In 2014, which was 20 years since I graduated from the Drama Centre in London, I did the Solo Residency at Victoria University. I spent that time reflecting on practice: what I had done in the twenty years; in what ways was that different to what I thought it would be; if there was to be a Caroline Lee retrospective what would that look like; what would the program notes be; and what would I like to do and make in the next twenty years.
So this year when Liz Jones at La Mama extended the invitation to me to present work over three nights as part of La Mama’s 50th birthday celebrations, it provided a perfect opportunity for an embodied exploration of retrospectivity and history. I decided to present my very first solo work, ‘alias Grace’ and my most recent solo work, ‘Catherine: the body politic.’
Historical matters compounded when colleagues proposed that we remount ‘A Quarreling Pair’ as part of the Melbourne Festival of Puppetry.
Busyness compounded when another long-term colleague, Laurence Strangio, proposed that we present Beckett’s amazing piece ‘Not I’ as part of Laurence’s contribution to the 50th birthday festival.
And then after all this, I will swirl off as Lola…definitely ready for champagne and a bit of mischief.
