Otherwise known as reborner or deciduous teeth, babyteeth are those that precede your adult set and are kind of like the training wheels for your mouth. Often wished upon or traded in for gold, they are both valuable and impermanent. In the freshly-penned Rita Kalnejais play of the same name, there is a bittersweet edge to this concept of childhood chrysalis – as 14-year-old Milla (Sara West) is very, very sick, and like her one remaining baby tooth, may not make it to adulthood. For this inaugural staging, we speak to director Eamon Flack (As You Like It) about how he pulled out this challenging little tale …

What compelled you to direct Babyteeth? There are very few reasons NOT to do a play like this. It’s wildly alive, it’s difficult to direct (which I like), it’s funny, it’s full of wonderful ways of seeing the world, and most brilliantly of all it’s a love story. Theatre has so few of these nowadays. Theatre yielded the love story to opera and film a century ago, and modern love stories on stage are rare. This is one of them, and a glorious one at that.

Tell us about Milla, the dying teenager? She has cancer but she’s also 14 and it’s this gap between illness and the ordinary teenage urge to live and experience that gives the play its force. The fact that she’s dying makes her living all the more important – she’s trying to find a way to leap into the thick of life while she can, and in a stroke of madness or sheer sanity, depending which way you look at it, she falls instantly in love with a junkie [Eamon Farren] ten years her senior and invites him home. The situation is part screwball and part tragedy. It’s quite brilliant.

And how about the other characters. How do they fit into the story? There’s a family of three – Milla and her parents – and each of them, in the course of dealing with Milla’s illness, find themselves forging an unlikely bond with a random stranger. As Milla’s illness takes over the life of the family, these people from the world at large become their most important anchors to a wider sense of life and living. It’s beautifully simple storytelling, really, but unexpected, idiosyncratic and alive.

How have you prepared the cast for their performances? To be honest it’s not really something I talk about. Characters are just people with intense complexes of obstacles and desires, so you spend most of your time talking about obstacles and desires. Having said that, the marvellous Russell Dykstra is playing a Latvian violin teacher, so Russell has heroically learnt both a Latvian accent and the violin. He’s also had to learn to be a lot ruder than he himself is. Other than that – no characterisation, just six weeks worth of painstaking accumulation of details of human behaviour!

Babyteeth is described as dark, a whimsical comedy, bittersweet and a love story where, ‘love undoes you and makes you honest’. How do all these differing themes connect to one another? I think LIFE has multidimensional themes – it’s pretty normal for it to be funny and awful at the same moment – and life rarely ties its themes up neatly. Babyteeth is adamantly life-like in that sense. It refuses to package the themes into a single pill. But at the centre of the living mess of it all is a moment-by-moment interest in what it means to love another person when you know that, somewhere along the way, one of you will end up losing the other person to oblivion. Love is not a feeling, it’s a constant activity you engage in, especially when someone is dying.

How has the play been staged? What visual or sensory tools have been utilised to enhance the story-telling, the mood or emotional landscapes of the characters and their interactions? Bob Cousins is the set designer – he really is one of the best – and we spent long hours trying to find some very practical solutions to staging a very eventful play. It has lots of locations – it’s very filmic in that sense – so we needed to find something that could do a lot of work with great ease. But the play also has this unusual and very beautiful kind of poetry of space going on – this remarkable way of constantly unfolding and opening up and just when you think it can’t open up any more it does. So we’ve found ourselves putting three rooms on a revolve, when the interior of each room is the exterior of the room next door – a kind of Escher-esque world of interiors becoming exteriors. But the moods and rhythms and emotional landscapes of the staging really come from the dialogue, which is intricately musical in a very special way. We’ll be using very gentle music and lighting to support those rhythms, rather than invest too heavily in a theatricality.

What do you hope the audience will take away with them? Oh – that great and classic feeling of having had a good laugh and a good cry in the same few hours – you feel like your lungs and your stomach and your heart have had a good physical workout just by sitting in the dark – and when you walk away with those feelings you also end up somehow more open-minded and more compassionate, which is always a good thing! I also hope lots of people fall in love after watching the show.

