Reviews

After being cancelled last year because of Covid 19, this production of the Lorelei has finally made it to the stage in Brisbane. Billed as an opera/cabaret, this concept of the Lorelei legend was first conceived by Ali McGregor, who is part of this production. McGregor, working with Julian Langdon, Casey Bennetto and Gillian Cosgriff, has taken this tale of the siren who hypnotized men who came under her spell and lured them to their death, opened it up, and given it a 21st century feminist coat of paint.

Yes, Prime Minister is ideal fare for community theatre – familiar characters, farcical situations, and plenty of laughs. Britain is in crisis with spiraling debt, crippling unemployment, and a fragile coalition government. Help is at hand if the Prime Minister will sign a trillion pound bail-out deal with the oil rich Kumranistan, a country that nobody can find on the map.

One of the common complaints in theatre is that for young people, aged between 15 and mid-twenties, there are few roles and opportunities available, written, to be cast in, or to be able to work in. Since 2017, Deadset Theatre Company has courageously made addressing this issue their mandate, successfully mounting productions that address current and relatable issues for that age group.

Post Covid days are here and La Mama Courthouse is back on boards. Cabaretica is a quarterly, one-off late-night show, curated by Susan Bamford Caleo and Isabel Knight. It is a viable platform for cabaret artists to experiment and play with new ideas, but more importantly it gives up-and-coming talent a venue to gain confidence and skills.