TWiSK #359
Pear Shaped @ Theatre Works
Full house of gigs @ Palais
Sports clubs ‘prixed-off’ by Grand displacement
Staff survey stirs council into action
Plan ahead for school holidays
Vale Renée Geyer @ National Theatre
Tuesday 4 April, 6.30 pm
TV & radio presenter, Richard Wilkins will MC the second half of the evening with a musical celebration from Paul Kelly, Russell Morris, Kevin Borich, Deborah Conway, Ross Wilson, Rebecca Bernard, Renée’s house band, plus other special guests performing in her honour. $69
Tix
20 Carlisle St, St Kilda
Wheelchair access, accessible toilet
Heroes and Leaders Exhibition @ Gasworks
Monday 3 April – Sunday 7 May
Deaf Children Australia’s Heroes and Leaders Exhibition features art by young deaf and hard of hearing people from ages 8 through to 23 years. Now in its second year, the national competition, is the only one of its kind in Australia.
Curious and creative minds have explored the theme Heroes and Leaders, what it means to them and who or what is their source of inspiration and why. Artworks include visual and digital art across portraits, paintings, digital illustrations, comic book and more.
https://gasworks.org.au/whats-on/heroes-and-leaders
Beck @ Palais
Monday 3 April, 8 pm
A Blues Fest side gig with Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominee and eight-time Grammy-winner Beck delving deep into his acoustic roots.
Tix
Counting Crows @ Palais
Tuesday 4 April
Sold out
Pear Shaped @ Theatre Works
Wednesday 5 April – Saturday 15 April, 7.30 pm
Recommended 12+
“A blend of wordplay, magic realism and puppetry.
Pear-Shaped is a dark new dramedy from Miranda Middleton and Ziggy Resnick.
The show interweaves scenes from Lewis Carroll’s classic books to tell an un-wonderful new tale in surprisingly wonderful ways. Told with humour, heart, and nuance, this production explores one Jewish family’s experience of what happens when food – a symbol of culture, tradition, connection, and love – becomes the enemy.”
Tix
Bonnie Raitt & Mavis Staples @ Palais
Wednesday 5 April, 8 pm
Sold out
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit @ Palais
Thursday 6 April, 8 pm
Sold Out
Catholic Guilt @ Espy basement
Thursday 6 April, 7 pm
Five-piece Catholic Guilt combine elements of punk, alt, folk and rock to create a sound they call ‘honest music’. Free
Blues Brothers @ Astor
Friday 7 April, 7.30 pm
Shake your tail feather on a mission from God with both kinds of music
Tix
Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening @ Palais
Friday 7 April, 8 pm
Jason Bonham has surrounded himself with a band who are very faithful to Led Zeppelin and seek to replicate the sound of the iconic rock band. The JBLZE show is a heartfelt tribute to the late John Bonham with the concrete lineage of Bonham
Tix
The Brads @ Espy Basement
Friday, 7 April 2023 7.30 pm
Joining The Brads will be good friends ‘Lucid Aux’ & ‘Waxman’. Free
Full Flower Moon Band @ Espy Gershwin
Friday 7 April, 8 pm
“Full Flower Moon Band are from Brisbane. Frontwoman persona ‘Babyshakes Dillon’, walks in many shoes, from snakeskin boots to stilettos.” $15
Tix
Hariharan @ Palais
Saturday 8 April, 7 pm
“A legend in the Indian music industry with a career spanning over 40 years. Known for his versatility, he has sung across multiple genres and is widely considered as an Indian-fusion trailblazer.” $70+
Tix
The Exorcist @ Astor
Sunday 9 April, 7 pm
Easter programming with a rotating head
Tix
Easter Sunday R&B Night @ Espy Gershwin
Sunday 9 April, 8 pm
Old School vs New School RNB. Free
Tix
Steve Lucas and The Rising Tide
Sunday, 9 April 2023 6 pm
“Steve Lucas & The Rising Tide play the blues in many shades and forms. Tortured torch songs, dark and menacing tunes, throw in a bit of New Orleans and you are getting warm. Add to the mix a mix of well chosen covers from Chicago shuffles to the pounding rhythms of classic rock and roll.” Free
Circus Royale @ St Kilda Triangle
Until Sunday 30 April, various times
This family friendly, ultra-high energy show will appeal to audiences of all ages.
With Cassie Millard on the Swinging Trapeze, star performer on Australia’s Got Talent Olivia Barker with her contortion skills, Olivia Chircop up on the aerial net, and Columbian daredevil Lion Brothers on the high-wire, wheel of steel and inside the motorcycle globe of death. $55/$35
Bookings
Soon
The Battle of Long Tan – Anzac Appeal Launch @ Astor
Tuesday 11 April, 6.30 pm
A percentage of ticket sales will be donated to the ANZAC Appeal. The Battle of Long Tan is being screened through the support of The History Channel in support of the ANZAC Appeal.