Feb 11-Mar 18, Upstairs, Belvoir St Theatre, 25 Belvoir St, Surry Hills, $42-62, 9699 3444, belvoir.com.au

Claiming their new stuff is about, “feeling, not feelings,” The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are not afraid of coming across as painfully earnest. But the floss-spinning foursome (the band name comes from a children’s book, no less) hailing from the Big Apple somehow manage to avoid tumbling too far into twee, with some fierce melodies and competitive stats (Pitchfork handed out an 8.2 for their 2011 release Belong) to back them up. Here for the Laneway Festival you can catch their sideshow at the Manning Bar with a similarly cute-but-canny Rainbow Chan (co-winner of the FBi Radio Northern Lights competition) and Geoffrey O’Connor. (AB)

Feb 9, Manning Bar, Manning Rd, University of Sydney, $45+BF, 1300 762 545, manningbar.com

It’s not every day you hear the words red carpet, live entertainment, short movies and free in the same sentence, however Tropfest goes out of its way to offer just that. The most prestigious short film festival in Australia (next stop: the world) takes over the Sydney Domain for one special night in February – the films are also broadcast to various other locations. Considering last year’s finalists include a pink spin on the Y2K bug (yep, Y2GAY), a feathery therapy session, and a watery journey to an unusual animal kingdom (the winning entry directed by actor Damon Gameau), 2012 could have its work cut out for it in the field of  ’raising the stakes.’ We wish them well. Go witness the action from the arvo onwards, Sunday February 19th.

Feb 19, the Domain, Sydney, get there early with a picnic blanket, tropfest.com

It may seem like an unlikely source of inspiration for a new suite of works – but for inner-city Sydney artist Patrick Dagg it was his ‘Damascus moment.’

“I had a car accident last July where I had been drinking and ran up the back of a taxi. I wrote my car off but luckily nobody was hurt … I decided I had get a grip and focus my energy into something positive. Hence Crash Paintings.”

From his ten-year career in disabilities, specifically working with those suffering from brain injuries, Dagg has an acute sense of how fragile life can be. “As a society we often take our health for granted and we should celebrate what we have more often. The crash has kind of opened me back up and given me the courage to paint freely again.”

Writhing with untangled knots of vibrant colour and a consistent use of fluid, linear movement, the paintings (and complementary ceramic pieces) impart a deliberate sense of ‘contained chaos.’ Nods to influences Jean Dubuffet and Emily Kngwarreye are also clearly evident.

“There is a journey in the gestures of the work,” says Dagg, “and as you view them more as a whole you can see this.” A journey that has evidently been somewhat difficult – but at least to some extent, cathartic.

Feb 10-11, (opening night Feb 10, 6-8pm), Gallery 583, 583 Elizabeth St, Redfern, patrickdagg.com

If you can reel off the likes of Chris Lilley, Tim Minchin, Peter Helliar, Josh Thomas and Hannah Gadsby on your alumnus rollcall, you must be doing something right. Since its inception in 1996, RAW Comedy has become Australia’s premier open mic comedy competition and in the lead up to the showdown at the Melbourne Comedy Festival, the spotlight is rolling over our young and hungry Sydney comics every week at the Comedy Store. We speak to one who has made it, MC Daniel Townes, and one who wants to, Damian Sommerlad, to find out how they are handling the heat …

DANIEL TOWNES

What if it turns out these raw comedians tell some funnier jokes than you? I hope they do tell some funnier jokes than me, funny new comedians are a good thing, it means the future of comedy in Australia is safe.
How important are these kind of comps for comics trying to get a toehold in? They are important but it’s not the end of the world if you don’t win. Winning them opens doors and so does not winning them … and still being funny. That said, if you were going to win a comedy competition RAW is definitely the one you’d want it to be. It’s the biggest competition in the country, it’s got the prestige and the prize is amazing. No pressure.
What word of advice would you give yourself of five years ago? Don’t put pressure on yourself in comedy competitions, enjoy the gig for what it is and have fun.
And what’s one thing you hope never happens in a comic sketch again? I don’t know to be honest with you, anything can be funny if it is done well and with a new approach, even old ideas.

DAMIAN SOMMERLAD

What’s the rawest thing you can think of? Nappy rash. Life ain’t easy at two.
How do you prepare your material? Are you a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants or speech card kinda guy? ‘Every battle is won before it is ever fought’ Sun Tzu.
If you win, what will you do with the prize money? Build a giant papier mache effigy of myself and start a cult.
Who are your comic idols? George Carlin, Bill Hicks, Ricky Gervais, Rik Mayall.
And your dream gig? One where people laugh.

