I arrived in Melbourne slightly jaded having said good bye to my home of 20 years and wondering where I'm gonna lay my head for next few weeks when I'm back in Sydney. I said a quick hello to the family and headed off to MKA Richmond for the reading of 7NEEDS. There was one slight hitch that being that MKA had been informed that they couldn't operate a Theatre in their space. I wondered if the reading would be on at all.
I found the address and noticed a few people surreptitiously gathered outside a doorway. I thought I'd lost my mind and this was the inner city Melbourne of John Wren fame; sly grog, sp bookies and the rest. I waved the family good bye and slipped inside. MKA had indeed been given notice but that seemed to be no deterrent for them. Tobias and Glynn told me they'd already found a new venue and handed me a beer.
The space is amazing. These guys have converted what was effectively Tobias' living room into a Theatre. It's roughly the same size of La Mama in the early days. It's a crying shame that Richmond Council have given the the flick but I reckon it'll be Richmond's loss more than it will be MKA's.
We sat down and 7NEEDS took off. This was the first time all 7 plays had been put together and what a revelation it was! Director Paige Marshall arranged the plays in order to reflect Maslow's hierarchy of needs starting with Food, Shelter, Sex and moving up through the others. Paige structured the piece like a pyramid and it made sense. The audience loved it and it struck me what gold we 7 had mined. 7 minds riffing on 7 needs in 7 entirely original voices. Really exciting. What an amazing introduction to the world of Melbourne Theatre! MKA are a breath of fresh and it was an invigorating to get a taste of it.
