Tashmadada and fortyfivedownstairs want to thank all involved….the talented performers, the tech etc….

and the audience – many of whom came to more than one night… who totally immersed themselves in the festival experience.

And so to 2011…

Please let us know if you’d like to be involved in any way with Searchlight Festival 2011… as an artist, behind the scenes etc…

If so, please send an email to: info@tashmadada.com

We look forward to seeing you then.. but we’ll keep this site alive with updates and news.

Thanks from us at Searchlight Festival

The final night was electric; our champagne soiree for playwrights followed by Cordelia, Mein Kind. .. see some of the photos below:

Robert Reid introducing the playwrights for Meant to be Spoken

Deborah Leiser-Moore in Cordelia, Mein Kind

Deborah Leiser-Moore in Cordelia, Mein Kind

More photos viewable on the fortyfivedownstairs blog.

Benn Bennett and Chas Forrest

Benn Bennett, Chas Forrest and some dancing fortyfortyhome styles.

Benn Bennett and Mzz Erin Tasmania

Mzz Erin Tasmania cooking sausages.

Benn Bennett and Chas Forrest inciting the crowd to mass dancing.

At 5.30 join us for a Sunday afternoon champagne soirée with some of Australia’s most exciting Playwriting Talent and celebrate the spoken word with Meant to be Spoken: A champagne celebration of Australian Playwriting

Meant to be Spoken presents selected works written and read by Adam Cass, Patricia Cornelius, David Mence, Declan Greene, Tee O’Neill, Hannie Rayson and Amelia Roper and is hosted by Robert Reid.

Then stay for 7.30 for Cordelia, Mein Kind – a duet for live body and film that maps a modern Cordelia and her “Lear-like father” onto the bones of Shakespeare’s Lear and his silent daughter.

…deeply textured, multilayered and savagely poetical work…. Real Time 94

Here is theatre – visceral, elemental, brutal – that will heave your heart into your mouth. Rob Conkie (Shakespeare Project)

….a multi-stranded narrative that literally pulsates, like an exposed heart, with  deep feeling and mystery… Ari Roth (Theater J, Washington DC)

And here is a review of the Directors Cut night which saw performances by such  incredibly talented artists:

http://www.australianstage.com.au/201002203206/reviews/melbourne/director-s-cut-|-searchlight-festival-2010.html

Sally Smith in Director’s Cut

David Wells in Director’s Cut

The fortyfivedownstairs foyer as Sally Smith lead the crowd into the theatre for Director’s Cut.

Benn Bennett and Wes Snelling in Black Bag.

Ellie Nielson in Waiting for Isabella by Antoni Jach

Jodee Mundy, Mal Webb and Francesca Waters in Sandra Fiona Long’s Tyrant with Sharks

Cathy Vogan’s film Mimesis screening in the fortyfivedownstairs gallery

Check the fortyfivedownstairs blog for more images.

Book now for the shows you want to see.. remember – they are a once only event!

Hope to see you there at fortyfivedownstairs …..

In the meanwhile you can read about Searchlight Festival in The Age.

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Photo: Benn Bennett and Chas Forrest’s House music – Sat 20th Feb 8pm

so come and celebrate – meet the performers – meet others…… be part of the communtiy….

Be part of what is gearing up to be an unforgettable week of performance…

So, buy your tickets now so you don’t miss out…. buy a few.. immerse youself in a week that will excite, challenge, confuse, make you laugh, make you angry… but whatever it does.. it won’t be boring…

So, now is time to book your tickets.. and remember, tickets are not expensive – so buy a few in order to totally immerse yourself in the offerings of the “buffet table” that is the festival….

Whether it’s Michael Dalley‘s fierce anti cabaret, INTIMATE APPAREL, (17th Feb); Benn Bennett and Wes Snelling’s reprise of their hit show BLACK BAG (18th Feb); or a feast of eclectic short works that is the DIRECTORS CUT (19th Feb);

Or be amongst the first to see this new young all women performance company, Forty Forty Home‘s WE’RE DOING WELL as part of Benn Bennett and Chas Forrest’s HOUSE MUSIC (20th Feb): or see Deborah Leiser-Moore and Meredith Roger‘s CORDELIA, MEIN KIND  – described as a highlight of Brisbane Festival’s Under the Radar program in 2009 (21st Feb).

And witness new works in development – Sandra Fiona Long’s rock and roll memoir – TYRANT WITH SHARKS (18th Feb); avant-garde playwright and novelist, Antoni Jach‘s WAITING FOR ISABELLA (18th Feb); or running man Tom Davies‘ HOME STRETCH (19th Feb).

And to compliment this array of performance work, Searchlight Festival presents SPEAKING BODIES as ACAPTA director, Gail Kelly, hosts an ‘in conversation’ with Independent physical performance artists including Ira Seidenstein and Peta Tait (20th Feb).

Finally…. don’t miss this incredibly special and unique event – MEANT TO BE SPOKEN: A champagne celebration of Australian Playwriting, on Sunday 21st Feb.. as our most established playwrights join forces with our rising stars to read excerpts from their own work.

So.. don’t miss out.. bookings are online on the fortyfivedownstairs website: www.fortyfivedownstairs.com

See you there – starting from the drinks on the 17th…….