Reviews

I went to the SXS Sunset Soirée Series for Johnnies & Mehmets expecting a sombre commemoration of the relationship between Australian and Turkish armed forces during the Gallipoli campaign – the program’s title comes from the Kemal Atatürk Memorial in Canberra, a tribute to the fallen Anzacs (Johnnies) and their brotherhood with the Turkish soldiers (Mehmets):

A Night at The Musicals was a delight for musical theatre devotees. It featured a mix of numbers from a wide range of Broadway and West End sensations – both old and new. While songs were selected from dozens of different musicals, this production focussed on having a through line by linking themes and moments from one song to the next. Performed by 14 talented singers and a live band of four versatile musicians, the sound they produced together really packed a punch.

A full length play with only two actors and little movement is an extremely difficult production to sustain. However, actors Kirsty Veron (Sheila) and Jacqui Stephens (Bridie) prove more than capable of keeping the audience’s attention. 

The Shoe-Horn Sonata is about two former nurses who were captured by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore in 1942 and imprisoned in Sumatra. Though personally close during their confinement, they have since grown apart and only come together again many years later for a television documentary.

NLTC’s Billy Elliot was well received by an enthusiastic audience on opening night. Many supportive families cheered and clapped their loved ones on stage and the joy in the auditorium was palpable.

This theatre company prides itself on bringing good theatre to our community and as a group they are a well-oiled machine from costumes to sets to music and performers. Having a cast of very youthful players is always a challenge and suffice to say the children in the show bring exuberance and fun at every opportunity.