The joy of January

Welcome back to yet another year.

Welcome back to yet another year.

AussieTheatre.com celebrates its 8th birthday next month, and I am really excited about what the year has in store. We’re going to continue the great coverage that the website has provided to theatre over nearly a decade, but we’re also going to get the industry more involved than ever. Those in the ‘inner circle’ of the industry will appreciate what we have in store.

We’ll be working hard for our members this year, with great giveaways and opportunities.

And yes, indeed, this is my final year in the editor’s chair. The great news is that the AussieTheatre.com name and brand will continue beyond this year, with a number of parties expressing interest in purchasing the site. I expect we’ll move to new ownership by year’s end.

Of course, the first column of the year can only mean one thing – it’s January!

January is an interesting month for theatre. Whilst many businesses and people are still recovering from the holiday period, and tend to enjoy a slow time, theatre really hots up.

Of course, over the weekend the Sydney Festival celebrated its First Night, always a magical night in the city of Sydney in which there is a theme of celebration in the air.

My only criticism is that whilst the Festival is starting to branch more and more outside of the city itself, it still largely ignores the greater west, particularly with its opening night celebrations. Understandable perhaps, but the Festival still has a long way to go before it encompasses the entire metropolitan region.

For the next couple of weeks Sydney will be alight with fun and great theatre from a wide spectrum of genres, and it is so wonderful that Sydney has a festival like this to kick off the new year.

January also brings the Short & Sweet Festival. It continues to go from strength to strength and Mark Cleary and his team do a tremendous job to ensure this Festival continues in such a strong light.

The ultimate friends and family event, the Short & Sweet model is simply tremendous and is a great way of seeing Australian theatre, new and emerging actors and of course, wonderful writers.

2011 is going to be a unique and intriguing year in theatre, but it’s always comfortable to know that January kicks off with the comfortable feeling of the Sydney Festival and Short & Sweet.

It’s the joy of January.