Who is Grant Smith?
A man who has the extreme good fortune to spend his life working in music and the visual arts: 40 years in Opera and Music Theatre followed by 10 years managing Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi – one of Australia’s most prestigious Indigenous Art galleries.
What would you do differently to what you do now?
I couldn’t think of anything – I love what I do – maybe though I would live further away from a licensed premises! (You may think the sleepy old pub on the corner is quaint but 20 years later it’s a thumping disco and popular weekend late-night venue!)
Who inspires you and why?
People who work for the good of the country and not for the benefit of a few.
What would you do to make a difference in the world?
Get actively involved. Make your voice heard where ideas turn into action.
Favourite holiday destination and why?
Kyoto, Japan: 17 world heritage sites, great food and wonderful friends. A base to use for visits further west to Himeji, Okayama, Kurashiki and the art island of Naoshima.
When friends come to town, what attraction would you take them to, and why?
The La Trobe Reading Room at the State Library in Melbourne – not a place the average tourist would find on their own and one of the greatest interior spaces in Australia.
What are you currently reading?
Good Living Street (The Fortunes of my Viennese Family) by Tim Bonyhady. A history of the Gallia family and how the NGV came to acquire a suite of Josef Hoffmann Wiener Werkstätte furniture. I also return constantly to David Garnett’s novel Aspects of Love for research.
What are you currently listening to?
Aspects of Love by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Happiness is?
The rehearsal room. Creating the characters and finding their stories.
What does the future hold for you?
Aspects of Love at The Hayes Theatre Co in Sydney through November and December. After that… more travel! Now that I have launched myself into the world of George Dillingham in Aspects of Love, I’m very interested to discover the area around his villa at Pau in the south-west of France – it’s between Lourdes and San Sebastian and the Spanish border area has always been on my bucket-list.
Grant stars as George Dillingham in Aspects of Love at the Hayes Theatre Co. from 22 November 2018. For more information, visit: www.hayestheatre.com.au for details.
Image: Grant Smith (supplied)