Meet the ViNyl GRLZ

Writer Victoria Haralabidou and Director Nell Ranney are the ViNyl GRLZ.

Victoria Haralabidou is an award winning actor and writer. Born in St. Petersburg Russia, Victoria has studied Economics, Cinematography, Theatre and Translation in Russia and Greece. Since 2005 Victoria lives in Sydney. Victoria’s first play ‘One Scientific Mystery or Why did the aborigines eat Captain Cook?’ was developed part of the PWA Salon Workshop for culturally diverse writers, was one of five scripts selected for the 2012 National Play Festival.  In 2012 Victoria starts her own production company VHS Productions, dedicated in producing and supporting new Australian work by culturally diverse female artists and stages her play One scientific mystery director Iain Sinclair alongside Aaron Jeffery and Dallas Bigelow at the Tap Gallery theatre. 2011-2012 PWA Resident Writer at Griffin Theatre. Writer, collaborator and co-creator of the Lovely-Ugly project. 2013 Writer The Political Hearts Of Children for Subtlenuance Tap Gallery Theatre. 2013 PWA Dramaturgy Intern with Playwriting Australia. Play Project 949 selected for development by Somersault Theatre Company. Project 949 Theatre 505, Dino Dimitriades. 2014 Assessor Patrick White Award, Sydney Theatre Company. 2014 GRLZ selected for the National Play Workshop, Playwriting Australia. 2015 GRLZ short-listed AWG What happened next? Competition. 2019 GRLZ selected for the Spark Residency Legs on the Wall. 2019 GRLZ selected for the Lost Plays PWA program .

Nell Ranney is a director and producer of original and multi-disciplinary theatre work. Most recently she co-created and directed Maureen: Harbinger of Death with Jonny Hawkins (Sydney Festival), directed TUESDAY by Louris van de Geer (25A Belvoir) and She Rode Horses Like the Stock Exchange by Amelia Roper (KXT). In 2018 she was appointed the Baylis Assistant Director at the Old Vic in London for SYLVIA (Old Vic/ ZooNation), a hip-hop soul and funk musical about the life of Sylvia Pankhurst. Nell was program manager of The Garden of Unearthly Delights from 2018-20, and previously worked in programming for Belvoir as their artistic associate. As a dramaturg she has worked for Playwriting Australia and Shopfront Youth Theatre. Nell holds an MA in Advanced Theatre Practice from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and BA Communications (Theatre/ Media) from Charles Sturt University.

Once upon a while ago,

Very close but far away,

Lived two not so little large GRLZ.

They loved dancing very badly and hated singing songs very goodly.

They loved to fly in their beautifully dangerous dreams.

They loved to think beautifully dangerous thoughts.

They loved to feel free.

But most of all they loved to tell stories.

They lived in a small large world, so inevitably one day they met.

‘I’ve got your back’ said one girl to the other.

And that was that.

Sometimes it’s that simple.

They wanted to share their stories with the rest of the beautiful rotten world. Horribly lovely stories about how real their scariest dreams are.

And then they met other large little GRLZ that longed to feel free and tell stories.

‘We’ve got your back’ said the two large little GRLZ.

Because freedom does not exist if other GRLZ are not free. Freedom does not exist if you are not going to fight for the freedom of others.

Every day.

Every time.

Now.