What is the inspiration behind a music theatre cabaret which revolves around the Australian backyard barbecue?
The inspiration behind was to do a piece that reflected the culture of the Northern Rivers, with the barbecue very much reflecting recreational culture Australia wide. It was Janis’ (Balodis) idea originally, to do a show based around the theme of the backyard barbecue and so I thought it would be good to talk to Elena Kats-Chernin to work on the music. She’s one of Australia’s most important and successful and busy composers, with new pieces this year for the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Australian Ballet and NORPA with Mr Barbeque. On top of that she has a concert at the Burg Theatre which is the most important theatre company in Austria. In the past year she has had performances in Paris, Finland, New York and Germany. Tell us about the songs and music… The songs are really accessible, funny and some are really hard to sing! It’s a piece which allows us to really let our hair down. There is a serious side to it as well. What is it about Australian men and their barbecues? I d
