Behind the Scenes with Chris Thompson: What’s On in WA Arts, incl. Totally Lit Fest

Chris Thompson, host of Vision Australia Radio’s Behind the Scenes, is joined by guests to explore the arts scene in WA, with a particular focus on Totally Lit Fest, where Vision Australia Radio proudly serves as an access and inclusion partner.

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Episode Transcript

S1 (00:13):
Welcome back to the show. Helen Simonson.

S2 (00:14):
Hi, Chris. The third last time. Can you believe the
year is going so fast and furiously? It's crazy. Crazy? Yeah,
but it's been busy and fun over here. And I
just finished, uh, this week I went and saw Speaking
in Tongues by Andrew Bovell. Andrew Bovell, who is, by

(00:35):
the way, out West Australian. He was born in Kalgoorlie.

S1 (00:38):
Well, there you go.

S2 (00:39):
And and when I was reading about him, there was
a bit said that he kind of credits West Australian
Landscape and the Wheatbelt and the Indian Ocean for his
sort of development as a writer. So how about that?

S1 (00:51):
And Speaking in Tongues was one of the source materials
for Lantana.

S2 (00:56):
It was it was the source and incredibly complex play.
And I saw it originally at Malthouse many years ago. Um,
so and it was pretty complex. So it was great
to revisit it. You know, when you're at least you're
comfortable and confident with the structure and you can go
and see it a second time. It's a sort of a,
you know, it's a bit like, you know, seeing one
of those sort of mystery films that you haven't worked

(01:18):
it out and you get kind of get to see
it a second time and see the layers, um, and
the overlap a bit better. So it was, it was good.
It was very intricate and a thought provoking production. So
Humphrey Bowers was the director and it was Black Swan production. And,
you know, you've seen Speaking in Tongues.

S1 (01:35):
I have, yes.

S2 (01:36):
Yeah, yeah. So you know that the themes are about
desire and regret, infidelity, trust.

S1 (01:43):
All the good things.

S2 (01:45):
All the good things about that sort of fragile human relationship.
And as we spoke about, it's just got those kind
of interconnected narratives that, you know, make it a there's
a lot simultaneous narrative going on and a really complex structure. Um, but.

S1 (01:59):
A great play, really great play.

S2 (02:01):
Great play, really great play. What was lovely about it,
and I have seen production at the Malthouse did the
same was, you know, that minimalist set when you are,
when it is a dense piece works really well. And
Fiona Bruce was the set designer. And then video and
lighting was Mark Haslam. Both of them are sort of
well-known West Australian kind of creatives, and it kind of

(02:21):
had this great suburban noir vibe going on. Um, so
it kind of allowed that suspense to enhance those themes
of hidden truths. And of course, most productions have an
ensemble of four where they play extra characters, multiple characters.
So there was a great cast who, you know, really

(02:41):
nuanced each of the different characters. So it's not an
easy play to perform, that's for sure. But it was really,
really well crafted. And those weaving narratives and, um, layered
storytelling kind of came through really well. So I thought
it was a great production.

S1 (02:59):
Tell me about the Nonna's.

S2 (03:01):
Oh, the Nonna's. Do you want to hear about the Nonna's?

S1 (03:03):
I do want to hear about the Nonna's.

S2 (03:06):
Well, at the Maritime Museum, There is, uh, an exhibition
called From Nona with Love Stories of Tradition and triumph.
And I think, importantly, this one came, um, this big
exhibition was built on the success of a project that
was done in 2022, which was called the Nona Project.

(03:26):
And then it's now become a really full scale exhibition,
and it brings to life all the inspiring journeys of
Italian women who migrated to Western Australia in search of
a better future. And as you know, these women are
affectionately known as Nonnas, and they have essentially contributed to

(03:47):
Western Australia's culinary landscape and art scene and community life.
And there are community members, uh, Nella Fitzgerald being one
of them, is behind the development of this project with us.
And the designers found a full Italian 70s kitchen on
Facebook Marketplace. So that.

S1 (04:08):
Is.

S2 (04:09):
That.

S1 (04:09):
Is.

S2 (04:09):
Installed along with digital artists, VJs who I work with
a lot, who are just brilliant, and they have this
immersive projection of a, you know, a feasting Italian table
with sights and sounds and even aromas of the Italian meal.
So it's pretty amazing. And it's also part of the

(04:32):
totally lit festival.

S1 (04:36):
I can feel a Segway coming on.

S2 (04:39):
Yeah, I think we love it. We love our Segways. And, uh,
and I guess it's really important to say that the
Nonna's works in Fremantle, in the port city, because that's
where they that's where the Nonna's came in to Western Australia.
And many, um, stayed within that Fremantle area. And Totally
Lit is about the adventures in the port city. It

(05:02):
is absolutely a Fremantle um literature festival. And Fremantle is
the West Australian city of literature.

S1 (05:10):
It's the.

S2 (05:10):
Perfect place.

S1 (05:11):
Perfect place. Do you have a guest who's coming? Who's
coming to talk to us about it?

