Underscore

• Show commences at the Portland Library at 7:00pm, and runs for approximately 70 minutes
• Places are limited, so please book ahead to avoid disappointment

Glenelg Libraries and Portland Arts Centre proudly present Underscore, as part of the Libraries After Dark and PAC to Go! programs.

Patrick Cronin, Michael Havir and Alice Garner provide a lush electro-acoustic backing to Sally Ford’s wryly observed lyrics. An expansive palette of keyboards, samples and electronica is enhanced by cello, horns & flute to create a richly imagined musical experience.

This genre-defying ensemble creates an entrancing sonic landscape to accompany the readings: combining synths, samples, keys, electronica, trombone, sax, flute and even a bit of whistling. Fusing their rich musical provenance, from latin to film music via ska and funk, The Idiomatics create an uplifting groove-drenched sound drawing on the performers’ respective backgrounds with ARIA-winning Melbourne Ska Orchestra, The Spaghetti Western Orchestra, Texicali Rose, The Xylouris Ensemble, Pachuco Playboys, Dr Hernández, Yothu Yindi, The Black Sorrows, and Sunshine Tip.

Jane Clifton is the genuine show-business all-rounder. A graduate from Monash University's halcyon days of sex, demos and rock 'n roll, Jane was momentarily distracted from a promising career as an English teacher by Melbourne's burgeoning, alternative theatre and music scene. The dim lights of iconic venues like La Mama, the Pram Factory, and the Last Laugh beckoned, and the allure of singing in bands with names like Scumbag, Toads and Lipp and the Double Dekker Brothers proved irresistible.

Despite these arty beginnings, Jane has managed to carve out a 5 decade-long, showbusiness and publishing career, including:

• a string of minor roles in numerous early Australian TV shows from Division 4 to Homicide,  Bluey to Holiday Island
• fronting the ground-breaking feminists-on-Countdown band Stiletto
• being part of the smash-hit stage shows - Mum's The Word, and Menopause: The Musical
• top 10 pop singles - Girl on the Wall (solo) and Taxi Mary (with Jo Jo Zep).
• three published crime novels - Half Past Dead, A Hand in the Bush, and Flush 
• a memoir - The Address Book, and
• an anthology of poetry A Day At A Time In Rhyme

Notwithstanding all of the above, Jane will always be best remembered for a role she played 40 years ago: Margo in Prisoner

Wayne Macauley is the author of the highly acclaimed novels Blueprints for a Barbed-Wire Canoe, Caravan Story, The Cook, Demons and, most recently, Simpson Returns.

He has been shortlisted for the Western Australian Premier's Book Award, Victorian Premier's Literary Award and the Melbourne Prize for Best Writing. He lives in Melbourne.