Interview :: Silent Disco at Goodgod

May 17th 2011

Griffin Theatre Company have been a’thinkin’. Thinkin’ about getting more out of theatre, about extending the experience beyond the auditorium without following you home at the end of the night. A whiteboard and a wine or two later they’ve come up with Between the Lines.

A new initiative this year, BTL is a series of social events curated around their main stage program. The latest is a silent disco at GoodGod Small Club to accompany Lachlan Philpott’s play (and here’s the genius) Silent Disco.

We caught up with Griffin’s Young Artists Card extraordinaire Harriet Gillies for a shimmy, a skank, and a two-man conga.

FBi: Do you think we can do this whole interview dancing?

Harriet: Is the pope Catholic?

Oh it’s on. (begins a mean two-step) So a silent disco for Silent Disco hey? Who thought of that one?

(choosing a more impressive ‘twist’) We’d been thinking about it for a while actually. We really wanted to get the guys at Goodgod involved because the idea is to engage theatre in other Sydney events, and they’re doing such great things there at the moment. The play won the Griffin Award, Goodgod won a SMAC, it’s a match made in heaven.

What can we look forward to on the night?

Some of this (whips out the ‘sprinkler’ move). There’s a whole line up of DJs, there’ll be some of the classic Jingle Jangle tunes in there too. Oh and twins – identical twin DJs! I’m trying to get them to wear matching jumpsuits.

I’ll bet. What else happens between the lines?

Jam and Toast is a regular one. We invite musicians to come and have a jam in the foyer on Sundays. Anyone can join in, that’s the idea. The Goodgod guys have been involved in that too. All of this is about creating a community. Griffin love their community and they’re trying to make it grow through a lot of events that aren’t just about sitting in a dark room and watching a show.

More of a social theatre sandwich then?

Yeah! Now there’s a tasty treat. The idea is to make the community feel like Griffin is a place where they can come to hang out and have fun. I think more and more theatre companies are realising that one of the biggest things stopping people from coming to the theatre is that they feel like it takes up a whole night – you go to the theatre, you watch a play, and you go home and that’s it. But I think people are trying really hard at the moment to make theatre a part of an evening, part of a bigger thing… You can go and see the play, but afterwards you might have a drink, have a dance, or a chat with people who share the same interests as you.

Maybe a Watusi while they’re at it?

Exactly. We want our audiences to enjoy themselves.

Are your legs tired yet?

What: An actual silent disco for the eatrical Silent Disco

When: Wednesday 18 May, 8pm

Where: Goodgod Small Club, 52 Liverpool St, Chinatown

How Much: $12 on the door

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