The man who loved Stead

“Christina Stead is a novelist of remarkable range and power, yet too little known,” he says.

“She spent more than half her life abroad, and perhaps her very cosmopolitanism has somewhat concealed her from Australians, though Patrick White called her a novelist of genius, and she is highly regarded abroad.

“I wanted to explore her life and work, and make them accessible to theatre audiences.”

The research process for putting together I write what I see was intensive. It involved extensive reading of Stead’s fiction, correspondence and other writing, literary criticism and biography. Mr Cloonan also spent some time in Sydney exploring where Stead grew up.

“I spent a great deal of time thinking about how to transform this rich material into a play,” he says.

“There was also the challenge of trying to distil a lifetime of more than 80 years into a 70-minute theatre experience.

“While Stead was a vigorous and passionate writer, sometimes to the point of being quite confronting, she seems to me actually a reserved person, unable or unwilling to establish herself as a literary personality.”

Written for the solo performer,  I write what I see narrates significant events in Stead’s life: her childhood in Sydney; the early death of her mother; the strong influence of her father; his commitment to science, her education, love affairs and marriage; life in Europe in the 1930s;  political involvements and her experience in the Cold War; and her return to Australia late in life.

“Through all these turbulent changes runs her determined, indeed passionate desire for creative fulfillment,” Mr Cloonan says.

I write what I see is performed by actor Olivia Brown and runs until 31 October at the Old Council Chambers, Trades Hall, Corner of Lygon and Victoria Streets, Carlton.

Mr Cloonan wrote his first play The Pathfinder, over 20 years ago. He has also written Earthly Paradise, the musical Martin and Gina and a novel, The Dance Is Everything.

http://iwritewhatisee.com/