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Handspan Theatre

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24.01.2022 Moving Right Along! Work continues on improvements to the Handspan Theatre website. Today we invite you to take a look at the PEOPLE section of the site and read all about the Spanners in the Handspan works. The PEOPLE section has been expanded to include articles on Members, Management and Audiences. This change is reflected in the site navigation menus at the top of each page and in the left sidebar, where PEOPLE and COMPANY are now two separate sections.... The People A - Z directory is also growing as more information becomes available. Do email the site if an entry needs corrections, your help would be much appreciated. 'Dante - Through the Invisible' has been added to the Mainstage Gallery. It has videos, storyboard sketches and a few photos. If anyone has Dante photos not already included and can email some JPG scans, that would be very welcome. Visit www.handspantheatre.com.au (By the way, if you’ve bookmarked or visited the Handspan Theatre site recently, now is a good time to clear your cache to ensure the revisions are available.) Contact email: [email protected]

24.01.2022 PLAYING A GAME WITH OUR PLANET'S FUTURE Handspan Theatre was addressing big environmental issues nearing 40 years ago - and the world is STILL struggling to deal with them. THE TOMORROWLAND GAME was an adventure with puppets played by Handspan artists, led by co-founder Andrew Hansen, with students and the Royal Melbourne Zoo.... Within an innovative framework, the residency project incorporated promenade theatre, workshops, puppet-making, conservation education and student performance to question the sustainability of our future on Earth. Discussions haven't stopped and solutions continue to elude us even though we have come closer to Tomorrowland. read about this old project of the future at: https://www.handspantheatre.com.au/in/The+Tomorrowland+Game

21.01.2022 Leonard Radic was a much respected arts editor and theatre critic at the Melbourne Age for much of Handspan's lifetime. His knowledgeable analysis of contemporary Australian performing arts was widely respected by the arts industry and general public alike. He attended all Handspan's opening nights in Melbourne and his insightful criticism undoubtedly contributed to the company's success - many of his comments are included in production articles of the Handspan website: www.handspantheatre.com.au For his view of the company in an interview in 2006 visit: handspantheatre.com.au/info/viewpoints

21.01.2022 Mr.Millyun (detail Photo:Martin Kantor 1991) is pleased to announce Handspan's re-designed Gallery Home page. http://handspantheatre.com.au/gallery.html Great holiday browsing: Many beautiful, unique and some, amusing, images! Take the Quick Tour http://handspantheatre.com.au/gallery_quick-tour.html... and then visit each production gallery or the video collection.. More galleries coming soon. Contact [email protected] if you would like to contribute additional images, corrections or feedback.

19.01.2022 VALE JONATHAN TAYLOR Jonathan Taylor, renowned dancer, choreographer, teacher and Handspan member died in the early hours of March 27th 2019 after a long illness. While he made an indelible mark on Australia’s dance scene, he also had a significant influence on Handspan’s work as an inspiration, choreographer, board member and, just once, a performer.... Jonathan’s was a ‘Billy Elliot’ story a young northern England lad who became a principal dancer in London’s acclaimed Ballet Rambert and a choreographer with an eye for the new, the adventurous and the quirky. His background included classical and contemporary dance with a shot of more populous forms including jazz, tap and musicals. In 1976 he was persuaded to decamp to Adelaide, Don Dunstan’s emerging ‘Athens of the South’, to take the helm of the nascent Australian Dance Theatre (ADT) and arrived with his dancer wife Ariette and their three young children. Jonathan took ADT to new heights as Australia’s major contemporary dance company for Melbourne and Adelaide. When he collaborated with Nigel Triffitt to create the extraordinary visual extravaganza Wildstars, seeing the show at the Edinburgh Festival inspired Handspan’s Helen Rickards and Ken Evans to approach Triffitt to create a new show with Handspan that became Secrets, almost a signature piece for the company that toured extensively and opened doors for the company across Europe and America. In 1987 the Taylors moved to Melbourne, where Jonathan became Dean of Dance at the Victorian College of the Arts while continuing to choreograph in Australia and New Zealand. In 1988, Handspan member Andrew Bleby, as Director of the Next Wave Festival, commissioned Jonathan and Ariette to make a large-scale work together Moonlight Stampede combined their talents in working with community artists to create an energetic show which transformed and filled the Melbourne Town Hall and was later reproduced for World Expo 88 in Brisbane. Later, another of Handspan’s serious successes, Picasso’s Four Little Girls, was created with the company by Ariette Taylor. Jonathan, by now also an active Board member of Handspan toured with the show to South America and was thrust onto the stage with 24 hours’ notice when he was required to take over Andrew Hansen’s part in Caracas, Venezuela when Andrew had to return to Melbourne suddenly. Jonathan continued to support Handspan’s work and choreographed Dante - Through the Invisible in 1996. Jonathan’s infectious enthusiasm, inventive choreography, sense of adventure and understanding of how dance can communicate with audiences proved an inspiration for Handspan and many others besides. His generosity, humour and sense of fun were an asset to all with whom he worked and he remained a true friend of many Handspan folk for the rest of his life. See more about Jonathan on Handspan’s website at http://handspantheatre.com.au/info/Jonathan+Taylor

