Holding the Man remains one of the great privileges of my life. When I first read Timothy Conigrave’s memoir in 1995 – on the day it was released – I devoured it in a single sitting, sobbing through the final chapters on a plane somewhere over the Indian Ocean. Years later, when I commissioned a then 25-year-old Tommy Murphy to adapt it for the stage at Griffin Theatre Company, I couldn’t have predicted just how profoundly it would shape our lives.
That premiere season at Griffin in 2006 became the most successful in the company’s history. It played four seasons in Sydney over the next two years – a second at Griffin, then the Sydney Opera House, then a transfer to Belvoir. In 2008, the production travelled to Melbourne Theatre Company and to the big space at Brisbane Powerhouse for sell out seasons. In 2010, it played a 12-week season in London’s West End.
For many, the play touched a deep well. For some, the theatre became a place of remembrance and reclaiming; for others, a space of wideeyed discovery; and for others still, a place to hold a loved one in a quiet act of repair.
When I was planning La Boite’s 2013 season, the idea of a revival emerged. I hesitated – I thought I’d said goodbye to it. But the team at the time, including then General Manager Terese Casu, persuaded me otherwise. By that time, the West End producers owned the show, but they were generous in handing it over. We set about remodelling it for the Roundhouse and building a new Brisbane cast. The entire experience was a joy.
Tonight’s reading gives us a chance to return to this extraordinary story. To sit with it once more. To listen, to remember, and to hold it again – gently, gratefully.
David Berthold, Director
La Boite Artistic Director (2008 - 2014)
La Boite Encores | Holding the Man
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF OPENING NIGHTS AND OPENING MINDS
