The past couple of weeks in Sydney have been as fantastic as the first, despite the amount of time I have spent in work.
I was lucky enough to go and see a performance by the Sydney Theatre Company at the Wharf Theatres called 'Fight Night'. The play was a devised piece (seemingly created in a style similar to Mike Leigh's) requiring heavy audience participation, and created in collaboration with Belgium's main theatre company. It required the audience to vote on their favourite actors on stage based on very little- firstly just their appearances, and later simple charismatic speeches or their answers to trivial questions. One by one, the actors were eliminated. The play subtly and cleverly mimicked that of political systems worldwide, until you eventually began to question if you had a choice at all. It, rather amusingly, ended in a small revolution where a large portion of the audience chose to hand in their voting devices and leave the theatre, and the rest left wondering if anyone had really won at all.
After the performance, I was lucky enough to speak to two of the actors and ask them questions on the process they went through. Despite the script being based on their own answers and personalities, they admitted that by the time they had done a few performances, it almost felt like being a different character themselves.
On my birthday, I was given the day of work and opened a few presents from home. Susan, Clive and their daughters, who I am currently staying with, very generously bought me lots of typically Australian items (wine, sweets, timtams, vegemite) and a pass to 5 Sydney attractions, starting with the Sydney Eye- an observation tower with views over the whole of Sydney and its suburbs. I went up at lunch time with Abbey and Eleanor. Thankfully, the weather stayed clear, and the views were spectacular. Next, we went for lunch at the Guylian cafe overlooking the harbour bridge, followed by cocktails at the Opera Bar in the Sydney Opera House, and finally a meal in a pub on the rocks. It was a perfect day, made even more lovely by wonderful company and their astounding generosity.
The next day, I went to the famous 'Sydney Royal Easter Show' with Susan and her friend. It was very similar the the Royal Welsh Show in concept but on a much grander scale, with contributions from the entire of Australia. There were displays of all kinds- from food, fashion and technology to animal displays such as horse jumping and sheep dog competitions. I partucularly enjoyed the food displays, in which each state had entered a large 3D landscape with the components being made entirely out of farm produce. I also loved seeing the cakes- I used to consider my cakes to be of a reasonable standard until I saw the incredible competition entries. I also bought a traditional show bag, a gift bag containing a variety of things usually worth more than the amount paid at the show. At the end of the day, I went into the animal petting section and cuddled a few piglets and baby goats- a very sweet end to another wonderful day in Sydney.
On the weekend, I went to stay with an old school friend of my Mum's, who emigrated to Australia at the age of 15 and has lived in Sydney since. It was lovely to meet her family and see another part of Sydney, and lovelier still to spend time with someone who understood why I was excited to go home. That weekend, I also went to the Easter Church services in St Andrew's Cathedral, which turned out to be the same church that Kate and Will were attending! A rather strange and surreal coincidence! To conclude the weekend, I made Susan, Clive and the girls dinner (chicken and mushrooms in a creamy white wine sauce with rice) and dessert (easter nests and a rasperry and chocolate sponge cake).
This week, I have been to Madam Tussaud's with Abbey and Eleanor and had lunch at a locally famous restaurant called 'Pancakes On The Rocks', my first savoury pancake! I have tried so many new foods since being in Australia, and no longer live on pasta, fish and mashed potatoes. I have also met an actress who used to perform with the Sydney Theatre Company, and we are meeting up for coffee next week.
Last night, I went to see a performance of 'Music' by Jane Bodie performed by the Griffin Theatre Company at the SBW Stables Theatre in Kings Cross. The play was very dark, but beautifully written and focused around the topic of mental illness- schizophrenia in particular. The topic was tastefully and accurately approached, avoiding false yet frequently believed stereotypes. Although not completely flawless, the performances by the actors and actresses were very good, particularly that of Kate Skinner who played a large supporting role. Some moments when she was barely doing anything were the most chilling moments overall. Once again, I was lucky enough to speak to a couple of the actors afterwards, who were happy to have a picture and answer a question or two. I was disappointed when the main character told me that his research was primarily google and youtube, but perhaps it is unrealistic to expect that he should have done more interesting research? In my opinion, there are more effective ways to research a character with mental illness, but I am overlg ambitious in nature.
Today, I woke up at ten to 3 in the morning and drove into the city with Eleanor to see the Anzac day dawn service. The service was similar in nature to the poppy day services in Britain, with the same hymns and the playing of the last post on a bugle before the one minute silence. However, it was fascinating to learn about the battles most remembered in Australian history, and the way they are remembered. Being Welsh, I was pretty surprised when the hymns were barely audible by those who were watching, and the national anthem was not significantly louder- not really a problem you'd get in Wales, and I'm starting to understand why mang of the people I have met consider us a country full of singers. I wore the traditional sprig of rosemary to commemorate the battle of Gallipoli, and then wdnt to the pub for lunch and to play the traditional Anzac day game, 2 up. That was my first ever experience of gambling and we came out $20 richer!
So, that is pretty much it (I think!) from the last couple of weeks although I'm bound to add something in the next blog which I have forgotten from this one! Thank you all for the lovely birthday messages! Xxx
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