Five Minutes with Sisters Grimm from La Traviata

We thought that Belvoir’s 80-seat Downstairs Theatre was roomier than it actually is. As it turns out, we can barely fit one-eighth of the 60-piece orchestra we’ve hired – no mind the 100-plus chorus. They spend most of the show drinking in the lobby and tagging the shit out of the place. We don’t know what to do. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Was paring it back to the small stage as great a challenge as it sounds?

Well, we managed to eliminate most of the challenges in the libretto and musical score by not using either of them. Our show is actually a response to La Traviata – looking at the themes of the opera, but in a contemporary context. When you strip this story away from all the trappings of grand-scale opera, it’s a very simple narrative about the value of ideology in a hostile, money-driven world – and we think that resonates a lot in Australia 2015. In doing this we had a lot of help from our pretty amazing team of artists, including singer/actor Zindzi Okenyo, opera luminary Michael Lewis and Emma Maye Gibson (AKA surreal showgirl Betty Grumble).

For those who aren’t familiar with Sisters Grimm, what makes you ‘loud, opinionated homosexualists’?

Distant fathers, overbearing mothers. A lot of red wine helps too.

Is there still a sibling rivalry after all this time?

We get along very nicely, thank you – we’re a regular Ursula and Sabina Eriksson. (Look it up.)

Can you imagine yourself expanding to much bigger productions?

Absolutely! After La Traviata we’re applying to Senator Brandis’ new National Program for Excellence in the Arts to stage 100 lost Baroque cello compositions inside a giant Ferrero Rocher. If anyone can think of anything fancier, please tell us – we’re really broke and need that money.