Who is Daniel Keene?
A playwright. Born in Melbourne. Sixty-eight years of age. Married with three children. Two cats. A resident of the Western suburbs of Melbourne.
What would you do differently from what you do now?
I wouldn’t want to change what I do, but I would like to do it by practicing a little more patience, and feeling less constrained by old habits; there is always that desire to find a place, a feeling, of lucidity, of freedom.
Who inspires you and why?
Collective action. When people gather together and find solidarity, who speak for what they collectively believe in, what they desire, what they hope for, what they reject, what they demand for themselves and each other. The energy and the beauty of people gathered to speak with one voice.
What would you do to make a difference in the world?
Erase completely the unchecked power and corrosive influence of billionaires like Elon Musk.
Favourite holiday destination and why?
Avignon, in the South of France. I’ve never actually been there for a holiday, only for theatre work, but I’d like to spend more time there (without working). There is something about the daylight, which lends everything a particular kind of clarity, the pale, almost golden colour of the stone in the old parts of the city, the formation of the clouds that roll across the sky in long waves and the warm evenings in the spring and summer that seem to refresh the mind and lighten the heart.
When friends come to town, what attraction would you take them to, and why?
The Botanical Gardens. My father used to take me there when I was a child. I’ve taken my own children there. It’s just a lovely place to wander.
What are you currently reading?
The Little Virtues by Natalia Ginzburg; The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis; Change by Edouard Louis; The Great Cat Massacre by Robert Darnton; Hope Against Hope by Nadezhda Mandelstam.
What are you currently listening to?
The Chopin Project by Olafur Arnalds and Alice Sara Ott; Solotude by Abdullah Ibrahim; Silver Ladders by Mary Lattimore; French Cello Solos by Nicolas Altstaedt.
Happiness is?
Being with the people you love, doing what you love to do.
What does the future hold for you?
I’ve never really known, and I still don’t.
Daniel is the acclaimed playwright of Mother (starring Noni Hazlehurst) – which will be presented in the Fairfax Studio – Arts Centre Melbourne from 4 – 21 September 2024. For more information, visit: www.artscentremelbourne.com.au for details.
Image: Daniel Keene – photo by F. Passerini