Family diary: Keene and Beckett

A busily theatrical weekend is looming in the Keene/Croggon household. To begin with, those who bemoan that Daniel Keene's work is never done in Melbourne have a chance for a bit of catch-up: the Dog Theatre in Footscray, under the direction of the dauntless Matt Scholten, are putting on The Cove, a season of eight short works, over the next four weeks. Keene is of course one of Australia's most awarded playwrights and almost certainly its most produced, if not here; he has had around 80 productions in Europe since 2000, on some of its main stages. Next year he has productions coming up at the National Theatre of Brussels, the Théâtre National de Toulouse and the Théâtre national de la Colline, the biggest subsidised theatre in Paris.

The Cove is an interesting selection of four premieres and four revivals, with one of each performed in repertory each week (details here). The cast includes Majid Shokor, Bruce Myles, Jan Friedl, Danielle Carter, Matthew Molony and Harli Ammes; myself, I can't wait to see Shokor, one of my favourite actors, perform the two monologues that open and close the season.

The revivals were all first performed in the KTTP days and have since gone on to glory elsewhere. Most notably, To Whom It May Concern was a hit for the Théâtre de la Commune in 2005, prompting an excitable critic to claim that it was the most significant event in Paris theatre since Waiting for Godot opened in 1953. If you want to see the plays in tandem, your chance is this weekend: all the premieres will be performed on Saturday and all the revivals on Sunday. Bookings are strongly advised: Easytix online or 9639 0096.

I won't be there on Sunday, alas, because I am presiding over the next Things on Sunday event at the Malthouse. This should be a fun one: we've selected some texts that influenced Samuel Beckett, which include writings by Dante, John Keats, Anton Chekhov and James Joyce. It's really an excuse to hear some wonderful writing read by a couple of great voices, Greg Stone and Rachael Maza Long. The session starts at 2.30pm sharp in the Merlyn. Tickets $10 or free for Malthouse subscribers.