Reviews

Disco Pigs begins with a SNAP out of black and there they are: Pig (Jonathan Shilling) and Runt (Antoinette Davis) either side of the stage.  They were born on the same day.  They describe their births in graphic and exuberant detail.  Just born, the babies Darren and Sinéad see each other.  They connect.  They live next door to each other.  As little kids playing with farm animals, they give each other their own special names: Pig and Runt.  They are inseparable.  As they grow together it’s all about television, drinking and fig

Patrick Livesy’s portrait of his mother Naomi is a mosaic of voices and characters given life via writing and performance.  They create the eight characters, moving about, standing still, sitting, speaking in each of the voices.  What we experience, so movingly, is a series of monologues from different characters in Naomi’s life.  Some talk at length, some are brief, some are loving, some a bit affronted, some uncomprehending, some defensive, some funny, and some achingly sad. 

Another of Brisbane’s thriving indie theatre scene, The Curators’ Theatre Company is an ensemble dedicated to presenting diverse works that experiment with theatrical form and style. For Fringe Brisbane, they have put together an intriguing mix of short plays about what happens when love goes very wrong, and three different takes on the cliche of the ‘femme fatale’. A collection of three short pieces opens with chanteuse, Chelsea Burton, setting the scene firmly in the romantic post-war era. Up first is the 70-minute play Mrs Thally F.

Nell Campbell (better known as Little Nell) – cool Aussie rock, theatre, film and cabaret royalty – has led a fabulous, fearless life, and her one-woman ‘confessional’ is utterly compelling and wonderfully entertaining. In a fantastic sequined dress, Nell takes centre stage, accompanied by a vin blanc and a wealth of photo evidence, and begins at the beginning, telling us all about her fascinating parents and siblings. And then to her brilliant career.