Reloading Loaded
‘I’m not Australian, I’m not Greek, I’m not anything … What I am is a runner. Running away from a thousand and one things that people say you have to be or should want to be.’
Loaded by Christos Tsiolkas is one of Melbourne’s most iconic works of fiction. In Tsiolkas’s high-octane, sex- and drugs-fuelled 1995 debut novel we follow 19-year-old Ari – Greek, gay and furious with the world – as he moves through the east, north, west and south of the city.
Loaded has been adapted three times. First, into the feature film, Head On, starring Alex Dimitriades. More recently, playwright Dan Giovannoni and Tsiolkas himself developed a contemporary adaptation for the stage. With the play’s planned October debut cancelled due to social restrictions, Malthouse Theatre has commissioned a unique third adaptation: an audio experience. You might not be able to watch Ari pace the stage, but you can now hear his distinctive voice in your ears as you walk the streets of Melbourne.
To launch the audio experience, we’ll present a discussion with Tsiolkas, Giovannoni and the director of both the play and audio experience, Stephen Nicolazzo. With host Rebecca Harkins-Cross they’ll discuss Melbourne scenes, adaptation hurdles and why Ari never gets old.
Presented in partnership with Malthouse Theatre.
Our online bookseller for this event will be Readings.
Featuring
Christos Tsiolkas is the author of six novels, including Loaded, which was made into the feature film Head-On, The Jesus Man and Dead Europe, which won the 2006 Age Fiction Prize and the 2006 Melbourne Best Writing Award, as well as being made into a feature film. His fourth novel, the internat... Read more
Dan Giovannoni writes plays for families, young people, and adults. Recent credits include Air Race (Arena Theatre Company), Merciless Gods (Little Ones Theatre), Bambert’s Book of Lost Stories (Barking Gecko Theatre Company), Turbine (Malthouse Theatre), Jurassica (Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre), ... Read more
Stephen is a theatre maker, director and co-founder of queer theatre company, Little Ones Theatre. He is also co-artistic director of Western Edge. Upcoming: Looking for Alibrandi (Malthouse Theatre, Belvoir). Recent Credits include: Loaded (Malthouse Theatre), Considerable Sexual License (Joel Bray... Read more
Rebecca Harkins-Cross is a writer and cultural critic from Naarm/Melbourne. Her work has been published widely in journals and periodicals across Australia and the world. Rebecca is currently a Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University’s Writing Program in New York City and finalising her PhD i... Read more
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