Reviews

Mythos: Ragnarök

Written and directed by Ed Gamester. Melbourne Fringe. Phil McIntyre Live. The Bunker Testing Ground, Queen Victoria Market, Queen Street, Carlton. 3-29 October, 2023

If you are missing the footy and yearning for a good heartfelt chant and being caught up in the emotional ups and downs of a close game, this is for you. As a bonus, this group of professional wrestlers take Norse myths and bring the gods, or at least people who want to be gods, to life and show how their ambitions, loves, strengths and weaknesses drive them to their various downfalls.

Of The Land On Which We Meet

Devised by Harley Mann, Isabelle Champagne-Chittick, Manelaya kaydos-Nitis, Margot Mansfield, Emily Loe, Johnathon Brown. Directed by Harley Mann. Presented by Na Djinang Circus. Melbourne Fringe Festival. Meat Market - Cobblestone Pavilion, 3 Blackwood St, North Melbourne, 12 - 15 October 2023.

This performance is an awe-inspiring and deeply moving experience. Isabelle Champagne-Chittick, Manelaya Kaydos-Nitis, Johnathon Brown weave together acrobatics, contemporary dance, and aerial performance to consider the meaning of walking on country. This is explored not only from an Indigenous cultural perspective but also from other Australian multicultural heritage. This means the show also asks broader questions about connection to country and culture.

Loot

By Joe Orton. New Theatre, Sydney. Directed by Johann Walraven. 10 October – 4 November 2023

On an excellent pink/purple rendition of the Catholic front room of a 1960’s London home, by David Marshall-Martin, amazing events occur. Mrs McLeavy (Alison Davies) has died. She lies in an open coffin and, because it’s the New Theatre and there’s no curtain opening to reveal the scene, for 15 minutes prior to the first words, and then for at least 40 minutes afterwards, she is shown lying in state, spot lit, centre stage. Brilliantly, she does not move a muscle.

Ink

By James Graham. Australian Premiere. University of Adelaide Theatre Guild. Little Theatre, Adelaide. 12 – 22 October 2023

‘Find people like you: the spurned, the spited, the overlooked,’ says a young Rupert Murdoch to his new editor, Larry Lamb. He includes himself in that group, and it’s a central theme and Murdoch’s opportunity in this Australian premiere of Ink, the award-winning West End and Broadway play detailing the rise of The Sun newspaper in the UK at the end of the 1960s.

The Disappearance

Adapted by Les Solomon from an original story by Kin Platt. Chippen Street Theatre, NSW. October 10 - 22, 2023.

The stage was set with sheets suspended from the ceiling, an allegory for the notion of hanging someone out to dry. In this case the person being treated unfairly or exposed to the elements is Roger Baxter, a 15-year-old boy who suffers from a speech impediment and emotional issues. 

The production had a reading at the New Theatre and has been transferred to an elegant and ambitious production on the wide stage of the Chippen Street Theatre.

Class of 2023 Acting and Musical Theatre Showcase

Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University graduating students. Cremorne Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), Brisbane. 6 & 7 October 2023

More than just a showcase, this year’s presentation by the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University Class of 2023 Acting and Musical Theatre students was a full show, with musical interludes in the dramatic pieces and dramatic interludes in the musical numbers.

Pining For Affection: A Tree Musical

Written and directed by Dylan Marshall and Earl Marrows. The Butterfly Club. 5 Carson Place, Melbourne. 9-15 October, 2023

A tree, a possum, a prince and a princess all live in the magic forest and then they follow their dreams and find their better selves. Pining For Affection is really, really funny, especially if you like puns, honest and bloody with a satisfactory number of deaths wrapped up and delivered in a series of songs complete with well executed (pun intended) physical accompaniments.

Billy Elliot the Musical

Book and Lyrics by Lee Hall. Music by Elton John. Based on the Universal Pictures/Studio Canal Film. The Very Popular Theatre Company. Director: Anna Kerrigan. Musical Director: Dan Wilson. Choreography restaging: Lauren Harvey. Civic Theatre Newcastle. October 7 to 21, 2023

You need binoculars to tell the difference between this performance and a fully professional one.

The Very Popular Theatre Company is now (arguably) the largest community theatre company in Australia (or more accurately pro-am), and has put together a production of the highest standard in every department.

Billy Elliot the Musical is a very challenging musical to perform, requiring excellence in dancing, music and staging.

Salted Pretzels

By Cezara Critti-Schnaars. APK Productions. Directed by Emily McLean. The Blue Room Theatre, Perth Cultural Centre, WA. Oct 3-21, 2023

The Blue Room is currently host to the World Premiere of APK Productions’ Salted Pretzels, a modern little romcom, with the message to be true to yourself while allowing others to be themselves.

Zaffé

Conceived and directed by Stéphanie Ghajar. Produced by Lara Week and Stéphanie Ghajar & Collaborators. Melbourne Fringe Festival. The Tower – Malthouse, 113 Sturt Street Southbank. 5-15 October 2023.

The tag line “You’re invited to a Middle Eastern wedding party like no other” captures this event in a very precise manner. Attending this performance is much more like attending a celebration and blends immersive and participatory theatre in a vibrant and extremely entertaining manner. Zaffé is a traditional ceremony that is hosted by Ghajar and her collaborators.

Subscribe to our E-Newsletter, buy our latest print edition or find a Performing Arts book at Book Nook.