Until Feb 28, Comedy Store, The Entertainment Quarter, Building 207/122 Lang Rd, Moore Park, $10-15, 9357 1419, comedystore.com.au

It was a kind of code language; a way of navigating the murky waters of a still deeply conservative America. Utilised by activist Harry Hay and his costume designer lover Rudi Gernreich (cue the closet jokes) in the 1948 formation of the first sustained LGBT rights organisation, the Mattachine Society, the term ‘temperamentals’ was early 20^th century slang for ‘homosexual.’ The 2009 play of the same name by Jon Marans (Old Wicked Songs) follows the turbulent history of those seeking the freedom to love, long before the Stonewall riots of 1969 and the political wins of Harvey Milk in the 70s.

Kevin Jackson will direct this Mardi Gras-programmed production, and says of the script: “It’s not just a ‘history lesson’; it’s also a very funny and very moving study of human behaviours. Jon Marans deftly manages to cover both the public and the personal, bringing in many historical points of the Mattachine story whilst subtly weaving in the personal stories of the actual men: their struggles, in very unsympathetic times, with sexual identification and with the self-permission required to live the lives that they instinctively knew were their destiny and right.” (AB)

Feb 7-Mar 3, New Theatre, 542 King St, Newtown, $15-30, 1300 131 188, newtheatre.org.au

A reader in the New York Times theatre section lamented it was, “dreadful,” but that the, “youngsters seemed to like it.”

We’re not sure what they were expecting from a play entitled That Pretty Pretty; or, the Rape Play by a young gun writer, Sheila Callaghan, named one of Variety’s 10 Screenwriters to Watch and a Successful Woman out to Change the World according to Marie Claire.

Allegedly inspired by an article Callaghan read that gave an overview of plays in which men behave badly, and perhaps obliquely spurred by a trend finding only 12.6% of productions written by women in the so-called capital of the free world, That Pretty Pretty takes aim at the American Pies of the world, the MILFs and the teen sluts that populate the predominant representation of women in the entertainment biz.

For its inaugural production Workhorse Theatre is bringing the incendiary piece to TAP Gallery, and Zoe Trilsbach, who also stars as a bloodthirsty ex-stripper, takes a moment to tell us more…

What drew you to That Pretty Pretty; or, the Rape Play? Katherine [Beck] (another member of Workhorse) and I worked on this play in an acting class we we’re doing with a coach named Lynette Sheldon. Apart from the fact that we loved Sheila Callaghan’s writing, we loved the intricacy, the intelligence and the issues tackled within the script.

The script has been described as, ‘forthrightly feminist.’ How true do you think this is? And to what extent is the message still relevant to a 2012 Australian audience? After deconstructing the script I wouldn’t say it’s a feminist play. It’s a protest in numerous forms … sensationalising war, women in media, self deprecation and coping with society’s ideals.

That Pretty Pretty involves jelly wrestling, Jane Fonda, and ex-strippers… a kind of low-life, seamy underbelly landscape. Where does your character fit in? And is it difficult to keep the tone ‘real’ despite all the ridiculous scenarios? In the play there is actually only one ‘real’ scene (that’s up to the audience to work out which one). It sits in a realm between absurd and naturalism, so the ridiculous scenarios are actually ridiculous. Agnes (my character) represents the challenges many women face today…body image, identity, acceptance, self acceptance and how women choose/want to be perceived by the opposite sex.

As a kind of call-to-arms for females and female performers, has it been empowering taking part in this kind of production (written and also directed by a woman)? Absolutely! AND to be a woman who co-owns the theatre company that is putting it on.

And what’s one thing you hope audience members take away with them? I would be happy just to get our audience members thinking. Thinking both literally and laterally about the fragility of our society and what we teach our youths.

Feb 7-18, TAP Gallery, 278 Palmer St, Darlinghurst, $15-28, 1300 314 151, workhorsetheatreco.com

“Cinema Alley is based on old fashioned street cinemas, which would bring the community together to show current news and ideas. We transform Parker Street in Chinatown as a setting for showing some of the most up to date video art from the region,” says 4A Gallery director Aaron Seeto.

“Chinatown is undergoing so many shifts at the moment, it is a gateway to other Asian cultures and so through events such as Cinema Alley we hope to bring better awareness of contemporary art and culture of the Asian region to our diverse Australian community.”

