Spencer Howson - Bmag

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K WiN GyMPiE MuSiC MuStER VIP Package enny Rogers is one of the world’s legendary voices who has won hundreds of awards, including three Grammys. He has also won hearts and sold more than 120 million records worldwide and you could win the chance to meet him at the Gympie Music Muster. The muster will run from Thursday 23 to Sunday 26 August at Amamoor Creek State Forest Park, 40 kilometres south-west of Gympie, and showcases some of the most renowned national and international country singers. While still maintaining strong country roots, the muster also provides a range entertainment in folk, bluegrass and even bush poetry. bmag and Hans, a valued sponsor of the Gympie Music Muster, have a great prize package to give away – first prize is two season passes (four days) to the muster and a chance for two people to meet Kenny Rogers and entry to an exclusive VIP area; second prize is two season passes. HOW tO ENtER Simply enter online at www.bmag.com.au or send your name, address and daytime telephone details on the back of an envelope to Gympie Muster, bmag, PO Box 477, Albion, 4010. Entries close 5pm Friday 20 July 2012. For more information about the Gympie Music Muster see www.muster.com.au. Entrants agree to receive future promotional offers from bmag. 16 bmag.com.au I Read Brisbane’s Best binformed Marriage shake-up <strong>Spencer</strong> <strong>Howson</strong> suggests different marriage contracts to include same-sex couples What I don’t understand about the gay marriage debate is the claim the church has on the concept of marriage. When Nikki and I were planning our 1996 wedding, there appeared to be two clear choices – a religion-free declaration of love and commitment before a celebrant, or a wedding under God in a place of worship. We opted for the former and were married at Mt Coot-tha Lookout, witnessed by friends and family and, to add to the atmosphere and our memories, a dozen or so happy-snapping tourists! I’ve never considered that our marriage has anything to do with God. It’s a contract between Nikki, me and the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Yet, those in the church who are arguing against same-sex marriage insist that marriage is and must remain between a man and a woman because the Bible says so. In other words, whether you choose a church wedding or not, you are still agreeing to religious terms and conditions. This fundamental point has been going round and round in my head for months, driving me to come up with a new way forward on the issue of same-sex marriage. My first idea was to get rid of marriage completely. We would just have civil partnerships or registered relationships, whatever you want to call them. No religion, no arguments. Man and woman, man and man, woman and woman, everyone could enter a legal partnership with whomever they loved. We would no longer have to agree or disagree with the church-argued concept of ‘the devaluing of marriage’ because there would be no more ‘marriage’. However, I can see how it wouldn’t exactly be a compromise. If the church feels such a strong connection to marriage, it’s not something that can be just taken away from it. So here’s what I’ve come up with. We need two different types of marriage, to be known as a Church Marriage and a Civil Marriage. A Church Marriage would remain between a man and a woman – unless religious leaders one day decided otherwise. A Civil Marriage would include same-sex couples. If we’d had the option back in 1996, Nikki and I would have chosen a Civil Marriage. Simple as that. The wedding would still have taken place atop Mt Coot-tha, the tourists would still have snapped photographs of our happy day, and we would still have been happily married for 16 years and counting. Admittedly, there is a non-religious option available to couples, both gay and straight. And I hear that scores of heterosexual couples have indeed entered these civil partnerships (recently renamed registered relationships) since their introduction this year. But I think most couples would still rather be ‘married’ and I don’t see how the church can continue to claim exclusive ownership of that seven-letter word. Of course, this would still leave out gay couples hoping for a church-sanctioned marriage. But you have to concede that membership of a club – and that’s what church SPENCER HOWSON Breakfast presenter 612 ABC Brisbane is – means adhering to the rules of that club. And, for now at least, church leaders seem quite happy with the ‘marriage is between a man and a woman’ rule. What do you think of my idea of having Church Marriage and Civil Marriage? What other way forward can you see? I’ll include some of your suggestions in my next column in a fortnight. As a nation, we have to find the answer because the question isn’t going away. The ABC’s Head of Religion and Ethics, Scott Stephens, recently told my 612 ABC Brisbane Breakfast audience: “Increasingly you’re hearing political leaders being addressed quite forthrightly with ‘Where do you stand on gay marriage?’. For many people this is a political and even moral litmus test.” Even businesses are being forced to take sides, as we saw with the boycott of Gloria Jeans over its links to the Hillsong Church and the Australian Christian Lobby. Says Scott Stephens: “Because of the feverishness of the debate, because there’s so much moral and political investment in it, it does mean there’s going to be collateral damage and anybody who’s associated with whichever is regarded as being the wrong side of the debate can get so easily caught up within it.” Email me your comments about the marriage debate at the address below. Have your say on marriage. Email spencer@bmag.com.au
