Reviews

Ragtime - the Musical

Book by Terence McNally. Music Stephen Flaherty. Lyrics Lynn Ahrens. Based on the novel Ragtime by E L Doctorow. The Production Company. State Theatre, Arts Centre, Melbourne. 2 - 10 November 2019

For what looks like being The Production Company’s second last show, they have mounted a sumptuous, all-stops-out Ragtime - a cast of thirty (including twelve ensemble), a twenty piece orchestra under Guy Noble, choreography by Dana Jolly, wonderful period (1900s east coast USA) costumes by Isaac Lummus - and a deceptively simple but clever stage design by Christina Smith.  The period and key, iconic locations (Ellis Island, Atlantic City boardwalk and beach, a mansion at New Rochelle) are established by original black and white photographs projected on a huge cyclorama.

Bright Star

Music, Book & Story by Steve Martin. Music, Lyrics & Story by Edie Brickell. Pursued By Bear Theatre Company. Director: Mark Taylor. Musical Director: Nathan Firmin. Choreographer: Freya List. Chapel Off Chapel. October 25-November 3, 2019.

It's not every day that you see a small scale local musical and come out thinking that not even Broadway could do this any better. Eclipsed by the musical Hamilton on Broadway, this little-known stage show by actor/musician Steve Martin & singer Edie Brickell is finally getting to 'shine bright' thanks to companies like Pursued By Bear. Inspired by a real event, Bright Star tells a tale of love and redemption set against the rich backdrop of the American South in the 1920's and '40's.

My Home At The Intersection

By Abishek Thapar. OzAsia Festival. Festival Theatre: Rehearsal Room. November 2nd and 3rd, 2019

Director, writer and performer Abishek Thapar has a tale to tell, and it spans back over 30 years. It is a tale of personal reflection, redemption and self-healing that is told using photographs, video film, slides and deeply personal, carefully paced story telling. This Australian premiere is a unique piece of performance that can only be told by Thapar, for it is his story.

Born in the Indian province of Punjab, Thapar’s story details family history, heritage and loss, starkly framed in times of war and political and religious unrest.

Kinky Boots

Book Harvey Fierstein, Music: Cyndi Lauper. Spotlight Theatre, Benowa, Gold Coast. Director: Katie Grace. November 1 – 23, 2019

Kinky Boots! The title tells the tale! This Gold Coast production of the Fierstein/Lauper Broadway hit was a winner with the audience from the start. Lola and her Angels strutted their stuff to the delight of the full house. Many of the audience were so taken in by these guys that they couldn’t believe that they were not real Drag Queens but mere community theatre devotees!

Hedda GablerGablerGabler

Conceived and directed by Mary Angley. Co-created and performed by Caithlin O’Loghlen, Emma Jevons and Sarah-Jayde Tracey. Victorian College of the Arts 2019, Master of Directing For Performance Graduate Season. Grant Street Theatre. October 11 to 13, 2019

Wow Hedda GablerGablerGabler is a great little show that frankly opens up the text of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler for illuminating exploration.  And most particularly, it does this through the prism of a young woman/women’s sensibility.  It is vital and enlightening as to contemporary perceptions of this classic.

Written in 1890, Hedda Gabler is a play that has a long and lustrous history – a classic that has stood up to close examination through restaging after restaging.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

by William Shakespeare. Directed by Nicholas Hytner. Bridge Theatre, National Theatre Live. Cinema Nova & participating cinemas 9 - 17 November 2019

Here is a boisterous, fast, romantic, ad-libbing, slapstick-funny production of Shakespeare’s malleable play.  Like all great comedies, there is more to it than comedy.  Director Nicholas Hytner freely admits the ‘influence’ of Peter Brook’s famous production of the Dream he saw in 1970, and the much more recent A Handmaid’s Tale - the first in irreverent  style, the second in sexual politics - and reflected in Christina Cunningham’s austere costumes.  Mr Hytner strips out the seats from the very adaptable Bridge Thea

The Man Who Was Peter Pan

By Allan Knee. Directed by Sarah Christiner. Old Mill Theatre, South Perth, WA. Nov 1-16, 2019

The Australian premiere of The Man Who Was Peter Pan is playing at South Perth’s Old Mill Theatre. This play, which inspired the film Finding Neverland and the musical of the same name, is an artistic retelling of the life of J. M. Barrie and his real life muses and later wards, the Llewelyn Davies boys, who, with Barrie himself are the inspiration for Barrie’s most famous work, Peter Pan.

That Time Everything Went Well And We Were Totally Fine.

Written and performed by Belinda Campbell and Jennifer Piper. Produced by Wit Incorporated. Bluestone Church Arts Space, Footscray. 1-16 November, 2019.

This sketch comedy show has both whimsical and existential qualities. Gerry (Belinda Campbell) and Frankie (Jennifer Piper) are two close friends who are perpetually trapped by their own indecision, fuelled by fear and anxiety. Their limbo existence on a railway platform, aptly named Panic station, is interjected with comedy sketches that parody elements of society that are merely trying to mask the crippling realities that some people must endure, which can lead to mental ill-health.

One for the Pot

By Ray Cooney. Therry Dramatic Society Inc. Arts Theatre, Angas St Adelaide. October 31- November 9, 2019

A rather blustery and wet night swept me to the Arts Theatre in Angas St to see Therry Dramatic Society’s One for the Pot, but somewhat damp and dishevelled spirits were soon lifted by this joyfully silly play.

Like all farces, One for the Pot has a simple plot and the mandatory slamming doors, absolute mayhem, mistaken identities and all-round fun.

Outwitting the Devil

Akram Khan Company. OzAsia Festival. Dunstan Playhouse. November 1-2, 2019

It takes courage, sensitivity and empathy to delve into tragic tales of the past and endeavor to give them a voice again. Akram Khan has a reputation for provocative choreography that pushes the boundaries of not only endurance, but the human spirit. His latest work, Outwitting the Devil is inspired by a fragment of the 12 broken clay tablets, which together make up one of the world’s oldest works of literature, the ancient Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh.

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