Blanchett & Hoffman Form Theatrical Alliance

Oscar winners Philip Seymour Hoffman and Cate Blanchett have formed a theatrical alliance with London’s Ambassadors Theatre Group. ATG's joint chief executive and creative director Howard Panter called the initiative "a new creative bridge to create, produce and exchange work that would not otherwise be produced." ATG, which runs the West End's Trafalgar Studios, said Monday that the Sydney Theatre Company, run by Blanchett and her playwright husband Andrew Upton, and Hoffman's LAByrinth Theater Company in New York would become associate companies. Under the arrangement, the American and Australian companies would stage work in the West End theater, and British plays would travel to Sydney and New York. The first play to get the collaborative treatment is Riflemind, Upton's play about an aging rock band's reunion, which opens in London on Thursday under Hoffman's direction.

A Streetcar Named Blanchett

Liv Ullman directs the Sydney Theatre Company’s upcoming production of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, starring co-artistic director and Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett. The production will open in Sydney, Australia in September 1st, 2009 and will tour the U.S. starting on Oct. 29th at the Kennedy Center and Nov 27 at BAM. Blanchett made her U.S. stage debut at BAM in Hedda Gabler in 2006. Her acting credits at the Syndey Theatre Company include productions of Caryl Churchill's Top Girls, Timothy Daly's Kafka Dances and David Mamet's Oleanna. For more information visit here.

Blanchett’s Company Declares Deficit

Despite the appointment of Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton as co-artistic directors, and Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani's large cash donation, the Sydney Theatre Company yesterday announced a loss of $253,007 -- its third consecutive deficit.

The deficit occurred despite box office receipts of $11.2 million last year, the second-highest figure in the company's history, and a 9% increase in sponsorships and philanthropic donations, reaching a record total of $2.6 million.

The STC had sellout seasons of three main productions: Blackbird, which Blanchett directed, Upton's play Riflemind, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman; and Patrick White's The Season at Sarsaparilla, directed by Benedict Andrews. The STC is fortunate that it has been able to dip into its cash reserves of more than $1.6million to offset the deficit. Thanks to federal and state government subsidies, the STC now will receive about $500,000 a year from this year to 2010.

Creative Australia?

Here’s a brief summary article about the recent 2020 Australia Summit. One of the ten subjects covered was ‘Creative Australia’. A diverse group of ‘creatives’ was invited (including Hugh Jackman and Cate Blanchett) to meet with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Though the government claims that the culture is one of the “critical areas’ of Australia’s future, critics claim that the whole event was a crude publicity stunt designed to validate the PM’s existing positions. As the article concludes “In terms of harvesting ideas, it was a brilliant success. What remains to be seen is whether the Australian government will use them as more than decoration.”