Reviews

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

By William Shakespeare. Presented by Melbourne Shakespeare Company. Central Park, Malvern. 26 Feb – 13 March 2022.

This show is billed as a musical adaptation and lives up to much of the promise of infusing the play with raw performances of popular contemporary tunes. The songs are well selected and performed with gusto and enthusiasm. The instruments employed are simple but effective although much of the music relies heavily on the vocals and choral work. The playfulness of the music as a way of telling the story is one the strengths of the show.

Solas

By Diane Stubbings. La Mama at La Mama HQ, Faraday Street, Carlton. 23 February – 6 March 2022

Solas is Diane Stubbings’ finely written, intricate drama about Lucia Joyce (1907 – 1982) here played by Tenielle Thompson.  Lucia was a dancer and the troubled only daughter of author James Joyce.  Several authors and playwrights, intrigued by Lucia, have preceded Stubbings, but her Lucia is a striking, disturbing, and plausible creation. 

The Purple Rabbit

Adelaide Fringe, Garden of Unearthly Delights, 25 February – 20 March 2022

From the creative geniuses of hit shows Blanc de Blanc, Fear and Delight and LIMBO, their newest brainchild has been unleashed, The Purple Rabbit - an hour-long roller coaster ride of acrobatics, comedy, magic, and so much more.

Entering ready for the show, we were greeted by a bright neon ‘The Purple Rabbit’ sign, with club tunes playing in the background. It felt like we were about to rave like it was 1999 and with an ominous show title, we were eager to see what we were in for.

Hush

By Ciella Williams. New Ghosts Theatre Company at Flight Path Theatre, Sydney. Director: Lucy Clements. 24 February – 6 March, 2022

After a major COVID-19 cancellation, New Ghosts Theatre Company makes a second attempt at a landing at Sydney’s Flight Path Theatre. Success comes this time, with a packed, highly delighted audience feasting on Ciella Williams’ taut text. The 24 all-female photographs in the foyer proclaim this Darwin-based company’s big difference: their world is populated solely by women.

Heroes

By Eleanor Mallinson. MYTH (Marloo Youth Theatre). Directed by Taneal Thompson. Marloo Theatre, Greenmount, WA. Feb 11-26, 2022

Heroes is the first full length production presented by MYTH (Marloo Youth Theatre), and is a polished, well-presented production with outstanding production values. Nicely directed, it features a talented cast of 28 young people aged 9 to 18.

The story of Jamie - who writes stories for his best friend Megan, who is in hospital - the show takes us into the worlds of Jamie’s writing against the background of Jamie and Megan’s own journeys.

Mavericks, Madness and Murder Most Foul!

Adelaide Fringe – Adelaide Cemetery Tours. West Terrace Cemetery. 25 February – 19 March 2022

From the moment we’re given our lanterns and follow our guide, Tarn, we are immersed in the after-dark experience of a large cemetery. It’s filled with the remains of, and monuments to, famous and unknown residents of the city of Adelaide, from its first days as the land of the Kaurna people, to the founding fathers and mothers of the modern city – up to the present day, in a still-working cemetery where a plot can be bought for perpetuity, for less than the cost of your suburban home (just).

Ruthless!

Book & Lyrics by Joel Paley. Music by Marvin Laird. Directed by Jordan Best. The Q – Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre. 24 February – 12 March, 2022

Judy Denmark is the model of the perfect 50s mum, devoting her life to pandering to the every whim of her daughter, the adorable, talented and murderous Tina. With apparently no thought for her needs, Judy is content with enabling her exceptional daughter to perform, and she’s definitely not at all self-basting in the tasty juice of reflected glory. Or, is she? Could that be why her daughter is a sociopath?

Blindness

Adelaide Festival 2022. Australian Premiere. Queen's Theatre. Wed 23 Feb - Sun 20 Mar, 2022

There is a reason that the Adelaide Festival is renowned, and it is productions like Blindness that remind us what theatre excellence looks like.

9 to 5 The Musical

Music by Dolly Patron. Lyrics and book by Patricia Resnick. Based on the 20th Century Fox Picture. John Frost for Crossroads Live. Capitol Theatre, Sydney. Opening Night: February 24, 2022.Sydney

Dolly Parton is not only super talented, but amongst the most business savvy artists around, and she provided the first surprise of the night by beaming in as the narrator, surrounded by the solid gold glitter of the set like a Fairy Godmother.

This was the woman, who as a spring chicken, told Elvis Presley that no he could not have part of the copyright of a song she wrote just because he was the singer, thank you very much.

Hell in Las Vegas

Adelaide Fringe – Nineteen Ten Rooftop Bar. 24 February – 10 March, 2022

Two women twist on a turning hoop, suspended over the floating floor, hands and legs thrust outwards, each woman moving smoothly around the single hoop without knocking off the other. Then there’s a thumping soundtrack to a singing devil, twirling his blazing firesticks and gyrating around the stage, working with his very receptive audience on all sides of the stage.

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