Reviews

As Coronavirus struck Australia, closing theatres all around the country and in the process darkening the lives of all those involved in arts, actors, directors, creatives, technicians and administrators were suddenly out of work and facing an uncertain future. But hope and the possibilities of technology soon stirred creative minds, and a small wealth of theatrical ideas emerged.

Gay bushranger Captain Moonlite (as he named himself) was an interesting man, eventually executed for his incompetent bushranging activities, terminated by his involvement in the death of a policeman. Born Andrew George Scott in Northern Ireland to a religious family, he moved firstly to New Zealand, then eventually to Australia. His life spiralled downhill into crime, though he maintained some ethical standards from his youth. When his “gang” went bush, some had not even ridden a horse. They were destined to fail.

In her advancing years, author Patricia Highsmith has retreated to her hideaway in the Swiss Alps. A notoriously difficult woman who rails at the New York literary establishment and most racist groups and religions, she’s an alcoholic, lesbian, and prone to withering put-downs.

In 1975, The Merry Widow was the first full-length ballet commissioned by the Australian Ballet and was such a success it was seen in London, New York, Washington and Manila within its first eleven months. Since then it has been regularly revived, the last in 2011.