Over the past 3 days I was part of something incredible. Me and my beautiful, hard-working, talented friends put on a bloody good staged-ish reading of the new musical Don't Call Me Ishmael, based on the Australian novel of the same name by Michael Gerard-Bower - who was there last night to witness his words transformed on stage. I feel honoured to have played Ishmael again in this reading and it blows my mind that I got to share him with the author who birthed that character. I feel incredibly lucky to be surrounded by my insanely talented friends. Chris, who brilliantly adapted the novel and is an exciting emerging director, Finn, whose music echoes the soul of the piece and our country, and Matt, a champion of this project and a chroeopragher extraordinare. Their minds are beautiful worlds. This is such a special project - as I'm sure all those who've witnessed it will attest. This is the brink of what is coming to the Australian musical theatre scene. This is us telling our own uniquely Australian stories in our own voices. This is us putting the Australian identity on the stage and finding out what "Australian musical theatre" actually is. This week was inspiring and exhilarating. Thank you to all who made it possible. Until next time, call me Ishmael. #DontCallMeIshmael #IshmaelTheMusical #brave #fuckyouJohn #notparochial
