What Have I Done with My Life?

During Production Week for Oh, What a Lovely War!  we had a couple of full day rehearsals, with lunch laid on. Here's the cast and crew taking a well-deserved break from the stifling temperatures inside the theatre, followed by a picture of the cast on-stage on Preview Night.

Cast and crew relax

The Merry Roosters!

I took time out to go and see a film at the local Hoyts Cinema, to find this emblazoned on the walls. I was hoping it was a commentary on the insidious way that women are taught to project a socially acceptable facade, by reinforcing patronising messages about how they 'should' behave, but I suspect not.

Smile and Wave

This is some of the first release of 3 Sons' Champagne Méthode Traditionelle Cider. At 8% it packs a punch and is full of vibrancy and elegance. The apples used are Kingston Black, Sweet Coppin, Somerset Redstreak, Michelin, Bulmer's Norman, Frequin Rouge and The Sutton.

3 Sons' Champagne Méthode Traditionelle

A friend posted this on her Facebook post, which amused me, partly because my father also has jars full of screws in the utility room that he will probably never use:

So I replied with an image of a pot full of corks - I have several boxes of these - which I believe indicates precisely what I have done with my life. 

What I Have Done with My Life

This is what I do

Things are about to get really intense as we move into production week and then we commence performances. I tried to cram in some sunshine and fresh air on a few bike rides and runs in the great outdoors before I am tucked away in the theatre for a month.

Drake Brockman Drive

Shepherd's Lookout

The Pinnacles

Exercise companions

I met a friend for coffee at the National Library and we admired some of the artwork while there. The Australia for Tomorrow poster was part of an immigration campaign in the 1940s. The rural setting is vibrant and spacious with a European Alpine feel, aiming to evoke feelings of cheerfulness and optimism among those refugees who would recognise such scenery - there is not a koala, kangaroo or desert in sight. There is an interesting article about this artefact here.

Australia, Land of Tomorrow by Joe Greenberg

Hanging in the foyer are Three Tapestries by Mathieu Matégot from 1968. For some reason, I only took pictures of two of them. In the second tapestry, there are depictions of Australian flora and fauna.The middle tapestry depicts Australian flora and fauna. The two-metre parrot represents ‘Terra Psittacorum’ or ‘Land of Parrots’—a name given to the Australian region in early navigational charts.

The other one has a multitude of themes. Starting from the top, it shows a blue area symbolising the Great Barrier Reef. The pineapple evokes tropical Australia and the riverboat and the outline of the Sydney Opera House represent urban life. The ram’s head stands for wool, Australia’s major export at the time, with the brown area at the bottom representing the land.

One of Three Tapestries by Mathieu Matégot

Another of Three Tapestries by Mathieu Matégot 

Fountains outside the National Library of Australia

And the rest of the time I have been in Theatre 3, working on this:

The Pierrot puppet scene from Oh, What a Lovely War!

The cast of Oh, What a Lovely War!

And some photos from the dressing room.

Meanwhile, I'm still working - managing the bottle shop - and hosting tastings from the likes of Hamish Young with his newly released Mada wines. I thoroughly recommend the Sagrantino - a grape originally grown in Umbria with one of the highest tannic levels of any variety in the world; this expression is elegant and earthy with hints of plum and cinnamon.

Hamish Young with Mada Wines

And after all this work and play, it is wonderful to come home to a rare night off and find that Him Outdoors has cooked me a delicious roast lamb, even if it does mess with my mind a little to have a Sunday roast on a Saturday.

Roast dinner with Him Outdoors

There was literally cake

Him Outdoors and I were both going to be busy on Waitangi Day itself, so we celebrated a day early by going to Dawat-e-Punjab and having a curry and a BYO bottle of 2007 Pinot Noir from Brennan. 

Palak papdi chaat

 

It's still very hot as summer continues. Chester is being careful not to over-extend himself.

Our friend, Dr Kay, had a significant birthday, which means a party, which means party food...

...and cake. This extravaganza was modelled on a set that Dr Kay designed for a production of Pride and Prejudice. I had to leave before the cake-cutting ceremony, but I believe it tasted as good as it looks. 

 

 

 

 

Cricket, clouds and rehearsals

Views from a morning bike ride around Umbagong District Park and West Belconnen Pond.

'There can never really be justice on stolen land'

 

 

 

 

I haven't seen this lovely lady for far too long, so we caught up over breakfast burgers and eggs Benedict at A Bite to Eat.

Little b at A Bite to Eat

Rehearsals continue for Oh, What a Lovely War!  These scenes are from Hitchy Koo and The Biggest Profiteer. 

 

'It's the cutest little thing'

'Don't you ask me what it means'

Female ensemble taking a break

'You must understand, my dear fellow, that war is a political and economic necessity.'

'Do you stumblebums realize that there have been two peace scares in the last year?'

'We've six of the family at the front, sir.'

One of the perks of the job is tasting products to see if we will stock them. This is a range of vodka and gins from New Zealand, made with manuka, saffron, cardamom, rooibos and cacao.  

Sacred Spirits

We tried once more to go the cricket at the Manuka Oval, this time with more success. We saw a 20/20 between the Prime Minister's XI and England. England won, which was great, and we got to see David Willey hit 34 off an over bowled by Nathan Lyon. Now that really was spectacular: five sixes in a row, and then everyone booed the final boundary because it was 'only' a four. 

 

Clouds were gathering and a storm was forming as I went for an evening run. I took a couple of pictures on my phone and then played around with an app to make new images with painterly qualities and turned them into a collage.