This year’s incarnation – the 4^th since inception in 2009 – promises to do just that, with a exciting array of single and two-channel video works streamed across a double screen set up in the alley, from artists as diverse as Hiwa K, Liang Wei, Peter Alwast and Kiran Subbaiah. You really won’t know where to look – whether it’s the moonlike landscapes, floating clouds or writhing underwater dragons on-screen, or the buzzing bar to the side. Either way, win-win. (AB)

Feb 3, from 7pm, Parker St, Haymarket, free but bookings essential, 4a.com.au

Lust. Incest. Greed. Whores. It should come as no surprise that this 17^th century tragedy penned by notoriously melancholic playwright John Ford has been dubbed one of the most controversial pieces in English literature. It continued to be condemned up until the 20^th century – and even still, many found it hard to swallow. Its tale of incestuous passion between a brother Giovanni and his sister Annabella set in Parma, Italy, is said to be the template for Peter Greenaway’s infamous 1989 film The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover – and now courtesy of radical theatre company Cheek by Jowl, the uncomfortable subject matter gets a 21^st century update.

When it debuted in Paris last December leading newspaper Le Figaro declared it was a, “Masterpiece … not to be missed,” and if the director Declan Donnellan and designer Nick Ormerod’s all-male Russian spin on Twelfth Night (circa Sydney Festival 2006) is anything to go by, it certainly won’t be easily forgotten. Take the challenge. We dare you. (AB)

Jan 17-21, Sydney Theatre at Walsh Bay, Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay, $79-89, 1300 668 812, sydneyfestival.org.au

From its humble beginnings on the Eastside airwaves to a fully-fledged, not-for-profit organisation promoting the position of poetry as an artform and mode of expression, the Red Room Company has certainly gone from strength to strength. Papercuts is Australia’s only nation-wide poetry education program, with Red Room’s Artistic Director Johanna Featherstone emphasising it’s about, “Encouraging young people to encounter poetry in unusual ways allows them to experience poetry as a journey, that isn’t necessarily about getting something right or finding an answer.”

Along with acclaimed poet and spoken word performer Candy Royalle, you have the opportunity to make this Mardi Gras season about something more than sequins at the Company’s Festival-incorporated poetry workshop. Royalle gives us hints about the journey in store …

Candy, what first drew you to poetry? A need for self expression and the desire to be heard. Both still reign supreme as the reasons I remain doing it.

Is it possible to really learn the ‘secret’ of spoken word? Spoken word or performance poetry has to have some element of entertainment. It can’t be just about the artist – if that’s your driving force stick to writing for the page. If you think about what holds the attention of the audience, what helps them to connect to you, what they will relate to (essentially know your audience) you’re more likely to be successful. By no means do I mean compromise your art but there is a balance that needs to be struck so that both performer and audience feel fulfilled and that the journey was worth it.

How important do you think programs like Papercuts are? Incredibly important. The work that Red Room does, and its impact, cannot be underestimated. When I was at school, we were never offered these sorts of workshops and I would have loved it. Instead, I was shown only one side of poetry – stuff that I truly struggled to connect with, and it nearly turned me off completely! Furthermore poetry should be accessible – not some elitist art form reserved for a select few for it is such an incredible form of human expression and Red Room with its Papercuts program really does work to make it accessible.

What will poetry bring to the experience of Mardi Gras, and vice versa? I appreciate that Mardi Gras is a celebration of gay culture and lifestyle and that it is a time for gay people to feel connected to a community of like minded people. Sometimes, however, the parties and the parade, the sheer scale of it, can drown out the arts and culture aspect that many Queer people contribute to the community. Furthermore, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and actually disengaged – particularly for teenagers still unsure of the whole scene. I hope that whilst Mardi Gras can bring the fun times and the platform, poetry (and storytelling) can contribute that sense of connectedness that a lot of Queer teenagers, young adults and veterans are seeking.

What is one thing you hope participants will walk away with? I hope participants understand that they deserve to be heard and then feel empowered to do so with some of the tools I will help them develop. Everyone has a story, storytelling is part of what being human is and how we communicate and I believe poetry is one way we can tell those stories – I hope the participants walk away feeling the same way.

Jan 25, 10am-4pm, The Mullins Studio, Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, 597 High St, Penrith, redroomcompany.org/education