Festival of fame Brisbane Festival has been the springboard to world fame for local talent, writes Chris Herden Hip hop sensation and beatbox addict Tom Thum is perhaps Australia’s most prolific vocal percussionist. He is a voicebox virtuoso who, armed with only a microphone, knows how to push the limits of the human voice to deliver an incredible array of crazy sounds, and he’s just one of the local acts which has found worldwide acclaim following their success at the Brisbane Festival. The world premiere of Tom Thum’s solo show will be presented at this year’s festival in September by Strut & Fret, a production house internationally renowned for its extreme theatre acts and highflying circus spectacles. “He’s originally from the Tom Tom Crew, which was created for the Woodford Festival in 2007 and since then has played on Broadway, in London, Germany and Montreal,” says Strut & Fret’s Brisbanebased co-director and producer Scott Maidment. “Tom has really developed his solo stuff and [become a] great international artist. He is actually much more famous in New York and London than in his home town of Brisbane,” says Maidment. Strut & Fret’s most celebrated success has been Cantina, a “dark and dangerous cocktail of flaming passion and faded glamour”. which the vibrant young company created for Brisbane Festival 2010. Cantina is currently enjoying a five-month residency at London’s South Bank following sell-out seasons in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Columbia. Maidment quotes a British tabloid review to best describe the show. “An old school carnival with a touch of David Lynch about it,” he laughs. “A theatre agent from Belgium came to the Speigeltent show in 2010 and he texted me, before the show was even over, and said – ‘hey, we gotta talk’.” Maidment has produced many big live events for Sydney Festival, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, the 2006 Commonwealth Games and Edinburgh Fringe Festival. “The reputation of Brisbane Festival has really grown and it has given us artistic credibility,” he says. Noel Staunton, now in his third year as creative director of Brisbane Festival, says Beatbox sensation Tom Thum Cantina, with its team of acrobats performing erotic manoevres while a bizarre soundscape is played on old-fashioned musical instruments, provided the perfect vaudeville charm for the Speigeltent. “I can’t wait for someone to tell me that they saw this great show in London and that we should do it. Then I would tell them that we did it two years ago,” he says. “We encourage local artists to do stuff for the festival and it is great that they are going overseas and performing to great acclaim. At least you can see them in Brisbane first. Brisbane is the backbone of the energy.” This year’s festival will showcase 13 Brisbane productions with 392 Brisbane performers. “Circa is a Brisbane company that lives and works in Fortitude Valley and has a wonderful workshop there,” Staunton says. “They worked with us in 2010 on Wunderkammer and that has been seen all over Germany, France and England to enormous success. If you talk to people in London about Circa, they think they’re the most phenomonal company ever.” This year Circa again lifts the bar for contemporary circus with the world premiere of S, a seamless blend of extreme acrobatics and intimate circus acts all set to a powerful soundtrack. “S celebrates the possibilities of the human body, the relationship between strength and vulnerability,” says Circa artistic director Yaron Lifschitz. “Brisbane Festival is an environment where the city gets to show what it can make that is world class. It unleashes a new energy and spirit that is fantastic. We couldn’t have made Wunderkammer if it wasn’t for Brisbane Festival and since then the show has secured or perfomed more than 400 engagements worldwide.” Another Brisbane Festival world premiere not to be missed is Dance Energy, the first collaboration between three companies, Expressions Dance Company, Dancenorth and Queensland Ballet. The Brisbane Festival is on from 8 to 29 September 2012. For information see www.brisbanefestival.com.au. Read Brisbane’s Best I bmag.com.au 17
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Spencer Howson - Bmag

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