Mister Brisbane: Hunkering down
What to do in quarantine | Tribute to Tony | Radio activity | Dazzling designs
It’s a bit tricky to do what is essentially a “what’s on” newsletter when nobody is sure what will actually be on. Among those events already cancelled due to Covid-19 precautions are the World Science Festival, Queensland Ballet’s 60th Anniversary Gala, the final week of the Brisbane Comedy Festival, and the Paniyiri Greek Festival, with all sporting events and events at QPAC and other big venues under review. So this week, I’ll start with things you can do without venturing out into the wide world.
HOME ALONE
Since a lot of us will be self-isolating at some time, it’s best to start thinking now about what you might do during a couple of weeks at home. You’ll probably consume a lot of films and TV shows, listen to the radio (see next item), read a book or two and noodle around on the internet. But even all that can wear thin after a while. What else can be done on your own? Well, apart from what some of you are thinking, here are a few suggestions:
+ Spring clean (yes, I know it’s autumn, but you get the point).
+ Listen to podcasts.
+ Do a very big jigsaw puzzle, or a Lego project.
+ Master home-brewing or bread-baking.
+ Learn a language.
+ Remember: laughter may not be the best medicine in this instance, but it’s readily available and easy to share (online and without bodily contact, of course).
The Observer (Guardian online) has some suggestions here, including listening to the full 15-hour version of Wagner’s The Ring and reading George Eliot’s Middlemarch.
RADIO DAZE
If you’re in quarantine, the radio is your friend, just as it is in any other emergency. If you’re interested in what other people are listening to, it might be worth checking out the result of the year’s first radio ratings survey. My thoughts on those results and on the way the ratings are compiled are in my most recent column for InQueensland. In brief: the survey was won overall by Triple M, whose Marto, Margaux and Nick shared top place in the breakfast shift with Hit 105’s Stav, Abby and Matt (below). However, there was something for everyone, with Nova 106.9 and 97.3FM also performing well in the overall audience stakes, and 4KQ and 4BC continuing to do what they do for the older audiences. ABC Brisbane’s Craig Zonca and Loretta Ryan had the leading breakfast show on the AM dial.
R.I.P. TONY GOULD
I was very sad to hear news last week of the death of Tony Gould, the founding director of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre. He was a friend and mentor to many, a champion of artists and a giant of the arts, in Brisbane and beyond. He was also a gentle man who had time for nosey journalists such as me. A memorial service is scheduled to be held at the Concert Hall on Monday, March 23 (although this, like other events, may have to be postponed).
FASHION MEETS MUSIC
Opera Queensland has been doing some innovative marketing for its production of Julian Langdon, Casey Bennetto and Gillian Cosgriff’s Lorelei. Sadly the season, due to open at the Conservatorium Theatre on March 27, was cancelled late yesterday, March 16. As with all cancelled productions, my thoughts are with all those involved and those who were to bein the audience. At least we can all take a look at the fabulous drawings, above, by Lorelei costume designer Marg Horwell, who notes that “a new operatic cabaret which questions the roles imposed upon women by patriarchy provided the perfect opportunity to reappropriate women’s fashions”. Complete with some of her drawings, the release quotes Horwell: “Women choose to restrict themselves quite literally and physically with fashion. We’ve amped that up to excessive proportions and deliberately made dresses that look spectacular when you are standing still, but when you try to walk or negotiate normal things, it’s actually difficult to do.”
If you can’t wait for your opera fix, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, which is in physical shutdown, is streaming some of its greatest performances. By my reckoning, the first, a 2010 production of Bizet’s Carmen, should begin at 9.30am on Tuesday, March 17 (today for eager readers), Brisbane time. The program will continue daily with a program including La Bohème, Il Trovatore, La Traviata, La Fille du Régiment, Lucia di Lammermoor and Eugene Onegin. Details here.
STRICTLY SONDHEIM
Also almost certain to be cancelled is the Sondheim on Sondheim concert scheduled for QPAC on Stephen Sondheim’s birthday, March 22, at 6pm. It was to feature Philip Quast, Anne Wood, Naomi Price, Jason Barry-Smith and other artists singing tunes from Sondheim hits including West Side Story, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Into the Woods. Even if the show does not go on, all musical-theatre lovers should pause to celebrate the 90th birthday of a man who has done so much to enrich the genre.
+ Topology was due to perform a new composition, Drought Stories Texas, at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) during the now-cancelled Up Late program for its Water exhibition on Friday and Saturday. We’ll now have to wait to hear the work, which has been composed by Topology’s principal, John Babbage.
+ Triple X (photo, below) is due to open on Thursday, March 19, at the Bille Brown Theatre in South Brisbane. As of now, the show is going ahead, as the venue holds fewer than 500 people. Details here.
WHAT TO DO
+ If you are venturing out, take advice and check the details. Remember that even if an event is not cancelled, your attendance may have an impact on your health or that of others. At the same time, do try to support local business including those who create art for our enjoyment and edification. If you have to cancel this time, support them when things return to normal.
+ It’s St Patrick’s Day today. Celebrations may be subdued, but I hope those who care to do so get to have a tipple, even if it is a cheeky can of the black stuff at home.
WHAT NOT TO DO
Panic.