S2 (05:16):
Correct. There is a guest, and that is Gillian O'Shaughnessy,
who is going to chat through this really significant and
big program and some really exciting things. And, you know,
it's it's talked about as a live lit festival. And
that's exactly what it is. I mean, the program totally
reflects that. So enjoy talking to Gillian.

S1 (05:38):
Well, Helen Simonson, uh, we will chat again in October. Um,
but until then, thanks as always, and welcome to the show, Gillian.

S3 (05:48):
Uh, thanks so much for having me, Chris.

S1 (05:51):
Now you're participating in the totally lit festival that Helen
has just been telling us about. In fact, when I
looked through the festival program, you're a bit of a
repeat offender. Uh.

S3 (06:06):
I can only apologize to the people of Fremantle and
the world.

S1 (06:10):
But before we talk about the totally lit and what
you're doing in it. Yeah. How do you get to
be like, you're a flash fiction specialist? Really, aren't you?

S3 (06:21):
It's a form I really love.

S1 (06:23):
How do you get to be a flash fiction specialist?

S3 (06:26):
I don't know. I'm not really sure. It's a label
that you can apply to yourself. It'd be a bit
weird if I was roaming the world saying I'm a
flash fiction special. I've written in it for a long time,
and it's it's it's a form because it's a form
of short fiction. So stories under a thousand words. It's

(06:46):
a very shareable form of writing, I think. So I've
made a lot of a lot of connections around the world.
It's a really vibrant community in South East Asia and
America and in Europe and England. So as well as Australia.
So I've just I've made lots of connections. I've read
a lot of the writing. I really love the teacher

(07:07):
and I really love to write it. I've got a
collection coming out mid next year, which I'm really excited about.
So um, so yes, I'm just I'm just very immersed
in that form of writing, I guess.

S1 (07:21):
Is it a bit of a misnomer, that title, because
it makes it sound like it's flash fiction? You just
do it really quickly. Um, I've had a crack at
flash fiction. It's really hard.

S3 (07:30):
Oh, it is really hard. You know, I'm not particularly
fond of the expression flash fiction. It reminds me of you.
Remember that little dude in Sesame Street who wears the
trench coat.

S1 (07:40):
And.

S3 (07:40):
Kind of sidles up to people and goes, hey, Bud,
do you want to buy a letter B? And then?
And then he whacks open his trench coat. So I
always think of that, but it's actually a really useful
term in that it really I think what it describes
is more like the flash. You see when you when
you see a bolt of lightning.

S1 (07:58):
Flash, there you go.

S3 (07:59):
A photograph. And what you get is a really you
get a really vivid experience that doesn't last very long,
but it stays in your mind. You know the little
image you get behind your eyes after you've seen lightning,
or you've seen the flash of a photograph, so it lingers.
And that's the whole point of flash. It is really hard.
I think it's I mean, for me it's like a
reverse Pandora's box. You know, you're not letting the universe out.

(08:22):
You're trying to contain it.

S1 (08:25):
Keep it all in.

S3 (08:25):
That's what is. Yeah, and it's a bit like poetry.
I mean, it does really draw on a lot of
the tools of the short story and poetry. But people always,
you know, often talk about the fact that it's great
if you have a short attention span. And I.

S1 (08:39):
Think.

S3 (08:40):
Well, it's really quite the, quite the opposite, because when
you read a very, um, a very, very short piece
of flash fiction, then what you're looking for is, uh,
layers and depths that actually stay in the mind and linger.
I mean, that's certainly the hope with the writing. So
it's really it's really designed to be, um, to be
thoughtful and to pieces to be read and, um, and

(09:02):
mused upon uh, after the process, which I think is
what I love about it, because you're really thinking about
every word and trying to create implication around that. So
there's a lot of the story that exists, I think, like,
you know, like smoke off the page.

S1 (09:18):
I'm hazarding a guess that these are the kinds of
things that you will have spoken about in your pre
lit festival workshop, your flash workshop, um, in fact, the
second of a little series of pre-festival workshops which happened, uh,
late last week, I think on the 10th of September. Yeah. Um,

(09:40):
just a little taster for getting the festival going before
it really actually starts on the 26th of September.

S3 (09:46):
Yeah, that's right. It was really. It was really nice. It's, um,
I mean, it is a live literature festival as opposed
to just a simply a writer's festival. So, um, across,
across the time of the festival, they'll be looking. We're
looking at stories in all their forms, and one of
those is the process of writing. One of the things

(10:08):
I love most about flash fiction is that because it
holds to the story form, so you still you're still
talking about narratives and beginnings and middles and ends and
all of that. Um, it's just a fantastic form if
you've never written creatively before.

S2 (10:22):
Mm.

