Michael Kantor – Theatre Director
Michael Kantor calls his face 'over-expressive'. It is by turns puckish, wonder-filled, scholarly, solemn. If physiognomy is destiny, then he was always set for life in the theatre.
Michael has been the Artistic Director of Melbourne's Malthouse Theatre since July 2004. Prior to that he was an acclaimed director (and occasional actor and writer) working in various parts of Australia. He is known for devising contemporary productions that pack a wallop, the antithesis of safe or stale theatre.
'I like theatre that is wild, silly, raucous,' he says. 'I think theatre needs to be really surprising. Whether or not it is challenging, whether or not it has a message, it must be astonishing on some level. It has to incite a reaction.'
As well as devising new theatre pieces and reexamining classics, Michael has directed opera and contemporary dance as well. 'There are extraordinary skills in Melbourne within the acting and broader theatre community. It brings me real joy when I can engage with these artists and help them bring their visions to the stage.'
Little throughways and city art
'I really enjoy the laneways of the city centre. I have a map of Melbourne from about 1875 which names all the little pubs and gin joints of Melbourne at that time. I have done a walk and looked at where they all stood, and I love that sense of lost history which is still there. You get it strongly in the lanes and alleyways. I love the small gallery spaces in the central business district. Span, Anna Schwartz, the Flinders Lane-Flinders Street strip; they are galleries that are really contemporary in the nature of their work but often housed in historic buildings. There is something remarkable that happens when you see new art in an old building.'
Theatre icon
'La Mama is an extraordinary cultural icon, a little theatre in Carlton which has been there for more than 40 years. Every night of the week there will be two strange little plays on there. I performed there; I think every performer in Melbourne at one time or another has worked there. I love the feel of that theatre. They just paint over the paint that's there, so there's 40 years worth of paint. You feel that physically, and you know you're adding another layer. Spaces that allow their history to be worn like that and provide that resonance are so precious.'
Sculpture
'I love the sculpture Vault, the so-called Yellow Peril by Ron Robertson-Swann. It is an extraordinary rendering of the Australian landscape. I also like the rich cultural baggage that has been attached to it: the initial hatred of Melbournians, then its gradual rehabilitation, and now it is being allowed to be respected for what it is an excellent piece of large-scale outdoor sculpture. Because Vault is now sitting on red dirt, it has found a way of relating to the ground which I don't think it had in its previous locations. It is beautifully framed by the contemporary architecture of that rusty building next to it, the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art.'
Slinging gin
'I love the Gin Palace, a little bar in which I am a partner. The one thing I really contributed to its creation was the name. The Gin Palace has great attention to detail and service, and a kooky aesthetic which makes it lovely to be in. I think it is becoming an institution. Melbourne believes in culinary institutions; we don't just churn through things and they are gone two years later. The bar staff are always investigating new ways to make a martini so I usually ask for the weirdest martini that they've got going. Mind you, one Gin Palace martini is about as potent as three from anywhere else.'
