For thirty years updated versions of The Pirates of Penzance have delighted Australian audiences. Now two recent graduates from the musical theatre course at Griffith University have scored the plum roles of Frederick and Mabel in Harvest Rain’s new production of Essgee’s Pirates. Green with envy is the Wizard of Penzance himself, Simon Gallaher. He will direct the production whilst appearing in Wicked at the same time. Peter Pinne jumped on board for a chat.
Stuart Wagstaff AM, the legendary entertainer whose multi-faceted career was a pinnacle in the Australian landscape of theatre, television and music passed away peacefully on March 10, 2015, at Greenwhich Hospital aged 90.
A public memorial service to celebrate his life was held at the Theatre Royal, MLC Centre, King St, Sydney on Tuesday 31st March. A bucket collection was taken to support the Actor’s Benevolent Fund at Mr Wagstaff's request..
Max Gillies brings his new show to the Melbourne Arts Centre from 13th - 28th March 2015, and Coral Drouyn caught him during some time out to talk about satire.
Max Gillies is a National Treasure – but he is not a comedian; he is at great pains to thank me for recognising that. Gillies is an actor, and a fine one, who has specialised in Political Satire.
From a perfect in every way nanny to a dance hall hostess, Verity Hunt-Ballard has triumphed in some of the most demanding roles in musical theatre. As she prepared for a re-mount of the award winning production of Sweet Charity at the Sydney Opera House, Canberra Theatre, Melbourne Arts Centre and IPAC in Wollongong,she told David Spicer that even exhausting lead roles have nothing on the demands of becoming a mother.
French Physics graduate and student of architectural acoustics Aurélien Bory was on his way to a career in science when he joined the circus and acrobatics entered his life, but his scientific background still influences his current career as a celebrated artistic director. His work is driven by an exploration of our relationship with space.
Begun soon after he completed Ulysses and published in 1939, James Joyce’s monumental and unconventional novel Finnegan’s Wake took seventeen long years to complete and has left scholars debating the ambiguities of every aspect of it ever since; its characters (particularly the Earwicker family, including the mother, Anna Livia Plurabelle or ALP), its plot, its language, its theme and more.
When a production is simultaneously described as an ‘utterly compelling verbal symphony…’ (The Herald, UK), ‘…truly shocking and brilliant,’ (British Theatre Guide) and ‘…terrifying and hard to ignore’ (The Guardian, UK) the show concerned is clearly a provocative, even controversial one. Once the Italian cult phenomenon of Cristian Ceresoli’s La Merda rages into town for the Adelaide Festival, audiences will understand why.
