Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Wednesday 16 July
6:15 PM - 7:15 PM
What is it like to grow up as a boy in the second decade of the 21st century, and what sort of men are boys expected to become? As gender roles continue to evolve and are redefined, who are the role models for young males today, and what sort of message are they conveying to the next generation?
As part of our masculinities series, A Blush of Boys contrasts the experiences of two adult men with two boys from St Martins Youth Arts Centre. Two boys aged ten and eleven discuss how they feel about growing up, alongside actor and performer Paul Capsis and author Tony Birch.
Former journalist and politician Maxine McKew hosts this wide-ranging discussion about what advice boys of yesteryear found most useful while they were growing up and what pressures the boys of today are facing.
Presented in partnership with St Martins Youth Arts Centre.
Men Overboard
What does it mean to be a man – or a boy – in the 21st century? How far have we come in shedding the macho expectations of the past … and to what extent do we still perform our gender roles on a daily basis? Do we still believe that boys are made of slugs and snails and puppy dogs’ tails, or that real men don’t eat quiche? This insightful series explores masculinity through talk, performance and across the generations.
Featuring
Will Beattie
Will is a 12 year-old comic collector with big plans for a graphic novel business. He believes that Heath Ledger was the best Joker and that playing Minecraft has brought him and his sister Rose closer together.
Will’s favourite smell comes from the pages of a new book and his favourite sound is created from shaking a fresh box of Lego. He has a lot to say about the Simpsons and about how girls and boys should co-exist better.
Paul Capsis
Paul Capsis is a playwright, performer, actor and singer.
Capsis co-wrote the one man autobiographical play Angela’s Kitchen, which won him 2012 Helpmann Awards for both Best Male Actor in a Play and Best New Australian Work. His career takes him beyond the stages of the world’s leading theatre companies into film, television, recitals and cabaret.
He has also received a Sidney Myer Performing Arts Individual Award, and his voice has been described as ‘an act of God’ –allowing him to traverse the musical spectrum from classical and jazz through gospel, soul and rock'n'roll.
Tony Birch
Tony Birch is the author of four novels, five short fiction collections, and two poetry books. His most recent book is the novel, Women and Children (UQP).
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Maxine McKew
Maxine McKew is an author and Hon Enterprise Professor of the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne.
Her most recent book, published by Melbourne University Press in 2014, is Class Act – a study of the key challenges in Australian schooling. This publication followed the success of her memoir, Tales From the Political Trenches, an account of her brief but tumultuous time in the Federal Parliament.
Maxine’s background traverses both journalism and politics. For many years she was a familiar face to ABC TV viewers and was anchor of prestigious programmes such as The 7.30 Report and Lateline. Her work has been recognized by her peers with both Walkley and Logie Awards. When she left journalism and made the switch to politics, she wrote herself into the Australian history books by defeating Prime Minister John Howard in the Sydney seat of Bennelong. In government she was parliamentary secretary for early childhood and later, for regional development and local government.