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Kathryn Keeble reviews a festival that is serious and silly
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■ The answer as to why Jane Austen is an enduring presence in our culture is explained by the wonderful Austen Con, which featured presentations from the serious to the seriously silly. Spending an entire day celebrating all things Austen was a hoot. The program was presented live via two concurrent YouTube streams hosted at Pemberley and Netherfield. The merriments kicked off with fascinating discussions on Austen, Regency fashion and the link to international trade presented by historian Hilary Davidson. Landscape architect and academic, Jo Russell-Clarke, discussed the eighteenth-century legacy of Capability Brown and his visions of the Arcadian dream and pastoral loveliness still to be found in garden design today. Think of botanic gardens in any city and you can well imagine Lizzie Bennett wandering through them as she did at Pemberley. Lauren and Hannah from the podcast Bonnets at Dawn held a lively exchange discussing the many women writers inspired by Austen. Kelly Lock demonstrated English paper piecing patchwork and revived the long-lost tradition of handmade Christmas decorations and Jess Jenkins baked a delicious Bath bun. The afternoon session saw the Soothplayers present an improv, Austen-inspired drama over Zoom, Mary and Marriageability. I flipped between it and an Austin-twisted cabaret of songs, a spot of musical theatre, a Bach cello jig and animation. A Regency burlesque show was both incongruous and entertaining. Jane Bullock’s Regency dance lesson followed and got me off the couch sashaying and brigadooning. However, unfortunately for this reviewer, I could not unravel the clues to exit the Jane Austen Escape Room, and so I’m possibly stuck in the eighteenth century until next year’s Austen Con. www.24carrotproductions.com/austen-con
● Jane Austen
Take a break ... in Victoria ■ Hospitality operators hopes to benefit from a multi-million-dollar campaign to back our local tourism industry – and the thousands of jobs it supports. The Stay Close, Go Further campaign will promote Victoria across multiple platforms – television, print, radio, digital and social – as the state prepares further eases restrictions. Victorians can now travel between regional Victoria and Melbourne, while accommodation will open across the state for holidays. As part of the campaign, advertisements will run across the state, highlighting the creativity, culture and unique offering of Victoria and its people. The campaign showcases Victorian makers and creators in some of the regions hit hardest by the summer bushfires and global pandemic, including Gippsland and the High Country. Other locations, including the Great Ocean Road and the Grampians, will be featured in coming weeks. Visit Victoria is working with regional tourism boards across the state to help spread the message and encourage more Victorians to explore their own backyard.
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