Janus Imprint

My philosophical approach.

The Maori culture has a concept of history and identity referred to as one's whakapapa. Unlike our accepted linear notion of history, whakaapa literally means to 'place in layers' or 'create a foundation.' In other words to place oneself in a wider context, and link oneself to land and ancestors and the mana or status of those.

This pictograph vertical approach to history (in my case, Australian theatre history, drama and biography) was a revelation. To this methodology, I couple with my long-held fascination with Janus, the Roman god of doors, gates, and transitions, who stands at the portal looking forward, but always with the crucial capacity to look back. It is the duality of the vision that is important. The future is founded on and must incorporate the past.

The contemporary Australian Drama and Theatre enterprise—whether the Commercial, Repertory, Municipal or Provincial movements—can only benefit from foundations laid over the past 200 years.

Through its publications and blog, Janus Imprint seeks to make those crucial connections.