Have play/will travel
By Al McCall
The New World Order Theatre is a new venture and, as it turns out, a rather unusual one. Instead of being tied to the normal paraphernalia and formality of main stage theatre, New World Order Theatre reckons it can put on a show anywhere.
"Perhaps our slogan should be 'Have play/will travel', because that's the way we want it", says Dave Riley, the group's coordinator. "Since we're a bunch of rank amateurs we can't afford to be pretentious. We try to construct plays which have a very definite point to make, and we use satire to make it. But I don't like the term 'play' as it suggests a specific structure. Instead, I like to call them 'routines' — a term closer to describing the end result."
New World Order Theatre was formed this year and the 10-minute, three-hander New World Disorder is its first production.
"Our aim", says Riley, "is to build up a repertoire which we can call on as the need arises. New World Disorder focuses on imperialism and its relationship to the cold war against Iraq.
"We are now working on a script about native title which I like to call (with my tongue in my cheek) Bludgers — the Musical, as we're trying to adapt Mark Taylor's book Bludgers in Grass Castles to theatrical form.
"I'm also keen to lend dramatic shape to the issue of Indonesian political prisoners, perhaps by focusing on the Dita Sari case.
"Really there's so much you can do with this type of theatre, particularly if it is employed as part of a campaign utilising public gatherings and pickets. I suppose our main role is to prove how effective it can be.
"For us the proof of the pudding will have to be in the eating, as we are determined to get as much exposure as we can. So primarily, we're looking for bookings, even commissions. If any group is willing to sponsor a performance, even of a play or 'routine' not yet written, we're sure to be interested."
New World Order Theatre originated out of the Brisbane-based Satire Workshop, to which it is still loosely affiliated. Riley says the workshop has been building up contacts internationally and trying to tap into the repertoire of like-minded groups and individuals. He says the aim is to circulate and exchange scripts so that the body of work available is continuously broadened.
"The Workshop publishes GRAFFITO, an occasional email bulletin. Every time a worthwhile script comes our way", he says", we run it in an edition of GRAFFITO, thereby making the material available for use by a much larger audience than would normally be the case.
"This is not sacrosanct drama. It should be always open to revision and adaptation, even improvisation. I like to compare it to the work of the Three Stooges or the Marx Brothers: a burlesque that is always played to a specific audience. It's free form and very rough but its core logic is an argument for or against something. It's as much Karl Marx as Harpo, Chico or Groucho", Riley says.
The New World Order Theatre can be contacted at (07) 3266 4281 or email