Author Archives: sagesomethymes

About sagesomethymes

Daniela is a writer, theatre producer and civic educator. She has had short stories and poetry published in: 'Prayers of a Secular World', Inkerman & Blunt; 'Blue Crow Magazine', Blue Crow Press; 'Knitting and other stories', Margaret River Press and Radio National’s '360 documentaries'. Her debut play, 'Talc', was produced in 2010. Her short play, 'Sicilian Biscotti', was produced for the launch of “Women Power and Culture” at New Theatre in 2011 and shortlisted for the Lane Cove Literary Award in 2015. Her second full length play, 'Friday', was produced by SITCO at the Old Fitzroy Theatre in 2013. 'The Poor Kitchen' was produced in 2016 as part of the Old 505 Theatre’s Fresh Works Season and was published by the Australian Script Centre in 2017 (https://australianplays.org/script/ASC-1836). It was re-staged by Patina Productions at Limelight on Oxford in 2019. She co-wrote 'Shut Up And Drive' with Paul Gilchrist and it was produced at KXT in 2016. 'Seed Bomb' was produced at Old 505 Theatre as part of the FreshWorks Season in 2019 and has been published by the Australian Script Centre (https://australianplays.org/script/ASC-2166). She co-wrote 'Softly Surely' with Paul Gilchrist and it was produced at Flight Path Theatre in 2022. She directed 'Augusta' by Paul Gilchrist for the 2024 Sydney Fringe. She is the co-founder of indie theatre company subtlenuance (www.subtlenuance.com) and has produced over thirty plays. Her published short stories can be read via the Short Stories tab on this blog.

I think it’s Thursday

Posted on November 20, 2025 by sagesomethymes

I think it’s Thursday. I know it’s still November. But if my GP were to do one of those tests to assess my cognition right now, I’d have trouble with the year, and where I am, more specifically the international … Continue reading →

Posted in Theatre, Time, travel | Tagged Atlantis, Broadway, citizenship, heritage buildings, humour, indie theatre, KXT, memory, New Zealand, November, Stella, Theatre, travel, underground art, vault, writing | Leave a comment

Sea Dog Summer

Posted on May 15, 2025 by sagesomethymes

As the year turns towards winter, I find myself looking back to our sea dog summer spent at the southernmost point of the continent in the state of Victoria. There, on a stretch of coast between Lakes Entrance and Wilson’s … Continue reading →

Posted in The Animal Kingdom, travel | Tagged Black Labrador, East Gippsland, Lakes Entrance, Ninety Mile Beach, Sea Dog, Sea Spray, sharks, The Honeysuckles, Victoria, Wilson's Promontory | 4 Comments

A Weekend of Unexpected Gifts

Posted on April 21, 2025 by sagesomethymes

I’m woken by the sound of a church bell. I know it’s not a work day, so it’s not my alarm. And it’s not the joyful jangle of sound that rings out from the nearby Greek Orthodox Cathedral on a Sunday … Continue reading →

Posted in Spirit of Place | Tagged candles, church bells, Cleveland Street, death knell, Easter Sunday, funeral, Good Friday, Greek Orthodox Cathedral, hope, long dead god, Pascha Vigil, procession, Ressurection | 1 Comment

Lost Churches, Chocolate Coloured Horses and an Absinthe Couch

Posted on February 27, 2025 by sagesomethymes

I’ve been trekking through Waterloo and Redfern hunting for lost churches. Two of them. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, “To lose one church may be regarded as misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.” Luckily, I think I’ve found them. Or … Continue reading →

Posted in Habitat, Spirit of Place, Time, walking | Tagged Annunciation of our Lady Greek Orthodox Cathedral, baptism, Catholi Church, christening, churches were often built on higher ground, First Holy Communion, flaneur, Italian migrants Australia, Italian migrants in Johannesburg, Lebanese and Syrian migrants to Australia, migrants and religion, migration experience, Oscar Wilde, Police horses Redfern, Redfern history, walking in Redfern, Waterloo history, waves of immigration Australia | 2 Comments

