By Bertolt Brecht. Translated by Tony Kushner, directed by Damien Millar. Produced by Lara Week and Bagryana Popov. La Mama Courthouse, 349 Drummond Street, Carlton. 1-19 June, 2022.
The story of Mother Courage captures an incredibly bleak vision of humanity when operating purely on survival instinct. This production captures all the intricacies of the different ways that individuals must navigate the realities of the Thirty Year War and somehow keep their dignity intact, as well as eek out what ultimately turns out to be a miserable existence.
By Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Drew Anthony Creative. Directed by Drew Anthony. Planet Royal Theatre, Lake St, Northbridge, WA. June 1-26, 2022
Drew Anthony Creative presents this tight and slick production of Grease at Planet Royale, a production that has its audience bopping in their seats and leaving with smiles.
By W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Western Australia. Directed by Michael Brett. The Dolphin Theatre, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA. June 2-11, 2022
Presented by the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Western Australia, Iolanthe is, as G&S Society President Kevin Langoulant describes it, deliciously fanciful Victorian nonsense. Well-presented and beautifully sung, this Victorian comedic operetta remains a lovely distraction, 140 years after its first performance.
Book by John Logan. Presented by Carmen Pavlovic, Gerry & Val Ryan and Global Creatures. Capitol Theatre. From June 2022
La Féerie, a French title that translates as "fairy play", was a French theatrical genre known for “fantasy plots and spectacular visuals,” lavish scenery and technical stage effects. Moulin Rouge! The Musical slips almost seamlessly into a modern interpretation of that genre.
By Paris Balla. Theatre Works & Ryan Hamilton. Theatre Works, Acland Street, St Kilda. 1 -11 June 2022
2023. The city is like a furnace and blanketed with smoke. Jane (Cassandra Hart) takes her asthmatic teenager Owl (Geo Valentine) down the coast and dumps them (that’s how Owl sees it) on Owl’s old Grandad, Albert (Don Bridges). He lives alone in a lighthouse overlooking an ocean choked with rubbish. He’s self-sufficient and unexpectantly having a teen around is bad enough – let alone a prickly ‘gender fluid’ teen – and at first it’s a discombobulating experience for him.
By Richard Sydenham and Jamie Oxenbould. New Theatre, Newtown, NSW. May 31 – Jun 25, 2022
Imagine the grief of a travelling salesman who wins a fortune in the Opera House Lottery, only to see his eight-year-old son kidnapped for ransom and then found murdered in bushland.
Australia’s first kidnap-for-ransom case in 1960 is the inspiration for this tender and strangely funny new play by Richard Sydenham, who directs, and Jamie Oxenbould, who plays a version of the grieving father.
Rising Festival. Arts House, Meat Market, North Melbourne. Jun 1 – 4, 2022.
“If you imagine you are looking into a huge mansion, with endless corridors and halls…” Danish dancer /choreographer Mette Ingvartsen eloquently describes a story with filmic detail, as she walks into the performance space; it is only the beginning of one of her many vignettes.
Galileo is a new contemporary ballet by choreographer Francesco Ventriglia, the artistic director of the Sydney Choreographic Centre. Founded by Ventriglia and Neil Christopher in early 2021, the centre made its mark on the Sydney dance scene at Riverside Theatres in April last year with its stunning production, GRIMM. It returns to Riverside with its latest production that is equally as stunning.
By Enda Walsh, Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. Black Swan Theatre Company of WA and Darlinghurst Theatre Company. Directed by Richard Carroll. Regal Theatre, Subiaco, WA. May 28- June 12, 2022
Every so often you see a show that absolutely ticks all the boxes and is a complete joy to experience. Black Swan Theatre Company of WA and Darlinghurst Theatre Company’s Once is a beautiful production that touches the soul, and I highly recommend that you stop reading now and go and book a ticket.
By Giuseppe Verdi. Metropolitan Opera. Sharmill Films. Screening at select Australian cinemas – June 11, 2022.
Don Carlos is an epic production in every way. Verdi’s longest opera, this production comes in at approximately four and a half hours and is presented in its original French instead of the usual Italian, taking the production back to its roots. However, the Met’s claim of presenting the original version is in some doubt. It is more like the five act Italian version sung in French with several additions from the original.
