Farewell from Mutation Theatre
To
our friends and supporters,
Back in 2008 I founded Mutation Theatre in
order to create an extended body of new work with my collaborators. I was 18 at
the time, and wasn’t entirely sure what I was getting myself into, or how it
would all unfold. Over the last six years the company has staged ten works, ran
two performance spaces, won awards and collaborated with close to fifty
artists. Today, we’re announcing the end of Mutation Theatre’s journey.
The company has been a wonderful vehicle for
the discovery of my artistic practice, and for facilitating the presentation of
our collaborative work. We’ve had an incredible time sharing our work with
audiences, and working with organisations who have given us the opportunity to challenge ourselves and grow.
It’s been an absolute pleasure.
But all things have a natural lifespan and
energy, and the time feels right to put a full stop on this story and begin a
new one. In 2014 and beyond I’ll be putting my energy into new creative
projects and challenges, and the time feels right make this transition. I’m
incredibly grateful for all the support we’ve received over the last six years,
but also very excited for what’s to come.
I want to say an enormous thank you to
everyone who’s come along to see our work, we’ve been blessed with adventurous
and open-minded audiences who have been willing to take a risk on new work.
Thanks also to the originations who’ve
supported and presented our work: Melbourne Fringe Festival, Theatre Works, MTC
and Next Wave. Special thanks to the leaders who’ve provided us with
opportunity and allowed us to grow: Emily Sexton, Beau McCafferty, Angela
Pamic, Aiden Fennessey, Daniel Schlusser, and Dan Clarke. Thanks to all who
helped run our two spaces on Smith St as well.
The biggest thanks has to go to all of the
artists who worked so hard on our shows; offering extraordinary skill,
generosity and time- often working for little or no money. I feel incredibly
lucky to have worked with so many talented and kind artists. A huge thanks to
those who worked on multiple shows: Matt Epps, Ash Hughes, Tommy Spender,
Brendan Barnett, Katie Sfetkidis, Sam Mackie, Tim Wotherspoon, Katy Warner and
Mete Erdogan. The biggest thanks of all goes to my Associate Director and
closest collaborator James Tresise, who’s been the greatest creative companion
I could have hoped for.
It’s been a wonderful six years. Now for
what’s to come.
Patrick McCarthy
Artistic Director
Mutation Theatre
