Catch up

Those unfortunate souls who follow Ms TN on Twitter will be aware that this week she has been under the weather. "Crapulous" is the adjective that springs to mind: neither ill enough to hang up her boots by her sickbed (with attendant sympathies, flowers and Belgian chocolates) nor well enough to gird her loins and spring with a happy cry into life's melee. This is one of the most boring states on the planet, and I am well bored with myself.

Still, I've been attending theatre, even if in my bathchair, and will blog about Red Stitch's admirable production of The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later and the MTC's Next to Normal as soon as I can think in paragraphs again. This week's pick is Debbie Tucker Green's Random, which is presently showing at the Lawler Studio as part of the MTC's Education Program. This production opened at the World Theatre Festival in Brisbane earlier this year and features an exemplary - nay, breath-taking - solo performance from Zahra Newman. Get thee hence, and at once: it closes at the end of next week.

In other news, US playwright Tony Kushner is in the headlines, following the last-minute withdrawal of an honorary degree from NY university CUNY. The decision follows accusations from CUNY trustee Jeffrey S. Wiesenfeld that Kushner, an outspoken critic of Israeli policy on Palestine, is an anti-Semite. George Hunka at Superfluities Redux has been tracking the scandal closely, with follow-ups here and here. The public outcry, which includes high-calibre names like Harold Bloom, has forced the trustees chair to reconvene another meeting next week to "reconsider" this decision.

Lastly, shifting to another hat: I'll be at Readings in Carlton at 6.30pm Monday night, with my poetry fascinator firmly affixed to my forehead. It's my first reading in Melbourne in two years, so I'm looking forward to it, and I'll be joined by new poets Chloe Wilson and Jessica Wilkinson. Gold coin donation. Details here.