A MESSAGE FROM MICHAEL (SEASON 1 2010)

“BECAUSE THINGS ARE THE WAY THEY ARE, THINGS WILL NOT STAY THE WAY THEY ARE.”

BERTOLT BRECHT

As I write the world is struggling with some of the most important decisions it will ever face - and must face collectively. For all the pervasiveness of global systems – of world finance, of power generation, of food production, or the war machine – the levers are rarely in the hands of our elected representatives. At the height of the Cold War, even Soviet supremo, Nikita Kruschev, took no time at all in his famous visit to America to discover that meetings with politicians were less significant than dinners with big business.

But there is change in the air and the signs are unmistakable – when the world’s richest banks and industries threaten to topple without public subsidies, elected leaders surely have a momentous opportunity to adjust the gears. When grasped, these moments can also be rich in inspiration. The necessity for a collective response to climate change has radically affected the way we think about and value individual freedoms. It has also jolted us to understand that our own future is intrinsically bound to the well-being of people living an ocean away.

In 2008, through our Greenlight initiative, we introduced a small surcharge on tickets sold to Malthouse Theatre productions. Projected across me is an image of the Anemon Intepe Wind Farm in Turkey – just one innovation we helped fund with your collective contribution! These turbines generate clean energy for people living in an emerging economy with high unemployment. Investment in these technologies – and the cost of maintenance and training required to sustain them – is otherwise beyond the reach of this community without our support.

Throughout Season 1 2010, you will experience – in doses subtle and extreme, beautiful and grotesque, individual and shared - that other, unmistakable electricity of performance which rivets us to the stage. Come bear witness to the power of the imagination and the infinite possibilities of connection through collaboration in this classic Malthouse Theatre season!

As always it’s bread and circuses! Please come and enjoy.

Michael Kantor ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

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