
Issue No 61		07 July 2000

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Review

A Building Sings of Lives Lived in Music

By Megan Elliott

Mysterious shadows flicker in the windows of the Parramatta Town Hall. Strains of trumpet and sarod float outside. It's all part of the urban Theatre Project's latest work, 'The Palais'.

Go through the grand old portico, take in the backstage buzz as you wander from room to room catching glimpses of musicians tuning up, waxing a reed, straightening a tie.

Welcome to Urban Theatre Projects' new music theatre work, The Palais. It's an extraordinary music theatre event performed by some of Sydney's most experienced musicians artists who have been on the stage for half a century or more. "Parramatta Town Hall becomes a singing building, a building that sings of lives lived in music,"says composer, Richard Vella

"The strains of an Indian raag float through the hall. A choir sings Verdi in the grand gallery. A retired guitarist tells extraordinary stories of fifties rock'n'roll. There's a ventriloquist on the stairs, cellists on the balcony, a tabla lesson in the kitchen and cabaret in the corridor."

"So there are very intimate moments, as well as the big spectacular pieces, when these musicians from very different genres and backgrounds come together to make something really new and exciting."

The Palais features more than fifty performers in twenty acts. They include artists such as Jeannie Lewis, Lou Nanlohy, guitarist in the Johnny O'Keefe Band; Sardool Singh on the sarod, an Indian stringed instrument; Terry Woo, a cabaret singer who toured with J.C. Williamson, and was seen in UTP's TrackWork (1997) on the steps of Lidcombe Station; Cecil Parkee, ventriloquist; and Ione Sheppard playing cool jazz vibraphone. There are The Ragamuffins (a percussion band from Winston Hills Retirement Village); musicians from the Vietnamese Elderly Association; Joan Rhind, country singer; and Fancy Nancy on the spoons.

The show's producer is Urban Theatre Projects, the western Sydney-based community theatre company known for its performances in unusual places, such as trains (TrackWork, 1997), residential streets (Speed Street, 1998) and shopping districts (Subtopia, 1999). "The Palias is definitely not just a concert," says Richard.

The "Palais" of the show's title refers to those wonderful grand palaces of entertainment, from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. "But this is not a nostalgic museum piece. It's a living history, because these are people who are still playing," says Richard. "When you play an instrument for fifty years it becomes part of you. It's almost a case of "who's playing who?'"

Details

Dates: 8pm Thu 27, Fri 28, Sat 29 July & 6pm Sun 30 July 7pm

Venue: Parramatta Town Hall, Church Street Mall Parramatta.

Bookings: ESSENTIAL. Call UTP 9707 2111 or mailto:[email protected]

Tickets: $20 full, $10 concession/seniors/groups of 8 or more. Prices include GST.

Transport: Three min walk to Parramatta Station. Parking in Civic Place or Hunter St.

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  Issue 61 contents

Technology: Union Rep for Global Net Body
The godfather of unions and the Internet, Eric Lee, is seeking your support to give labour a voice on the net's governing body, ICANN.

Interview: Downloaded and Done Over
In the wake of the TV Networks' digital TV victory, Internet industry chief Peter Coroneus rues a missed opportunity for Australia.

Legal: The Global Millennium Project
The International Centre for Trade Union Rights (ICTUR) has developed a draft proposal for a comprehensive revision and modernisation of international labour standards for the new millenium.

Unions: Sandgropers Get Serious on Stress
The Australian Services Union in Western Australia in conjunction with the University of Western Australia, is surveying workers across the state's call centre industry.

Politics: New Work for a New Millennium
View in full the ALP's Draft Industrial Relations Policy to be taken to the National Conference at the end of the month.

Solidarity: Korean Hotel Workers Seek Global Help
Striking Korean hotel workers at the Swiss Grand Hotel and the Seoul Hilton are worried they could be the next targets of escalating riot police violence.

History: Vince's Parable of the Sundial
How a working man survived WWII and ASIO blacklists to save a sundial.

International: Room for Optimism from African Poll
The performance of pro-Deomcracy groups in the Zimbabwean elections has given supporters hope for better days.

Environment: Mexican Wave Goes Green
American politics has taken on a Green hue with the left leaning National Action Party and the Greens in Mexico picking up nearly 40% of the vote in the recent elections.

Satire: Aussies Celebrate Centenary by Leaving Country
Prime Minister John Howard has defended his government's decision not to involve Australia in the centenary federation celebrations.

Review: A Building Sings of Lives Lived in Music
Mysterious shadows flicker in the windows of the Parramatta Town Hall. Strains of trumpet and sarod float outside. It's all part of the urban Theatre Project's latest work, 'The Palais'.

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