ARCHITECTURE TO TOPICAL ISSUES 19th September 2019
NONE SO BLIND
The abuse of power is a topical issue. Whether it’s ‘me too’ or paedophilia or domestic violence, we are – justifiably – outraged and horrified by its impact.
In the first segment of Arts Thursday, this confronting issue is explored through a controversial play NONE SO BLIND.
Martin Portus
Martin Portus, arts journalist and critic, publicist and former arts journalist with the ABC joins Maisy Stapleton to discuss the work. Martin originally trained as an actor at NIDA and has continued his career on the stage around his ‘day job’.
Martin is taking the central role in the Dark Pony production of NONE SO BLIND, for the Sydney Fringe Festival. He plays an elderly blind man – a role which would normally engage our sympathy, except his character dispels our compassion with his manipulative predilection for young boys.
NONE SO BLIND, written by Australian playwright Gareth Cruickshank and directed by Susan Jordan, was first presented in New York. It is a challenging drama, which evokes both strong emotions and ambiguous feelings as it explores the complex characters played by Martin and the young men in his orbit.
ROBIN BOYD – DESIGN LEGEND
In the second segment of the program, visit Heide Museum of Modern Art in Melbourne for the background to the exhibition Robin Boyd – Design Legend.
Robin Boyd was one of Australia’s best-known architects. He designed over 300 projects and taught Australians to think about architecture through his books, particularly The Australian Ugliness, published in 1960
Kendrah Morgan
To honour the centenary of his birth, Heide, with the support of the Robin Boyd Foundation has mounted an exhibition of ten of his well-known houses, illustrating subtle variations on architectural modernism of the 50s and 60s.
Through models, striking contemporary photographs and architectural blueprints, as well as examples of furniture designed for his own home set against the backdrop of an audio visual and modernistic soundscape, the exhibition provides an overview of Robin Boyd, his architecture and even some of his personal idiosyncrasies.
Kendrah Morgan, Senior Curator at Heide provides the context to the exhibition and Boyd’s work in a lively discussion recorded recently at Heide.
For Further Information:
None So Blind: Performances on 24th to 28th September, Erskineville Town Hall.
Tickets available from https://sydneyfringe.com/buy-tickets
Robin Boyd Design Legend Exhibition: Heide Gallery of Modern Art, 7 Templestowe Rd, Bulleen VIC
Until 27th October https://www.heide.com.au/exhibitions/robin-boyd-design-legend-0
The Robin Boyd Foundation: https://robinboyd.org.au/
DON’T WORRY IF YOU MISS THE PROGRAM!
If you miss the program you can listen again by going to https://eastsidefm.org/arts/artsthursday/ and clicking on the date 19 September 2019.
And watch out for podcasts at later dates.
Tune into Arts Thursday with Maisy Stapleton every fortnight from 10:30 to noon for in-depth conversations on the arts.