Reviews

If this reviewer is forced to name one single favourite piece of musical theatre, Les Mis is it. In particular, nothing else on stage (or on record) has been able to match the kind of shivering thrill provided by the climax of Act One. Especially since the cinema adaptation finally materialised in 2012 and became wildly popular (if controversial), one could fairly ask if the show (and its music, thanks in part to a certain Susan Boyle) has finally reached the point of overexposure, unable to avoid looking/sounding/feeling musty and tired.

Matthew Ryan’s Brisbane is a poetic coming-of-age play that deals in abstract reminders of the past in a non-linear narrative. Therefore director Bruce Parr’s decision to stage it as an ensemble piece with all cast members seated on stage using minimal props helped give the playwright’s vision clarity. By the use of a table here and chair there, situations and locations were quickly established in the blink of an eye like a fragment of memory.

Stray Cats Theatre Company and Mandurah Performing Arts Centre have teamed together to bring this fabulous, fractured fairy-tale to life in a big, bold production. At rough count, over 130 people were part of this mammoth production featuring flying dragons, a fifteen piece orchestra, a cast of 66 and a few ogres.

Nicholas Gaynor is great fun and navigates the title role with a great presence and lovely voice. He is nicely paired with Lisa Taylor, who dances up a storm as Fiona - perhaps unsurprisingly, given she also shares choreographic duties with Ashleigh Riley.

Billy Buckett plays like a Cliff Richard movie of the sixties – a simple teenage love story, a score of original rock ‘n’ roll songs, and a fresh-faced cast continually bursting into energetic song-and-dance. It’s a recipe for success and this company, mostly holdovers from Beenleigh Theatre Group’s 2013 production of the show, had fun once again recreating the suede shoes and peddle-pusher era.