The Poetry and Promise of Architecture

Posted on February 9, 2025 by sagesomethymes

Or Flaneuring in Foyers. In a recent article for The Guardian, Rebecca Solnit writes about resistance, something that is more important than ever in these terrifying times but in one of my favourite of her books, Wanderlust, she also writes … Continue reading →

Posted in democracy, Spirit of Place | Tagged 350 George Street Sydney, Alain De Botton, architecture, autocracy, Barrangaroo, democracy, Dymocks Building, Exchange Place, flaneurs, foyers, lobbies, Maybanke Wolstenholme, plush toys, Rebecca Solnit, resistance, Time conquesr all | 1 Comment

The Caterpillar Diaries

Posted on January 25, 2025 by sagesomethymes

This summer, on returning from my travels where I’d observed so many wild animals in their natural habitats, I discovered a coven of beasts in my own back yard. To be exact, my inner-city balcony. Rather than crying over spilt … Continue reading →

Posted in Habitat, The Animal Kingdom, Writing Nature and Place | Tagged butterly life cycle, caterpillar, chrysalis, citizen scientist, cocoon, dwarf lime tree, gardening philosophy, metamorphosis, moral question, naturalist, Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly, Orchard Swallowtail caterpillar, pupa, scatology, transformation | 4 Comments

The Animals That Chose Not to Kill Me This Summer

Posted on January 15, 2025 by sagesomethymes

Three weeks before year’s end, we set off on a long-looked-forward-to summer holiday, conveniently forgetting that Australia is home to some of the most dangerous animals on earth. Naively excited, as only the normally deskbound can be, we left the … Continue reading →

Posted in The Animal Kingdom, travel | Tagged Albury, Black Cockatoo Cottages, Bright, Bundanoon, Eden, emus, Gippsland Lakes, Golden Beach, Goulburn, Great Alpine Road, Gundagai, Holbtook, Hume Highway, Hume Highway rest stops, Lakes Entance, Millars Landing, Mount Buffalo, Mt Doom, Murray River, Ovens River, Princess Highway, road trip, Sea Spray, sharks, Squeaky Beach, summer holiday, Tarcutta, The Honeysuckles, tiger snake, Trincullo Wreck, Victorian Alps, Wilson's Promontory, worshipping rocks, Yanakie | 4 Comments

The summer of drop bears

Posted on January 18, 2024 by sagesomethymes

This summer, on our road trip to Portland, Victoria, I discovered that Koalas almost outnumber humans and are so common that they’re ignored by the locals as they walk down the main street. Okay, I’m exaggerating but only a little. … Continue reading →

Posted in The Animal Kingdom | Tagged australia, Australian wildlife, baby koala, candid camera, Cape Bridgewater, Cape Bridgewater seal colony, Crater Rim track at Budji Bim National Park, drop bears, Great South West Walk, koalas, Manna gums, Mount Richmond, Mum and bub, nature, Portland Victoria, road trip, summer, summer reading, travel, travel writing, UNESCO World Heritage List, walking | 4 Comments

The Pleasures and Sorrows of Time Travel

Posted on November 19, 2023 by sagesomethymes

I’m going on a memory walk, retracing the path from Redfern Station to Sydney University that I traipsed daily as a student over thirty years ago. I’m in the mood for a little time travel. Walking along the narrow footpath … Continue reading →

Posted in Spirit of Place, walking | Tagged 1980's coffee shops, Cadigal Green, Darlington, Darlington Campus, flaneur, Freda Brown, memory, Old Old Darlington School House, psychogeography, Redfern Walking, renchantment, slum, Spirit of Place, University of Sydney | 4 Comments

The Adventures of an Aeronaut – Stories from Prince Alfred Park, Sydney

Posted on September 28, 2023 by sagesomethymes

It was an overcast September afternoon in 1870 as Thomas Gale waited for his balloon to fill so that he could make good his promise to take to the skies. Gale could feel the excitement of the huge crowd around … Continue reading →

Posted in Spirit of Place, walking | Tagged aeronaut, balloonist, Galatea, Lavinia Balford, Prince Alfred, Prince Alfred Park Sydney, Redfern Walking, The Great Exhibition 1870, Thomas Gale, Voice to Parliament, Yes 23 Campaign | Leave a comment