Who is Wesley Enoch?
No two people meet the same person. Wesley Enoch is a writer and director for the stage and is currently the Festival Director for the Sydney Festival.
What would you do differently to what you do now?
I would sleep more, exercise more and cook for myself more often.
Who inspires you and why?
My mum is pretty inspirational to me. She had 4 kids before the age of 24, finished her high school certificate in her 40’s and went on to study a business course and a psychology degree by correspondence, gave up working to help raise her 4 grandchildren and secured the world for her 4 aboriginal kids so that one became a government minister, me running the Sydney Festival, a policeman and a disability carer. She has always shown a strength and resilience, an incredible moral compass, a sense of fairness and justice, and played her role as a calm witness to the wild madness of the world.
What would you do to make a difference in the world?
I would outlaw inheritance… everyone needs to stop thinking about what material things you are going to hand on to the next generation and invest in education, learning a new language, listen to more music and share experiences with the next generation that builds shared memories.
Favourite holiday destination and why?
Holiday? Don’t be silly. I travel for my day job – my idea of a holiday is cleaning the bathroom and mopping my floor at home.
When friends come to town, what attraction would you take them to, and why?
I find new restaurants to take them to – Izakaya Fujiyama in Surry Hills,
What are you currently reading?
Benjamin Law’s Quarterly Essay – Moral Panic 101: Equality. Acceptance and the The Safe Schools Scandal.
What are you currently listening to?
I’m currently loving the Go Betweens final album 16 Lovers Lane. I grew up in Brisbane and this album reminds of that time.
Happiness is?
Happiness is everywhere… I grab any absence of sadness to be happy!
What does the future hold for you?
I just keep remembering the sun comes up and goes down and everyday you add something to the world – a new idea, a new memory, a new relationship with a stranger, a new way of seeing the people in your life… I’m curious with very little expectation.
Wesley is the Festival Director of the Sydney Festival – which opens tomorrow (Saturday 6 January) and runs through to 28 January 2018. For more information, visit: www.sydneyfestival.org.au for details.
Image: Wesley Enoch – photo by Darren Thomas