Australian Embassy
The Philippines

MR0906- The Best of Australian Theatre and Music in June

THE BEST OF AUSTRALIAN THEATRE AND MUSIC IN JUNE

Taking centre stage in the Manila arts scene this June are two presentations featuring outstanding Australian artists in theatre and music - Against Reduction, a hybrid collaborative theatre performance and visual arts exhibition by Philippine and Australian artists; and the repeat performance by world renowned tenor saxophonist Jamie Oehlers.

From April to May this year, Isadora Duncan Awardee and multi-awarded choreographer Enrico Labayen worked with leading Philippine-Australian artist Vienna Parreno in Sydney for the creative development and production of Against Reduction.

The work dwells on the themes of diaspora, death and migration as well as gender issues with emphasis on debilitating and terminal illnesses that haunts society today. Together with Parreno and Australian multi media specialist Krzysztof Osinski, Labayen mobilises ballet technique, technorock, digital imaging, zero gravity environments, narration, and humour to create his unique and timely masterpiece.

A highlight of the Cultural Centre of the Philippines’ (CCP) ongoing International Theatre Festival, Against Reduction will be shown on 9 June at 8pm; and on 10 to 11 June at 3pm at the CCP’s Tanghalang Huseng Batute (Black Box Theatre).

Not to be missed is the visual arts exhibition which will run concurrently in the theatre’s foyer. The exhibition highlights the works of outstanding Australian artists Tony Twigg, Osinski, and video artists from the trailblazing Sydney Image Coalition.

The excitement continues as Jamie Oehlers, one of Australia’s finest jazz musicians, returns to Manila to perform at the 4th Manila Jazz Festival on 16 June at 8:30 pm at the Central Plaza, Market! Market!; and for a special Father’s Day performance at Spirals, Philippine Plaza Hotel on 18 June at 10am.

Oehlers won top honours at the World Saxophone Competition at the Montreux International Jazz Festival in Switzerland and has since gathered much-deserved international recognition. Relentlessly dedicated to his art, Jamie has gained wide experience as an in-demand player both here and abroad and has been the recipient of numerous awards nominations for nationally prized titles for his musicianship and recordings.

Audiences are in for a rare treat as Oehlers and his band perform from a repertoire featuring a variety of approaches from drum’n’bass inflections, a bolero with a hint of melancholy, boppish, straight ahead jazz as well as free-wheeling moments in the Ornette Coleman style.

For more details, contact the Australian Embassy Cultural Officer on 02 757 8135 or visit www.australia.com.ph.