Who is Declan Greene?
The not-funny half of Sisters Grimm.
What would you do differently to what you do now?
I would have taken advice when people offered it to me, instead of just arrogantly plowing ahead and making a trillion mistakes. Sometimes I wish I’d trained in playwriting or directing. But sometimes I’m glad I didn’t.
Who inspires you and why?
The great queer outlaws… Jean Genet, Kenneth Anger, Kathy Acker, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge…
What would you do to make a difference in the world?
Somehow instigate a global cultural shift that meant everyone lost interest in Facebook, and permanently deleted their profiles.
Favourite holiday destination and why?
My boyfriend and I went to Koh Rong Island in Cambodia this year during the off-season. That was pretty great. A beach to ourselves, electrical storms, bio-luminescent plankton and a restaurant that made confusing Khmer-Italian cuisine.
When friends come to town, what attraction would you take then to, and why?
I take my leads from Skybus advertising. So: a stroll around the Docklands, a spin on The Melbourne Wheel, then dinner at Dracula’s Theatre Restaurant.
What are you currently reading?
A very heavy philosophical tome called The World According to Joan (by Joan Collins).
What are you currently listening to?
Broke With Expensive Taste by Azealia Banks. I’m also trying to listen to the opera Sisters Grimm are doing next year, La Traviata – but it’s really long and boring and I never quite get to the end. I presume it ends happily?
Happiness is?
Lying very still somewhere dark and quiet.
What does the future hold for you?
Irrelevance.
Declan Greene is a theatre-maker based in Melbourne. As a writer, his plays include Moth, Pompeii, L.A., and Eight Gigabytes of Hardcore Pornography, and have been produced at the Malthouse Theatre, Sydney Opera House, the Bush Theatre (London), and Studio Theatre (Washington, DC).
As a playwright, awards include the Malcolm Robertson Prize, the Max Afford Playwright’s Award, the AWGIE for Theatre for Young Audiences, and the Green Room Award for Best Original Writing. Current commissions include Melbourne Theatre Company, Griffin Theatre, and the Australian Writers Foundation.
He co-runs independent theatre company Sisters Grimm with Ash Flanders, and has directed and co-created all their shows to date, including The Sovereign Wife (MTC Neon), Little Mercy (Sydney Theatre Company), Summertime in the Garden of Eden (Theatreworks/Griffin Independent), as well as numerous shows in non-traditional spaces.
Following a critically acclaimed season at the Sydney Theatre Company, Declan is currently directing Calpurnia Descending – at the Malthouse theatre for a limited season from Friday 14 November. For more information, visit: www.malthousetheatre.com.au for details.
Image: Declan Greene