The Intriguing Case of the Silent Forest

Kathleen Doyle, Alana Hoggart, Rodrigo Calerón

Photo: Oscar Soscias

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Associate Members: Kathleen Doyle, Lorna McLeod
Many have worked with us since 2009
Glynis Angell, Elise Britton, Rodrigo Calderón,  Joshinder Kaur Chaggar, Marco Chiappi,  Keina Denda (Shinjuku Ryozanpaku) Molly Farquharson, Caitlin George, Eidann Glover, Alana Hoggart, Kate Hunter, Keira Lyon, Lech Mackiewicz, Tulipa Rodriquez Quin, Gabrielle Quinn, Tamara Saulwick, Kazuto Shimamoto (Shinjuku Ryozanpaku), Oliver Skryzypczynski, Helen Smith, Brendan Snow, Nilees Suhasini, Tanabe Keisuke, Taka Takiguchi, Gareth Trew, Yamasaki Tomoko.

Orpheo Machine 2022

Joshinder Kaur Chaggar, Alana Hoggart, Tessa Marie Luminati

Photo: Oscar Socias

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From around 2007, a loose collection of Melbourne performers started ongoing practice experimentation with The Suzuki Method of Actor Training. Among that group were Glynis Angel, Matthew Crosby, Kate Hunter and Tamara Saulwick. Though the group wasn't named until quite later, what would become The Thursday Group took the foundation date of 2009 as that was the year that Glynis, Kathleen Doyle and Matthew Crosby started regular bi-weekly practice. In 2014, after a five years of continuous practice experimentation, the group started work on Silent Forest and produced Lech Mackiewicz's Japan/Australia performance exchange project, Everyman and the Pole Dancers: Thursday Group and Shinjuku Ryozanpaku. In 2019, after an extensive  draft-script process followed by group experimentation, The Intriguing Case of the Silent Forest was Green Room Award nominated for their sell-out season at La Mama Courthouse theatre. Since, they have developed TUNA, a development investigation of practice and co-devising online during Covid, and Orpheo Machine, performed in their studios in North Melbourne. Since 2020, after Crosby's MFA by research (VCA UniMelb) investigating power dynamics in group-theatre practice, the group transformed their practice to collective creation, bridging practice experimentation and training with co-devised performance-making. Co-devising and practice development are now inseparable processes for the group. In 2024, Tessa Marie Luminati became co-facilitator with Crosby. Currently they are co-devising Falling Heads, an Australia/Denmark exchange between Thursday Group, ISLA Collective, Iza Mortag Freund. The performance is supported by Odense Municipal Culture Fund, Australian Cultural Fund and partnered with Teater Momentum.

Everyman and the Pole Dancers, written and directed by Lech Mackiewicz, Tokyo cast

Kazuto Shimamoto, Daiki Shin, Someno Hirotaka, Miura Shinko, Matthew Crosby, Kathleen Doyle, Keina Dendo

Photo: Osuga Hiroshi

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