Sydney Helpmanns
Sydney on a sunny day sings of why people immigrate to Australia… blue skies, sun on your face, sparkling harbour and buzz of the in crowd.
Physical City, physical people, running, striding round Circular Quay, through The Domain, Botanical Gardens to Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, Woolloomooloo, up steep steps to Potts Point and cooling down over a Darlinghurst coffee.
At this time of year the contrast with Melbourne is 3 degrees more obvious than the summer months.
The Sydney Opera House on the night of the Helpmann Awards pulsates with the same energy. The Who’s Who of the Performing Arts in Sydney and beyond have gathered to celebrate and promote their industry and themselves.
The event is being held in the SOH for the first time and the papapparazi are gathering. As we walk up the red-carpeted steps, there’s no flashing of light bulbs, despite the fact that my companion Neill Gladwin, is well known in the theatre world. He is the Creative Producer of the Australian Dance Awards, we, the Board of Ausdance, present in Melbourne and we are here to observe and network.
Everyone is waiting for Cate – Blanchett, that is. She slips in last with husband Andrew Upton.
The Helpmanns cover every conceivable category in the performing arts. We sit in the theatre from 6.30pm – until almost 11pm. There’s no chance of dozing off in the dark of the theatre. The lights are bright and a roving camera swings across the audience and tracks the performers on stage. This is marketing night and the second half of the event is going out live to the paying watchers of the BIO channel.
We take the easy option and board a bus to the party round The Rocks in the cavernous Argyle tavern. I give up screeching at people I know and retreat upstairs for conversation.
The next morning I wonder if any of those determined partygoers are still lurking as I stride past on my way to Potts Point for coffee. It’s Sydney, bright and sunny on another new day.
Physical City, physical people, running, striding round Circular Quay, through The Domain, Botanical Gardens to Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, Woolloomooloo, up steep steps to Potts Point and cooling down over a Darlinghurst coffee.
At this time of year the contrast with Melbourne is 3 degrees more obvious than the summer months.
The Sydney Opera House on the night of the Helpmann Awards pulsates with the same energy. The Who’s Who of the Performing Arts in Sydney and beyond have gathered to celebrate and promote their industry and themselves.
The event is being held in the SOH for the first time and the papapparazi are gathering. As we walk up the red-carpeted steps, there’s no flashing of light bulbs, despite the fact that my companion Neill Gladwin, is well known in the theatre world. He is the Creative Producer of the Australian Dance Awards, we, the Board of Ausdance, present in Melbourne and we are here to observe and network.
Everyone is waiting for Cate – Blanchett, that is. She slips in last with husband Andrew Upton.
The Helpmanns cover every conceivable category in the performing arts. We sit in the theatre from 6.30pm – until almost 11pm. There’s no chance of dozing off in the dark of the theatre. The lights are bright and a roving camera swings across the audience and tracks the performers on stage. This is marketing night and the second half of the event is going out live to the paying watchers of the BIO channel.
We take the easy option and board a bus to the party round The Rocks in the cavernous Argyle tavern. I give up screeching at people I know and retreat upstairs for conversation.
The next morning I wonder if any of those determined partygoers are still lurking as I stride past on my way to Potts Point for coffee. It’s Sydney, bright and sunny on another new day.
posted by Jill@flyingconnoisseur at 2:10 AM
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