A play, a gallery and a festival week

I went to see a play at Sydney's Griffin Theatre on the weekend: Jailbaby by Suzie Miller. It's the story of AJ, a young man - scarcely more than a teenager - whose life spirals after he becomes part of a robbery and is sent to prison.  Suzie Miller explores AJ's vulnerability in a prison system that gives him little protection from the danger he faces inside.  Having acted for prisoners when I worked at the Legal Aid Commission, the violence AJ encounters in prison didn't surprise me. It still shocked me, though. Jailbaby is an important work highlighting yet another form of violence that occurs out of sight and is very much underreported.  Although Jailbaby's season is finished now, if you are interested in the issues it raises, there's a list of resources on Griffin Theatre's website.

And still on the topic of prisons, if you haven't been to the Boom Gate Gallery at the entrance to Long Bay Correctional Centre, you've been missing some wonderful art produced by the inmates.  You can have a look at samples of their work here. 

The Sydney Jewish Writers Festival kicks off tonight culminating in a full day of events on Sunday. I'm delighted to be reading from my novel, Running with Ivan, and will be onstage with a host of fellow writers including Lee Kofman and Leah Kaminsky, with the wonderful Scott Whitmont as our moderator.  Earlier that day, I'll be interviewing Rabbi Ralph Genende, Ros Ben-Moshe and Joanne Fedler in our session Laughter and Grief. You can book tickets here.