Author Joel Swadling
Our associate artist Joel Swadling has spent the last 12 years archiving and conducting interviews with 80+ Canberra artists and theatre lovers towards research for a biography on Canberra theatre force-de-jour David Branson entitled “If This is the Highway (I’ll Take the Dirt Road)”. Joel is over the moon to receive the advance copy in his hot little hands. Stay tuned for the book launch on December 11 at the Street Theatre, in honour of the 20th anniversary of David’s death.
You can check out an interview Joel did with Living Arts Canberra here. We even get a mention!
Synopsis
An actor, presenter, producer, and director, David Branson was a dazzling fountain of energy whose artistic endeavors throughout Australia enlivened and advanced the careers of many performing artists. In this book, many of those share intriguing encounters with this particularly individual figure of inspiration, reflecting upon and revealing how he-and they-helped to shape the grass-roots avant-garde of the performing arts in Australia. Author Joel Swadling, who worked with Branson, highlights how Branson gained fame throughout Australia as one of the founders of Splinters Theatre of Spectacle, a twelve-year experiment in multimedia, cross-discipline outdoor ritual, and through other endeavors. After Branson’s death, the avant-garde excitement of Canberra faded for a time without his spirit and guidance. If This Is the Highway (I’ll Take the Dirt Road) celebrates and illuminates the impact of one of the avant-garde’s most talented titans.