Tix
Dinosaur craft @ St Kilda Library
Wednesday 12 April at 11 am to 12 pm
Create a t-shirt emblazoned with your favourite prehistoric predator or gentle giant and design and decorate an impressive 3D dinosaur sculpture to take home. Suitable for ages 6-12
Info
Ready Set LEGO @ St Kilda Library
Thursday 13 April, 11 am to 12:30 pm
Join Brick Kit for an exhilarating hands-on LEGO workshop. Design, experiment, refine and race your LEGO creation on an enormous 11 metre racing track! Learn about physics whilst challenging yourself to beat your own fastest time. Suitable for ages 6 – 12
Info
School holidays @ St Kilda Library
Kim Volkman heads a trifecta of bands @ St Kilda Sports Club
Friday 14 April, 7 pm
Kim Volkman and The Whisky Priests, River of Snakes and Persecution Blues. $30
Tickets 
The Giants – Q&A with Bob Brown @ Astor
Sunday, 16 April at 3:00pm (single feature)
This special event session includes a post film Q&A with Bob Brown and the film makers. The Giants explores the intertwined fates of trees and humans in this poetic portrait of environmentalist Bob Brown and the Forest.
Tix
Not Finished With You Yet @ Alex Theatre on Fitzroy Street
Until Sunday 16 April
“It’s saucy, funny, and deeply entertaining from start to finish. It’s not afraid to be outrageous or risqué …
Well scripted, and wonderfully performed, it’s the musical to see!”
Weekend Notes Review
Part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival
A new musical with a powerhouse cast headed by real-life partners Christie Whelan Browne and Rohan Browne.
Tickets from $66 (previews) $71
Tix and info
1/135 Fitzroy St
Wheelchair access, accessible toilet
Kumarsutra Greatest Hits @ National
Saturday 22 April, 8 pm
Kumar is hailed as one of South East Asia’s most iconic and respected performing artists and a brilliant stand-up comedian. $80+
Tix
The Women’s Show #18 @ Vivienne Anderson Gallery
Until Saturday 22 April
vivienandersongallery.com
284–290 St Kilda Road
Tuesday to Friday 1 1am — 5 pm, Saturday 12 pm — 4 pm
Indonesian Dinner ~ Celebrating Eid
Thurs 27th April, from 6.30pm
Eid is a very important holiday in the Islamic calendar. Celebrated by Muslims worldwide to mark the end of Ramadan. What better way to join in the celebrations and learn more about this fascinating event than to join a special Eid ‘Dinner with Friends’?
$50 per head
Book My Dinner
Sports Clubs ‘prixed-off’ by Grand displacement
Millions for GP, yet zero for Albert Park
Sporting clubs that use facilities in Albert Park are upset about being displaced from their local grounds for up to 102 days by the Grand Prix.
The Grand Prix started occupying sporting areas in early March and normal use will not resume for most clubs until early June.
The displacement coincides with the start of the AFL seasons meaning that some junior footy teams can’t play games on their home grounds for 6 rounds (out of a season of 14 rounds).
“Last year some clubs did not even get to play a single game on their home grounds,” said Albert Park Sports Clubs Association President, Hugo Armstrong.
Nothing in the tank for park facilities
“[Last week’s] Grand Prix is likely to cost Victorian taxpayers more than $80 million.
But the Andrews Government does not have a single dollar in the pipeline to improve facilities,’ he said.
In the 2022 election, the ALP was the only major party not to make commitments on capital improvements to Albert Park facilities.
Plug into musical history
From Sally Moore, Host, Unplugged in St Kilda
In 2022, the St Kilda Historical Society released the Unplugged in St Kilda podcast, celebrating the area’s rich musical history during the 1970s, 80s and 90s.
With more than 7,000 streams so far, the success of the series is due to the financial support of the Council’s Cultural Development Fund and a donation from the St Kilda Historical Society.
We urge the Council to keep these grants available to continue their important role in celebrating our fantastic suburb’s arts and culture and making it accessible to all.
Listen now 
Elwood Neighbourhood House
Independent committee member vacancies
(Volunteer positions)
Elwood St Kilda Neighbourhood Learning Centre is a not-for-profit Neighbourhood House that provides low-cost education programs and hosts a variety of community and commercial activities that promote sustainability, wellbeing and creativity.
They are inviting expressions of interest from people who can bring skills and independence to their voluntary committee of management. It’s a minimum commitment of about 3 hours per month, including a monthly meeting.
For more information
Local MP Nina Taylor responds
to “Not good in the ‘hood” issues
Readers may recall the alarming issues raised at Council by residents about anti-social street behaviour in St Kilda, including a perceived lack of police resources and lack of support for joint patrols with council local law officers.
Listen to ‘Not good in the ‘hood’ podcast of testimony from locals at Council
TWiSK asked local MP Nina Taylor to provide a comment and now present her reply in full..
Anti-social behaviour in St Kilda
Response from Nina Taylor MLA
“We have invested a record $4.5 billion in Victoria Police to ensure they have the resources and tools they need to keep our community safe.
We’re delivering an additional 502 police and 50 Protective Service Officers to meet the growing needs of the state, building on the 3,135 new police officers already on our streets.
