With the prospect owning your own home as distant as one of Saturn’s moons, it seems the majority of Sydney is content with living in a rented apartment/house nowadays. Such living arrangements spurred a production of The Inspection, starring NIDA alumni Julia Christensen premiering at Sydney’s Old 505 Theatre tonight.
The producer for the show Julian Ramundi was kind enough to answer a few questions regarding the production.
The premiere of this production is in Sydney – a city facing challenges from all sides in terms of trying to grow its creative industries. How much has The Inspection been influenced by Sydney (or other cities), and in what ways?
Well, our writer (Richie Black) wrote the play after an apartment inspection at his place in the Inner West; so it’s as Sydney as it gets. However, I think that more than being specifically about the rental crisis in Sydney the play discusses the situations where real estate agents – largely unqualified people when it comes to social issues – get to mooch around in other people’s homes and judge people on how they live, which is a very Sydney thing.
Do you feel the production reflects the way people who specifically work in the theatre industry live?
Of course, artists often live in sub-par conditions when starting out and carving out a career for themselves, but the standards which we place on each other as far as living standards go effect everyone. From your squat-house student to more affluent homeowners trying to keep up with the neighbours, we’re all judged in some way on how we inhabit our homes.
Tell me more about Old 505’s Fresh Works program and how this production worked in collaboration with it?
The Old 505 selects two new plays each year to open its season, written by local writers. We’re thrilled to have their support as it’s one of the best independent theatre spaces in the city. It’s incredibly hard for new writers to have their work performed so to have it premiere in such a great space is awesome.
I’m intrigued about what you undertook as a theatre producer for The Inspection. Can you give us a synopsis of what your role as a producer is for this production?
A producer ends up doing a range of things, depending on the project. It’s generally seen as a more technical role, however, there’s a larger number of nimble creatives who wear lots of different hats, so the term ‘Creative Producer’ is thrown around a lot more these days. You could be pushing marketing and promo for the show, handling ticketing, overseeing the set build and design, budgeting, even driving trucks for the bump in. Ultimately you’re the middle-person between the cast, crew, venue and audience a lot of the time. The main job for me on The Inspection has been supporting the crew and writer put on the best show they can – just filling in the gaps really!
But you could also choose the show and pull the whole team together, which is where it becomes much more creative. I think producing is totally a creative role by default. It’s good it’s beginning to be seen more that way these days.
Was there anything different in your producer’s role for this production that you had to contend with compared to other theatre productions you’ve been involved in?
Don’t tell anyone but this is (technically) my first play as producer… however, I’ve spent a number of years doing branded music events and some arts festivals. This one’s been a walk in the park to be honest – great crew and cast, everyone’s been amazing at their jobs and super passionate about the work. I think that’s ultimately the difference – people in the theatre industry really want to do the best they can and don’t sweat the unimportant stuff like a client or major sponsor might. Oh, and this one’s not outdoors!
What do you hope audiences will take away from The Inspection after they see it?
We really just want them to have a good laugh. The play is an over-the-top satire, so we just want to entertain. Hopefully, you might take some deeper things from it and maybe think about how we live in Sydney at the moment, but even if not, just have a good time.
The Inspection opens tonight at the Old 505 Theatre in and plays until January 29th. Head here for tickets and more info.
Photo credit: Boonie Mochetti
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