Category: Lachlan Philpott

  One of the strengths of Lachlan Philpott’s playwriting so far has been the sense of deep authenticity that he brings to the worlds he explores in his plays. BISON (2000-2009) and COLDER (2007) have powerful and grave impact, particularly, as Mr Philpott’s point of view is embedded with ‘real’ knowledge and creative identification of the characters and the events of the action of the plays. He has first-hand ‘knowledge’ of what he writes. The plays have the pulse and wealthy inside knowledge that only connected, close, lived observation can give. Part of their power is the exposition of worlds…

Six Australian writers: Toby Schmitz, Lachlan Philpott, Verity Laughton, Tobsha Learner, Rebecca Clarke and Stephen Sewell. Four Directors: Dean Carey, Anthony Skuse, Katy Alexander, Glenn Fraser. Six actors: Jamie Irvine, Jamie McGregor, Joe Manning, Jennefa Soldatic, Catherine Terracini and Matthew Walker. Collectively this team have organised a night that “began as a bare-bones show for the bare stage. [They] chose ghost stories as a way to get back to the basics of storytelling – sittting ’round the campfire’ in a dark theatre. A number of the finest playwrights in Sydney were approached and asked to conjure up supernatural tales set…

The Sydney Gay and Lesbian MARDI GRAS 2009 logo stands beside the FOCUS THEATRE logo at the top of the program. BE WARNED then, that, these two plays, as performance pieces, have a very specific audience target in mind. Both plays are examples of extreme verbal voyeurism. Both plays have what seems to be a recent Hallmark of Focus Theatre performances, a de rigueur requirement of including “male striptease” and full frontal nakedness, a titillating element of soft porn. (Witness BLOWING WHISTLES and it’s soft porn memories.) I guess if Channel 9 can score audience targets with similar tactics in…

This is another of the curated independant theatre co-operative productions presented as part of the Stablemate season. This is the best new Australian play I have witnessed this year. Developed with the financial assistance of the R.E. ROSS TRUST, Philpott not only breaks with traditional structure and form in his style, he creates a world with a keen eye for authentic detail and depth, has a masterly control of plotting and character revelation with a musician’s ear for rhythm and cadence, the ability to set a theme or subject and to know when to repeat it, develop it, contrast it.…