a supportive and motivating community; plus the all-day Work Space returns in June.
💥 Apply to be a presenter at Talking Pictures, part of the Papercuts Comics Festival in 2025. Talking Pictures is a live comics reading event and all visual storytellers are invited to apply.
🎹 Poetry set to piano in the Gillian Dooley Variety Half Hour on 21 May at Ern Malley.
🆕 A new poetry night organised by Friendly Street Poets and supported by Campbelltown City Council, The Poetry Laboratory held every month until July.
🎉 Brian Castro’s latest novel, Chinese Postman has been longlisted for the Miles Franklin.
Enjoying Sunday Night In? Share it with a friend … it’s another way to contribute to a vibrant local arts scene.
Festivals
⏰ The History Festival continues.
🌿 The Nature Festival will launch their 2025 theme ‘Flow’ with a program including Naomi Keyte and Nancy Bates.
🌟 The program for Illuminate Adelaide is live, and I think this looks outstanding: Streetlights and Long Nights is an immersive audio work experienced through headphones while seated in stationary cars near the river. On her Instagram post she writes, ‘Come and watch the stars with me. Come and watch the stars watching us with me.’ Look at the lineup of actors and you’ll see it’s jam-packed with some of our state’s finest and most interesting voices.
🎩 The program for the Cabaret Fringe is also live, and has a released a passionate public statement about its precarious future. As well as the performances, there’s some great professional development opportunities, including an MC Workshop for Cabaret led by the talents of Tash York and Libby Trainor Parker; and a Stitch n B*tch Workshop led by Renee from Maid of Madness to guide you through designing, drafting and crafting costume pieces.
Social media has worked really well for the arts for many years. But now? Who has any real idea where it’s heading? Local news is getting harder to find, local news about the arts harder still.
A Little Bit of This and That That Isn’t Books or Theatre or Readings or Performance
🖼️ REDUX a retrospective of works by Dianne Longley and Olga Sankey and curated by Dr Tom Middlemost has just opened at praxis ARTSPACE. Their work incorporates text and historical reference, examining life’s ongoing stories.
🎥 The first Adelaide Film Festival film club event of the year is an advanced screening of Bring Her Back from local filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou.
🥂 Port Precinct Drinks will be held at Post Office Projects creating a great opportunity for Port creatives and businesses to connect. RSVP here.
🎞️ At the Mercury Cinema a screening of The Angels: Kickin’ Down the Door followed by an in-conversation event with director Maddie Parry and band member John Brewster. (Earworm? You’re welcome!)
🍓 I’m always surprised to be reminded about the strong connection that South Australia has to Morris & Co, but you can learn more about it at Morris & Co: An Adelaide Obsession at Carrick Hill.
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Opportunities!
Jobs, funding, residencies, fellowships, competitions, and calls for expressions of interest
👩🏽🎨 🏠 Expressions of interest for an Artist in Residence at Pulteney Grammar School are now open (this is a regular call, so even if you aren’t up for it this year, take note for future opportunities).
📺 Apply to pitch to SBS and NITV, or attend the evening Q & A.
🎒 Cultural Heritage Coordinator at the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters.
🎻 Engagement and Operations Coordinator at the Australian String Quartet.
🎨 Tutti Arts are looking for an Arts Support Worker.
🎭 Vitalstatistix are looking for people to join their casual crew in customer service, bar work or production services.
🔎 Jam Factory is looking for a Curatorial Director.
✍ Writers SA is looking for a CEO.
✍️ And still on Writers SA, the AGM is on 27 May. It moved online a few years ago, so it’s easy to attend. Register here.
🌻 And still on AGMs, The Arts Industry Council of South Australia is holding its AGM this week followed by networking and drinks. There are three vacant positions on the Executive, and they are seeking in particular nominations from independent artists and individuals with legal or financial experience. The AICSA does great work providing an independent voice for the arts and has a long history of advocating for the arts. You can see recent examples in their response to both Create SA’s cultural policy and the City of Adelaide draft cultural policy.
Thank you for reading!
That’s it for this issue. We’ll be back next Sunday. Until then: Read books! See theatre! Listen to music! Be part of a vibrant, thriving culture of arts in South Australia.
Talk soon
Tracy xx
The small print
A disclaimer: I take a lot of care to make sure I’ve got details correct, but I’m often working on my phone or uploading things from word to substack and I spend a lot of time in places with terrible internet connections. So mistakes will happen. Please double check all of the details about events before you head out.
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