Writers: Ryan Purdey/Erich Fordham. Directors: Christian Dell’Ollio/Ryan Purdey. Heidelberg Theatre Company. December 11 – 19, 2015.
The youth arm of Heidelberg Theatre Company performed this re-write of the Treasure Island story and it was an entertaining evening for the young. With a majority of female cast members, Jack Hawkins became Jill Hawkins, while there were quite a few female pirates.
From the novel by Jules Verne, adapted by Molly McPhee. Doublemask Youth Theatre Group.. Murwillumbah Civic Centre. December 11th – 12th, 2015.
The fifty-odd members (all aged 13 to 18) of Doublemask (under the supervision of Lachlan Glasby) have presented an interesting adaptation of the Jules Verne Novel for their final production for 2015.
Taking ownership of the production: they scripted, planned, and produced the entire show themselves.
Doublemask member Molly McPhee created the script and the emerging talents of the teenage members staged an interesting telling of the Verne story.
Cirque du Soleil. Choreographed by Debra Brown. AIS Arena, Canberra. 10–20 December 2015, and touring
If you have seen Cirque du Soleil even on television, you know to expect something grand and memorable. But there’s nothing like being there in the flesh. And Quidam, a production nearly as old as the troupe itself, didn’t let us down. Aiming not to take us into other worlds but to let us enter the world of its protagonist’s imagination, it nonetheless left us with an impression of having viewed everyday friends and strangers as though from the perspective of another realm.
Songs by Madness, book by Tim Firth. The Regional Institute of Performing Arts. Civic Playhouse, Newcastle. December 10-12, 2015.
THE songs of ska-pop group Madness generally fit well into this musical which was given a lively and enjoyable Australian premiere staging by the graduating Advanced Diploma in Arts (Acting) students at Hunter TAFE.
Tim Firth put together an unusual story, with the central character, Joe Casey, breaking into a new apartment building so that he can show the girl who is helping him celebrate his 16th birthday his family’s historic adjoining London suburban house.
By Sam Floyd. Freshly Ground Theatre. The Mechanics Institute Brunswick. 9 – 19 December 2015
A bickering young couple, Trish and Craig (Lucy Norton and Remy Coll) prepares to welcome another young couple, Olivia and Sean (Anthea Greco and Sam Floyd) for dinner. Trish is snippy and brittle; Craig is jumpy and distracted. Olivia and Sean arrive. She’s shy and self-deprecating; he’s cocky and a little aggressive. The couples seem scarcely to know each other, but we quickly learn (spoiler alert) that Olivia and Craig are having an affair.
Queensland Performing Arts Centre. Nov 30 – Dec 6, 2015.
Clancestry, A Celebration of Country, is back again at QPAC for a week of visual art, workshops, song, dance and market stalls, highlighting the continuation and dynamic evolution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture in Australia.
By Jeni Bezuidenhout & Cassandra-Elli Yiannacou, La Mama EXPLORATIONS, 205 Faraday Street 7, 8 & 9 December, 2015.
Panoptican Collective has extremely admirable goals that aim to increase social responsibility and raise awareness about social injustice. These objectives are fully fleshed out in this play. Six female stories trace the very long history of the abuse, oppression and marginalisation of women across of range of social and political contexts. Each story is inspired by literary and historical figures and told entirely from the perspective of the individual experience of persecution.
By Benito Di Fonzo. Ocelot Productions and Griffin Independent. SBW Stables Theatre. Nov 27 – Dec 12, 2015
Benito Di Fonzo has written three impossibly titled, poetical plays about his heroes – Bob Dylan, Lenny Bruce and now that shaman of guitarists, Keith Richards.
A Riff on Keef: The Human Myth is no incisive exploration into Richards’ times, character or startling longevity; but more a wandering William Burroughs style mediation on his moods, his chemical and musical quest.
By Vicky Jones. Directed by Tanya Dickson. Poppy Seed Festival. 45 Downstairs. 2nd-13th December, 2015
Poppy Seed Festival ends its inaugural (and interesting) event with Vicky Jones’ much lauded play The One. Truth be told, the play itself is a pale imitation of Edward Albee’s magnificent Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?. But where the latter seethes and boils with molten lava of vitriol, the best The One can do is simmer, off the boil, without ever threatening or going over the edge, and so we remain always as observers, never involved in the tension or in any danger.
By Neil Simon. Ensemble Theatre (NSW). Director: Sandra Bates. Nov 27, 2015 to Jan 17, 2016, then Glen Street Theatre Jan19 – 24, 2016
In The Good Doctor Neil Simon uses several works by Chekhov to create a series of short plays linked by a conversation between the writer – obviously based on Chekov himself– and the audience. The stories – vignettes really – are typical Chekhovian insights into the Russia of his time. The way they are brought to the stage is typical Simon: clearly drawn characters and witty dialogue that relies for effect on good timing and creative direction.
