They say if you write, you should also read. Trouble is, you're always writing so you've got no time to read, right?

 

Right.

 

Well I've found something called readernaut.com, which you need to be "invited" to join because it's in the early stages but it's a good way of realising, yet again, how little I've read and how large the holes are that need fixing in my lopsided but enthusiastic reading history. It's also a great way to look at what you liked and be reminded about what you don't like.

 

I like plays. I love reading them. Actually, and I know this is counterproductive for someone working in theatre, but I don't so much love watching them, unless they're excellent.

 

Speaking of which, here's a tip. If you're sick of going to mainstream theatre and seeing a sea of grey-haired dentists snoozing gently and wishing David Williamson was still writing, get ye to Avast I and Avast II, at the Malthouse of all places.

 

These guys rocked my very surprised and delighted socks a few years ago when they did Avast II at Smith Street (they're doing the sequel, Avast I alongside it now. Of course they are).

 

This is the theatre show I tell people about. I literally felt different as I came away from the theatre. There were dudes in washing machines putting ochre into their pants while arguing about blind adopted brothers, there was opera, there was monologue and dialogue, and there was, on the night I went, a guy reading all the Nobel Prize acceptance speeches in a row (he didn't get very far, but he had them in his hand and hell, the guy could bellow).

 

Anyway. That's all you need to know. Be prepared to be surprised out of yourself. Oh, and in case it makes any difference: I don't know these people. I know one of them, distantly, from years ago. He used to wear gloves. I called him Gloveboy. That's the extent of things, bias-wise.

 

Also, you may have noticed, you still can't comment on these posts. We're working on it. By which I mean, someone smarter than I am has a solution that involves something I don't understand, which hasn't happened yet. Comments through the CONTACT US page will reach us.