Creative Darwin

We like Darwin very much, but even its staunchest fans must admit that it's not a centre for cultural choice. For example, we couldn't find any theatrical offerings until April. Obviously the Wet dampens demand, if not creativity. (Okay, no more puns, I promise.)

Brown's Mart is an old stone building built in 1885. It's been a theatre space since the 1970s. Before that, it was used as a steamship office, a bank, a mining exchange and police HQ. In April, we went to see Kyle Walmsley's one-man show called Oyster Boy, a huge hit in last year's Darwin's Fringe Festival. Ken glazed over when I told him it was about gender fluidity and breaking free from constraints (coming out of the shell, so to speak). But he ended up enjoying it way more than he expected; I loved it, and loved being back in a theatre.

A different type of creative space is the Deckchair Cinema. Nestled among the rainforest remnant right next to the sea, it shows a different movie every night from April to November. From November to April — nothing. The Wet, you know. On the night of the Oscars, we most fittingly saw Nomadland. I enjoyed the contrast between snowy Nevada and tropical Darwin. Ken's enjoyment of the movie was lifted by a few beers, I think.

Still on the creative theme, we went to an art exhibition opening* in the Myilly Point heritage precinct. These four houses were built in the 1930s to provide accommodation for executive public servants. One house was destroyed by Cyclone Tracey in 1974 but three are preserved by the National Trust NT. This area is near Cullen Bay so we cycle past it every weekend. Hadn't gone into it before, but the art, the wine and the cheese (and a friend) lured us in.

Theatre, cinema, visual arts ... what about literature? We are making excellent use of the Darwin City Library. (Free) membership requires a Darwin address where utilities are paid, which doesn’t apply to us gypsies, so we had to pay a $65 fee. At the end of our stay, we get $50 refunded if we have conducted ourselves well and returned all books we have borrowed. Both Ken and I read a lot, so that $15 fee is a real bargain for six months.

Our other literary (?) forays are daily with the NT News, the local newspaper. It’s renowned nationally for its unrestrained headlines and for the crocodile pics on its front page. Please admire the selection from my collection below, from the four months we have been here.

But it's not only crocs and snakes. The NT News keeps up with world news. At the time of the Meghan/Harry interview, the NT News had this sly offering.

The NT News has two ‘letters to the editor’ pages: one for emails/letters (i.e. opinions written in coherent sentences), the other called ‘Text the editor’ – and it is literally that. You can text in your view on things, and it’s printed as received, warts and all. I’m proud to say that a wart-lite text of mine has been published in the NT News. Keeping my powder dry on submitting further opinions, though.

* 'Mad about mangroves' (9 May)