19.01.2022 A 35 year old awakening - archival video footage never seen before. In 1985, a cultural exchange project between Handspan Theatre and the community at Angatja Outstation in Central Australia enlightened and enriched the white fellas in the company ensemble. It was an exciting and ambitious experiment in theatre-making, one of the first to engage with remote First Nations’ communities. and an eye-opening experience that continues to resonate. The show that evolved, titled, TH...E HAUNTED was original and evocative and tried to stage the impact and confrontation of the exchange. The work although less dramatically successful than all might have hoped proved eye-opening for audiences too See fascinating video footage about the desert adventure and images of the show, filmed by Kestrel Films and hitherto buried on tape in the company archives, which, with notes, review commentary and a gallery of photos are: NOW ON LINE: https://www.handspantheatre.com.au/info/The+Haunted Readers are advised that this article and its gallery concerns and contains images of Aboriginal Australians who have died. See more

17.01.2022 Vale JOHN ROGERS! John died peacefully on 5th March after a long illness. One of the longest serving members of Handspan Theatre (1979 - 1997), John's years touring the world with 'a black bag over his head' were a treasured part of his life, as much as those shows on the road in Australia for young audiences where he wore parti-coloured red and green tights with aplomb! Always, adventurous, always cheerful and a risk-taker on and off the stage, John worked with Handspan as a... performer, writer, director and all-round creative workshop assistant. He appeared in more than 20 original company productions and was an integral part of the collective membership always. A valued colleague and friend and much loved for his warmth, his cheeky wit and his blithe spirit. His shows and some of his story are at: http://www.handspantheatre.com.au/info/John+Rogers For many years John partnered Avril McQueen, also part of Handspan's core company, and was father to Bill and Max all part of the Handspan family for ever. His passing at only 65, after a life of gloriously riotous living is a loss for so many. See more

17.01.2022 This powerful image from Handspan's 1993 production, METAFOUR, photographed by Ponch Hawkes, has now been added to the company's amazing Galleries from the Handspan Theatre archive. Have a look at them and others equally stunning at: http://handspantheatre.com.au/gallery_vignettes.html Made of just cloth and wire, METAFOUR'S puppets portrayed different takes on the human form, freedom, sexuality and original sin in six brief parts which relied not on script, music or sets ...to tell its stories just the images. http://handspantheatre.com.au/info/Metafour The production was created and performed by four experienced Handspan artists: Katy Bowman, Lizz Talbot, Avril McQueen, and Michele Spooner. It played for Melbourne’s Fringe Festival in Fitzroy’s legendary Universal Theatre, garnering strong praise from the critics and scooping up an Award for Performing Arts Best Group. Photo: "Wired" by Lizz Talbot, Univseral Theatre, 1993. (Photographer: Ponch Hawkes) See more about Handspan Theatre at: www.handspantheatre.com.au