We have also invested almost $1.2 million in crime prevention projects across the City of Port Phillip, including $780,000 to install CCTV along Fitzroy St, Acland St and the St Kilda foreshore.”
Background
“All Victorians receive a 24-hour police response, seven days a week, wherever they live. Police can and will be deployed to where they are needed, when they are needed. The Prahran Division, which services Port Phillip and includes St Kilda has received an additional 51 sworn police officers since 2016. The location and deployment of police officers is determined by the Chief Commissioner.
“The latest data from the independent Crime Statistics Agency shows total offences in the City of Port Phillip which includes St Kilda is stabilising following a period of lower crime rates while more people were home during the height of the pandemic. The offence rate remains below 2018 levels.”
Email received from Nina Taylor MP Thursday 30 March 2023.
Obamas stoked about St Kilda?
As media attention concentrated on the Grand Prix, a seriously well supervised couple looking a lot like Michelle and Barack Obama were snapped by an eagle eyed local as they casually left after lunch at the Stokehouse on St Kilda Beach.
Protocol prevented TWiSK getting confirmation of their visit, so we cant be 100% sure, nor do we have any tasty details of their food and beverage choices.
But TWiSK can only agree that grabbing lunch overlooking the bay on a flying visit to Melbourne sounds like a good choice.
And as the picture suggests, they had no trouble funding park.
Five-point plan to boost staff morale
Rocked by below par results in the latest staff survey, Council CEO Chris Carroll has launched a five-point action plan to restore confidence over the next 3 – 5 years.
The plan is revealed in the latest CEO report that will be tabled at Council next Tuesday.
He will tell Councillors that the staff survey results were ‘solid given the context’ and ‘around the middle of the organisations in the benchmark.’
Previous CEO reports have noted that staff turnover at council is over 20% per year.
TWiSK contacted the Mayor and CEO for comment and the reply is presented below.
“Solid given the context”
CEO Chris Carroll
“Solid given the context”Response printed in full
“We sit at around the 50th percentile of local government organisations included in the benchmark database or put simply ‘around the middle of organisations included in the benchmark’.
“The benchmark is based on 84 local government studies from across Australia who have undertaken the survey in the past five years. Organisations undertake the survey at a time and frequency of their choosing – rather than together.
It’s a ‘solid’ result given:
• Uncertainty following the departure of the CEO and several senior staff and resultant acting arrangements
• Organisational fatigue post COVID and amidst increasing service demand in a hard to recruit environment
• Difficult project delivery and contracted service delivery environment with vacancies and supply chain issues
• Many people fundamentally rethinking their approach to work and priorities during and post COVID – reducing their willingness to happily go above and beyond for the organisation (a key survey question)
• Some of the priority areas we have been working on are moving in the right direction.
We are seeking to move above the 75th percentile or top quartile (or put simply the top 25 per cent of organisations in the benchmark). This kind of improvement generally takes several years and would move us into the high performance category with highly aligned and engaged employees.
To help with the transition required, this year organisationally we are focussing on senior leadership, performance culture, investment in learning, recognition, and improving internal operations to help people do their job easier and better.”
Town Hall Gallery
Decision made, consult later?
Does hastily removed web copy tell the real story?
Town Hall GalleryRebranded and relaunched about 6 years ago, the Carlisle Street Art Space is a gallery located in the St Kilda Town Hall adjacent to the service counter.
It has exhibited a range of works from local artists of a variety of career stages – amateur and professional.
Decision already made?
Despite a public call for feedback on arts policy, it looks like a decision has already been made.
The exhibits of the past 12 months seem to reflect a move to more partnerships with other bodies such as Space2b and Fringe Design rather than directly with artists.
TWiSK can see no public discussion of this change on the Council website (and requested more information).
Tell-tale information removed from website
But there was ‘tell-tale’ info in the FAQ section of the haveyoursay website about the Art and Culture Strategy which implied the CSAS may no longer be open to local artists.
Here is a screen shot (31 March 23):
Note: The above text was removed and replaced with very different text on the very last day of the consultation period, curiously after TWiSK contacted Council.
Transgender pride flag @ Town Hall
Friday 31 March was International Transgender Day of Visibility and a flag was flown at the Town Hall.
This was used on Council socials to invite comment on the draft LGBTIQA+ Action Plan which is out for consultation.
Origins and design of the flag
The Transgender Pride Flag was created by US Naval veteran Monica Helms. The flag was first used in the Phoenix Arizona Pride Parade in 2000.
Helms describes the meaning of the transgender pride flag as follows:
The stripes at the top and bottom are light blue, the traditional color for baby boys. The stripes next to them are pink, the traditional color for baby girls. The stripe in the middle is white, for those who are transitioning or consider themselves having a neutral or undefined gender.
(Source: Wikipedia)
The State Government has also opted to fly a range of LGBTIQA+ flags at Treasury Place.
Read The Age story
Greg Day
Happy to chat anytime 0418 345 829
Content suggestions and community questions are always welcome.
gday@archives.gdaystkilda.com.au
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