For the next two weeks Civic Square will be transformed into the modern equivalent of a Greek amphitheatre – but the content will be decidedly modern.
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Aspen Island Theatre Company artistic director Julian Hobba said The Public Theatre was a project done by the company as part of Design Canberra in collaboration with Cox Architecture, in particular architect Ronan Moss.
"It's a pop-up performance space inspired by the design of the ancient Greek theatre," Hobba said.
"We're bringing performance into the centre of Canberra's public life, near the theatre, the gallery, the Legislative Assembly, as in ancient Greece where the theatre sat next to the most important discussions and religious observances."
Ticket prices range from $10 to $38 and on Sunday, November 22 at 3pm there is a free public forum about the future of Canberra's city spaces and buildings (bookings required).
In the first week, beginning on Tuesday, November 17, there would be three shows. At 6pm until Saturday is How Are You?, written by Laura Lethlean and directed by Jessica Arthur.
"It's about a relationship, from the first blushings to the tragic end."
From Wednesday to Friday at 10pm Nick Delatovic will present his one-man sci-fi cabaret musical Bomb Collar. And in between those two shows, from Tuesday to Saturday at 8pm Mary Helen Sassman will perform Melbourne writer Jane Montgomery Griffiths' Sappho ... in 9 fragments, directed by Emma Valente.
Valente said the play dealt with Sappho, the lesbian poet of ancient Greece whose work survives only in fragments, and the modern-day story of an actress named Atthis who was immersed in Sappho's poetry and was in love with an older woman.
In the second week, the events include Drew Wilson and David Burrowes' Hamlet [Working Title], which Hobba described as "a one-man Gen Y depiction of Hamlet" and orations on Australian republicanism organised by Dr David Headon and Athenian democracy organised by Professor Vrasidas Karalis as well as Poetry in the Round featuring the 2014 winner of the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Poetry, Melinda Smith, and performances by Canberra musicians Young Monks, Cracked Actor and Ruth O'Brien.
"I wanted to do something unique, to give people a unique theatre experience," Hobba said.
He said he wanted the emphasis to be on performers and ideas rather than on sets and production values. As to whether this would be a one-off event or the first of many, he said it would depend on the community response.
The Public Theatre will be in Civic Square in front of the Canberra Theatre from November 17 to 29. For more information and bookings visit aitc.org.au.