16.01.2022 TONY RICKARDS’ BIG MOUTH! Tony Rickards hands out a few tips to school children - about how to fight tooth decay as the dentist in Handspan Theatre’s 1980 touring production The Mouth Show. (Photographer unknown). Melbourne-based actor, comedian and tipster Tony Rickards or perhaps his alter-ego Con Marasco could have been accused of being a Big Mouth at times, but he’s never had a bigger mouth than this! ... Thirty six years ago, a young Tony Rickards was honing his on-stage skills in front of the toughest of audiences young children in a touring puppet production by Melbourne’s legendary Handspan Theatre. Playing a role he could really get his teeth into, The Dentist, Tony kept his young fans spellbound with a good-versus evil tale of toothbrushes versus evil plaque, and fresh crunchy foods versus seductive sugar. Read more at: http://handspantheatre.com.au/info/The+Mouth+Show. or visit The Mouth Show Gallery at: http://handspantheatre.com.au/gallery_mouth-show.html Find out more about all the shows in the company’s twenty-five year reign on Handspan’s amazing website: www.handspantheatre.com.au .

15.01.2022 A new Handspan Gallery is now on line! CHO CHO SAN was a memorable and magic production, created and premiered by Handspan Theatre in 1984. The work was designed by Ken Evans to stage an interpretation of the Madame Butterfly story by Daniel Keene. It played at the U2 Theatre at the Universal in Fitzroy to packed houses. Many who saw it still recall its unique poignancy and pathos.... Although the production didn't remain in Handspan's repertoire, it was the company's only work to be re-mounted elsewhere. Its premiere season was directed by Geoff Hooke, who later took the work to Playbox Theatre (1987) and it was again revived by Peter Wilson in an Australia-China Cultural exchange (2012). Read all about it at http://handspantheatre.com.au/info/Cho+Cho+San, and click the poster to visit the Gallery!

15.01.2022 C0VID-19 PROJECT HANDSPAN THEATRE’S vast archival website is being reviewed and edited with new information and photographs taking advantage of time available in Lockdown! So, this is the time to visit and re-visit the site at: www.handspantheatre.com.au to review this unique company’s remarkable work, its artists and its adventures And, to pass on the link to your friends and colleagues to attract the ‘audience’ for the company’s place in Australia’s theatrical history.... It’s also the time to send your updates, new information and/or photos including for personal biography pages on the site and for peoples’ pages not yet listed to: [email protected] Suggestions and feedback will ALL be gratefully received. Check out this link about Handspan’s Mainstage productions to get you thinking: https://www.handspantheatre.com.au/info/Mainstage

15.01.2022 Vale Tom E. Lewis - creator of Handspan Theatre's final production - LIFT 'EM UP SOCKS. Read about his production at http://handspantheatre.com.au/info/Lift+%27Em+Up+Socks

13.01.2022 Images of Australia As 26th January 2018 approaches it is interesting to recall that 30 years ago, Australia celebrated the Bicentenary of this anniversary in a year of cultural reflection rather than patriotic pride! Handspan Theatre staged its bicentennial production, WAVES OF CHANGE, for the Castlemaine Festival, in the municipality’s outdoor swimming pool. 200 years of invasion and ‘development’ of this country were captured in a floating pageant of the island’s natio...nal iconography dramatised as a comic romp that auctioned the land off to the highest bidder. Written by Tony Rickards, directed by Trina Parker, designed by Philip Lethlean and composed by Marcia Howard, the production told the entire history of the continent in little over an hour. Pictures tell the story and document its swimming pool set up in another new Gallery on the Handspan website at: http://handspantheatre.com.au/gallery_waves-of-change.html The production involved complex and clever staging, innovative for its time and a challenge for its performers, working outdoors on chilly nights in the inky underwater darkness. Unfortunately, the audience froze too regional Victorian temperatures were, on average, about 20 degrees colder in November 1988 than they were in 2017! Read about the production and see the full company list at: http://www.handspantheatre.com.au/info/Waves+of+Change

