Sydney

I got rather side-tracked in the last post from talking about my trips into Sydney. Now I'm back on task...

My first trip into the city was with Caro, who took me to the Fish Market for sushi, which went down a treat, as did the lively bustle of the place, though I was still in reverse culture shock. We took a beautiful walk along the Bondi-Bronte trail - I was in heaven soaking up the ocean breeze - before heading for the best ice cream in Sydney.

On my second trip into Sydney, I went, on Caro's recommendation , to an exhibition of the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama at the Museum of Contemporary Arts (MCA). I enjoyed it immensely. Kusama creates large, bright, multi-coloured works, often covered with polka dots, that are lots of fun to be around. The piece that had the biggest impact on me was a recreated living room, the entirety of which was covered in these multi-coloured polka dots, which became seemingly alive under UV lighting. I strongly encourage you to Google her work.

After the MCA I met an old family friend, Nikki Ellis, for a delicious lunch, then spent the afternoon at the Museum of Sydney, browsing through it's well-presenting and informative displays on the history of the city, including a surprisingly absorbing exhibition on the tram. Between that and the MCA, it was rather a museum overload and by the time I'd caught the train back to Wombarra, I was as tired as I'd been on any day trekking around Annapurna.

The next trip into Syndey was with Caro and David for an extremely as-far-from-the-mainstream-as-possible dance performance, a one woman show based on Thomas de Quincey's 'Confessions of an Opium Eater'. The sound and visual effects were excellent but I enjoyed the actual dancing less, I think, than the others. The reason we were there was that Caro had been invited to moderate a post-performance discussion, which brought forth insights and explanations which did a good deal to enhance my understanding of the show. I must admit that for me the best part of the evening was seeing Caro in full professional flow.

The fourth and final trip into Sydney was with Caro and began with dim sum (or yum cha as it's called here), always a great start to the day. We were in town for a show called 'Gatz', a six hour reading/performance of 'The Great Gatsby at the Sydney Opera House'. It was certainly an original piece of theatre. The set was a shabby office and the production started with one of the workers coming in, attempting to get his computer working and failing. Frustrated, he picks up a copy of 'The Great Gatsby' and begins reading aloud. As he does so, other workers come into the office, look at him like he's kind of crazy, and carry about their day. But gradually, they morph into the characters in the book, taking over their dialogue. Ultimately, what is said on stage is exactly the entirety of 'The Great Gatsby', nothing more, nothing less. As the performance progresses, the office setting gradually pares down and the actors become increasingly like Fitzgerald's characters.

The production garnered mixed reviews, most calling it a tour de force whilst others felt it didn't work at all. I take a position in between the two. Over the six hours, there were plenty of moments that were spell-binding, truly innovative, exciting, funny, poingant. But there were also points where the momentum lagged, the actors seemed tired or the interpretation didn't quite make sense to me. Overall, though, it was a fabulous evening and definitely a piece of theatre that will stick with me for a long time to come.