S3 (10:22):
Um, so there's lots of people who just want to,
you know, they thought, oh, I just I just really
like to give it a crack, um, to write, um,
creative writing or write memoir. Um, so people coming along
to learn about, um, to learn about writing and to
try it, to try it out. There was a, there's
a 100 word competition that's really lovely writ large. And

(10:45):
one of the stories, um, entered from those flash fiction
workshops will be projected onto the Fremantle Port Authority building
during the festival. And I don't know if your listeners
are familiar with Fremantle, but it's a working port. It's
a beautiful harbour. There's container ships and boats floating up

(11:06):
and down the harbour all the time. And the Port
Authority has this beautiful, stark building that sits alongside it
and oversees a little, a little like a lighthouse. But
the shape of it is perfect for stories. And I
think that will be a really wonderful thing. So that
was really exciting. I loved doing that.

S1 (11:24):
And I'm guessing that the flash fiction idea isn't just
connected to writ large, but you'd have to presume it's
going to be connected to the beautifully titled Flash and Fizz,
which is coming up on the 2nd of October.

S3 (11:39):
Yes, yes, I'm very keen for this event. So this
is going to be the Fremantle Library is one of
the most beautiful buildings in Fremantle. The light that rolls
through it is just is just beautiful. So there'll be
a whole lot of writers myself, Of Mabel Gibson, who
authored just the absolutely stunning micro memoir crybaby. Scott Patrick Mitchell,

(12:06):
who many of your listeners might know as one of
Australia's most celebrated poets, will be reading stories that it's
also an open mic. So if there's any other writers
that want to come down and read their, um, their
flash or micro pieces, um, then everyone can can get
up and share stories. And I think that that just
creates a beautiful energy and vibe that is wonderful around, um,

(12:28):
a literature festival. So that will be lots of fun.
So yes, there will be there will be booze, there'll
be bubbles and lights and light nibbles. So you'll see
me like, um, like Janis Joplin. Rolling around in the
corner proclaiming my stories I, I won't sing, though I

(12:49):
think I'm painting a terrible picture.

S1 (12:52):
So you've got barely two days to recover from flash
and fizz, and then you're in this great event called
Quantum Words. Fremantle, a sort of science focused event. And
you're sure you've got a session around the middle of
the day on the 2nd of October? I don't know
the story of Montebello Islands, but sounds really fascinating.

S3 (13:16):
Yeah, this is absolutely incredible. This is the first British
nuclear test, and it was conducted in 1952 on the
Montebello Islands. Um, and it was British and Australian ships
operating out of Fremantle. So, um, there is archival footage
that shows the moment that the bomb goes off and
it's absolutely it's absolutely chilling. And watching these, um, watching

(13:41):
these sailors, you know, standing around and listening to this
countdown and their, their, um, their shirtless, their, their, um,
witnessing this event or involved in this, in this countdown. Um,
there's a lot of research now, 70 years later, that
is looking at the ongoing environmental impacts of that test.

(14:03):
So we'll be looking at the history of it. Paul Grace,
who's an Australian author, his grandfather was involved in in
this nuclear test, um, Operation Hurricane. He's written a fantastic
book about it that really looks about, um, looks at
the history. The mushroom cloud was two miles high, so
it covered all of the Montebello Islands and also part

(14:26):
of the Australian mainland with the impact. So obviously the
impact on, um, on First Nations people, on the flora
and fauna, but the continuing impact of that today. So
we'll be talking to Paul, we'll be talking to the
member for Fremantle, Josh Wilson and Patrick Morrison, who's a
marine archaeologist. So he's actually been able to go under

(14:46):
the waves and have a look at the at the
impact of this, of this test. Um, deeply. It's going
to be absolutely fascinating I can't wait.

S1 (14:56):
And as if all of that's not enough for you.
Very greedy of you.

S3 (15:02):
I am.

S1 (15:02):
You've got one more.

S3 (15:03):
Greedy woman, Chris.

S1 (15:05):
I can't.

S3 (15:06):
Help.

S1 (15:06):
Myself. One more coming up quite soon, actually. 26. 28th
of September. Uh, and that's Alkira.

S2 (15:14):
Yes.

S3 (15:14):
Alkira is a beautiful story. This is a memoir written
by the state Attorney-General, Tony Booth, who wrote it. He
wrote it a few years ago. And it's the story
of his daughter. Um, she was born in 1993 with
a syndrome called Kuda shar. Uh, it's a it's, um,
a chromosome chromosome abnormality. And, um, uh, alkira is disabled.

(15:39):
They are, as a family, researching more about the syndrome, um,
and looking at Kira's future and opportunities. But Tony has
also So really done a deep dive into the way.
As a society we we treat and our attitudes towards

(16:00):
children with disabilities. So it is a it's a very personal,
very personal story. But I think it's also a really
great conversation about, um, um, inclusivity around disabled communities. So
I'm also looking looking forward to having that conversation. It's
a really important one, I think.

S1 (16:19):
Um, well, uh, you're going to be very busy between
the 26th of September and the 10th of October, uh,
which are the dates for Totally Lit Adventures in the
Port City? Um, there's a pretty good website that has
the entire programme. It's got bios on all the writers involved. Um,
very easy to navigate. You can find all the information there.

(16:43):
Jim O'Shaughnessy have a great totally lit festival. And thanks
for being on the show.

S3 (16:49):
Oh, thank you so much, Chris. It's just such a
pleasure to talk to you.