12.01.2022 HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANDSPAN! On 13th July 1977 Handspan Theatre was registered as a business name. The company closed in 2002, but the Handspan Theatre Website remains to tell its story in words and pictures. We have recently embarked on a major revision and upgrade of the extensive site, urged on by the need to stay at home during the Covid-19 pandemic.... So to celebrate the birthday, visit the following three pages, freshly updated and revised: https://www.handspantheatre.com.au/info/At+Home https://www.handspantheatre.com.au/info/On+the+Road https://handspantheatre.com.au/info/Secrets There will be lots more updates to come. Watch this space! Comments and corrections are always welcome mail to: [email protected] What actually happened 43 Years ago today? On 13th July, 1977, Handspan Theatre was registered as a business name. The company’s founders had a few days earlier scored a commission for a show: Anatol’s restaurant in suburban Melbourne wanted to offer a family puppet show Hansel and Gretel on Sunday afternoons and there was a date for its premiere. A business name and bank account were required to confirm the arrangements, so at a hastily convened meeting in the carpark, the group settled on a name before going inside to sign a contract their future in their own hands! It was the beginning of a 25-year adventure for hundreds of artists and others, dozens of shows and thousands of performances across Australia and around the world.

12.01.2022 Vale Jon Stephens Jon Stephens: writer, director, script editor, producer and actor for film, television and theatre, and Chair of Handspan Theatre from 1986 to 1990, died peacefully in Melbourne on December 26, 2019 after battling cancer for several years. Many Handspan members have kept in touch with Jon over the last thirty years, and fondly remember him for his enthusiastic support and promotion of the company as well as for his wit, joie de vivre and all the fun that swi...rled round the company during his time. He will be sorely missed. Photo: Jon Stephens Handspan Chair 1987 Photographer: Ponch Hawkes. To see Jon’s Handspan profile http://handspantheatre.com.au/info/Jon+Stephens

11.01.2022 CONGRATULATIONS to longtime Handspan theatre member, Winston Appleyard who married Leigh, his partner of 24 years, on New Year's Day 2020. Read about "Boy' Winston's Handspan history at: http://www.handspantheatre.com.au/info/Winston+Appleyard... Wedding photographer: Ponch Hawkes 2020

11.01.2022 July 13 2017 - 40 years since Handspan Theatre was established in Melbourne! An anniversary! Check out Handspan's website to see over 75 productions and projects of its lifetime and the so far listed 550 people who worked with the company during those years: www.handspantheatre.com.au Snapshot here taken 30 years ago at the 10 year Anniversary Exhibition at the company's studio and headquarters at 108 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy.

10.01.2022 Marks Deans, pictured here in Handspan Theatre and Back-to-Back Theatre’s co-production, MINDS EYE (1996) is still a core member of the Back to Back Theatre Theatre ensemble, touring soon to Europe in its 2016 Melbourne Festival premiere production LADY EATS APPLE. More pictures and the story of this early collaborative work can be found at: http://handspantheatre.com.au/info/Minds+Eye (Photographer: Jeff Busby 1996)

05.01.2022 Vale Ian Mortimer (dec. 26 December 2016) - a performer and theatre maker of courage, integrity and invention seen here in Handspan's production of The Haunted (Photograph Peter Akbiyik, 1985). For more of Mort in this show: http://handspantheatre.com.au/gallery_haunted.html

04.01.2022 FRIDA KAHLO - NOW ON VIEW! A new Gallery has been added to Handspan's website with production pictures and images from the company's 1993 work VIVA LA VIDA FRIDA KAHLO written by Karen Corbett, directed by Angela Chaplin, designed by Ken Evans and composed by Boris Connelly. http://www.handspantheatre.com.au//Viva+la+Vida+-+Frida+Ka Photograph below by Ponch Hawkes (1993) - 'Two Fridas' played by Carmelina Di Guglielmo and Melita Jurisic. See the whole Gallery at: http://handspantheatre.com.au/gallery_viva-la-vida-frida-ka

01.01.2022 Mary Leunig is having an open spat with her brother about his depiction of young mothers. 24 years ago Melbourne's Handspan Theatre produced Mary Leunig's own view of a housewife's lot in the socio-comic show DAZE OF OUR LIVES, a theatrical interpretation of her published book of the same name. Directed by Annie Wylie and co-devised by her with Katy Bowman and composed by Peter Neville, it was designed by Laurel Frank who derived her images from Mary's drawings. The show feat...ured Julie Forsyth in a wordless nightmare world of clever puppetry, and played acclaimed seasons in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide and Bogota, Columbia. Click to read about the work and see images an a short video clip. https://www.handspantheatre.com.au/info/Daze+of+Our+Lives Photographer: Peter Weaving Melbourne Times 1995