Phoenix Central Park
with Acacia Quartet, Richard Lawson and Elizabeth Walton
We are very excited to bring to you this very special performance of How to Read A City, Your Place of Last Resort at Phoenix Central Park in Sydney on Sunday 17th May, Tickets are by ballot, so please jump over to the Phoenix Central website to go into the entry. The ballot closes on 12th May.
Acacia Quartet will be joining us for an afternoon of Elizabeth’s poetry and film, and live performance of Richard Lawson’s song cycle for string quartet.
About the venue: Phoenix Central Park is the singular vision of philanthropist Judith Neilson AM. A one-of-a-kind performance space in Sydney, Phoenix Central Park aims to revitalise its inner-city neighbourhood with a new cultural beacon that is as bold on the outside as the performances it presents within.
About the Program: How to Read A City, Your Place of Last Resort is a stirring meditation on climate change and the natural world composed by punk rock drummer, Richard Lawson and performed by Acacia Quartet.
Film and artistic direction by Elizabeth Walton, who performs her poetry cycle of the same name, which was recently published by 5 Islands Press.
Described by artist, Imants Tillers, as “a beautifully nuanced and balanced combination of original musical composition and performance, imagery and spoken word,” this project responds to the urgency of climate grief and the quiet beauty of still-wild places.
Each piece in this song cycle reflects our contemporary interphase with city life and the natural world, exploring the Symbiocene as an urgent and critical response to the extinction crisis.
This work invites listeners to slow down and listen deeply, in a performance which blends science with lush string textures, evocative contemporary harmonies and melodic lines which trace a journey through changing landscapes, and ecologies.
“This cycle is my way of listening to the land,” says composer Richard Lawson. “It’s easy to feel lost sometimes, or hopeless, but I see so much hope for this beautiful world. In this performance, we invite you to meet us there.”
About Elizabeth Walton:Elizabeth Walton is a writer, musician and cross-disciplinary artist/performer. Her short poetry cycle, How to Read A City, Your Place of Last Resort, was published by 5 Islands Press in 2026. Elizabeth received an Anne Edgeworth Fellowship and shortlisting in Woollahra Digital Literary Awards, the Furphy Literary Prize and 2nd Prize in the Robyn Mathison, June Shenfield and Passionfruit Poetry (UK) prizes. Her journalism has appeared in The Guardian, New York Times, Reuters, ABC and The Australian. Creative works have appeared in Overland, The London Reader, Portside Review among other places.
“I couldn’t shake this searing, sculpted poem.” - Omar Musa, Judge, June Shenfield Poetry Prize.
About Acacia Quartet:In nearly twelve years Acacia Quartet have won great respect for their versatile and inventive programs. Acacia have recorded twelve albums, with ‘Blue Silence’ earning a nomination for an APRA-AMCOS Art Music ‘Award for Excellence’.
Acacia are passionate about supporting Australian composers, working with young musicians, and sharing their love of music with audiences of all ages. Their performances feature regularly on radio stations around the world. Acacia’s engagements in Australia include the Sydney Opera House, City Recital Hall Sydney, Melbourne Recital Hall, as well as extensive touring through regional NSW and Victoria. Acacia had their international debut in Vancouver, Canada at the Roundhouse in June 2016. The following year, Acacia Quartet were invited by the Christine Raphael Foundation to give their European debut, where they performed concerts in Berlin and recorded a CD with three string quartets by Günter Raphael. A new CD with quartets by Mozart, Chance and Dvorak has been released in April 2022 through Move Records. Acacia Quartet is proud to be the Ensemble in Residence at the Orange Regional Conservatorium.
About the composer - Richard Lawson:Richard Lawson is a three-time ARIA-nominated multi-instrumentalist and recording artist whose career spans five decades. With The Lime Spiders, he became the first drummer ever to appear on ABC TV’s RAGE and was a regular on Countdown. Signed to Virgin Records, the band toured internationally with Blondie, Iggy Pop, The Ramones and The Cult, and reached #1 on the U.S. college charts.
Lawson’s solo work has been praised by Rolling Stone, and he has released more than 20 full-length albums, collaborating across contemporary music with artists including Caitlin Harnett, Ben Fowler, Elizabeth Walton and Acacia Quartet.
How to Read a City, Your Place of Last Resort—his collaboration with Acacia Quartet and Elizabeth Walton—received interviews and airplay on 2SER, 3PBS, 3RRR and 2RRR, ABC Classic FM and 2MBS FM. Lawson is the only punk rocker added to the ABC Limelight A-Z of Australian contemporary writers. Lawson performs over 100 solo gigs and festival collaborations (Cementa, Marrickville Bowl, Smiths Alternative, Four Winds) each year.
To join us for this special event - please head to the website and enter your details for the ticket ballot. Tickets are free. https://phoenixcentralpark.com.au/the-church/elizabethwalton-acaciaquartet