Reviews

Welcome to my Cuntry: There’s no-one here so come on in

By Kate Burbeck. Adelaide Fringe. 17th – 20th February, 2017

When writing a good script, there is one rule…revise, revise, revise. That’s where I have a problem with this Adelaide Fringe show. Although I sat through 20 scenes in 2 hours I still had no clue what the writer was trying to accomplish with her wordy and rather self-indulgent dialogue.

Kate Burbeck wrote and produced this play and delivered 90 percent of the show’s lines as protagonist Kate. Whilst she attempted to be philosophical, as an audience member I was left bewildered by the lack of structure and ambiguous storyline.

Camp Rock The Musical

By Julie Brown, Paul Brown, Regina Hicks and Karen Gist, based on the Disney Channel movie. Black Box Performing Arts. Directed by Katherine Freind, Musical Direction by Phoebe Jackson. Kalamunda Performing Arts Centre and Koorliny Arts Centre, WA. Feb 17 - Mar 19, 2017

Black Box Performing Arts is a new community theatre company, specialising in Youth Musicals. They have kicked off with a bang, in what will be one of the biggest community shows of the year.

Featuring 52 talented musical theatre performers under 18, a couple of capable grown-ups, a solid young six-piece band and the support of a huge team - this is a company with great potential.

With the core-cast completely double cast, (the alternate cast moving into the ensemble) my review refers to the Green Cast.

The Judas Kiss

By David Hare. Red Line Productions. The Old Fitz Theatre. February 15 – March 11, 2017

David Hare is such a master playwright in his sublime ability to blend ideas and philosophical debate into the flesh and blood of real characters.  The Judas Kiss is a deeply moving and thoughtful rendition of the night Oscar Wilde refuses to run from his imprisonment and, in the second act, some years later in Naples, how he negotiates his ruin.

Henry V (Man And Monarch)

Adelaide Fringe. Holden Street Theatre. February 17 – March 5, 2017

The publicity for this production had been very favourable. I was, however, extremely disappointed. The premise and the intention behind the production may be admirable, but the actual execution was not.

Always … Patsy Cline

By Ted Swindley. Directed by Denny Lawrence. Produced by Christine Harris and HIT Productions. Bicentennial Hall, next door to The Q, Queanbeyan, NSW. February 15 – 18, 2017

This production evokes a time that’s gone but not forgotten. Louise Seger (played with vivacity by Mandi Lodge) tells of how she became a fan of Patsy Cline, first by hearing her songs on the radio and calling the DJ to ask for the them to be played again, and then how she met Patsy Cline at a concert and how their friendship developed. Her descriptions almost make you see the workmates and friends she’s with, and the house she lives in and of course, her much-loved automobile.

Faulty Towers The Dining Experience

Adelaide Fringe 2017. Strathmore Hotel-Balcony Restaurant. February 17-March 14, 2017

There’s nothing at all faulty about Faulty Towers the Dining Experience; it’s a slick two hours of fun and fab food.

Not in any way linked to the TV show Fawlty Towers except, of course, by default through the characterisation of the three actors involved in this dinner show, Faulty Towers the Dining Experience is a product of the Queensland arm of Interactive Theatre International.

The Trouble With Harry

By Lachlan Philpot. Siren Theatre Company. Reginald Theatre, Seymour Centre. Feb 16 – Mar 3, 2017

Lachlan Philpot continues to make theatre that cuts edges in both style and subject matter. In this play, based on the story of Harry Crawford (born Eugenia Falleni, also known as Eugene Falleni and Jean Ford) a female-to-male transgender man convicted in 1920 of the murder of his first wife, Annie Birkett, Philpott imagines the complexities of sustaining such a secret and the constant threat of what exposure might bring.

Single Asian Female

By Michelle Law. Director: Claire Christian. La Boite Theatre, Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove. February 11 - March 4, 2017

Newby Queensland playwright Michelle Law has given us a comedy crackling with authentic Asian flavours as part of the BrisAsia Festival.

Single Asian Femalefollows restaurant-owner Pearl and her two daughters Mei and Zoe as they approach a crossroad in their lives.

The play is only five minutes old when Pauline Hanson’s name is volleyed off the dark walls of La Boite’s Roundhouse Theatre, but Law’s play focuses less on politicking and more on social attitudes around race and gender equality.

Amy Housewine - Back to Crack

Fringe World. Ace’s Cabaret - Downstairs at the Maj, His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth. Feb 16-18, 2017

With one of the roughest lead ups to reaching the stage at Fringe World, Amy Housewine - Back to Crack suffered a succession of cancelled venues and date changes before finding a home Downstairs at the Maj, where performer Lisa Adam played to sell-out crowds. To add additional stress, Friday evening’s show was delayed by a fire evacuation. Fortunately Amy took it in her stride,  “Who knew that a bong would set off the alarms?'

Neel Kolhatkar

Adelaide Fringe 2017. Arkaba Hotel. 18th and 19th February, 2017

At only 22, Sydney comedian Neel Kolhatkar has plenty of comic experience. He interacts with the audience with confidence and ease, with hilarious results. Poking fun at our differences without offending can be a fine line, but he does it with ease and likeability. Not afraid to laugh at his own Indian heritage and make comedy gold out of stereotypes, he has the audience in stitches within moments of stepping on the stage.

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