By Jules Massenet. Opera Australia. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. Mar 16 – 28, 2018
Of Jules Massenet’s some 25 operas, Don Quichotte is one of his few to be still produced – and yet until now never in Australia.
With the name role of Cervantes’ legendary old knight, tilting at windmills, the opera is a star vehicle, so it was a shock on opening night when Italian bass Ferruccio Furlanetto was announced as ill, and replaced by the young Australian understudy Shane Lowrencev.
Woollarawarre Bennelong was an Eora man, from the Wangal clan in the Port Jackson area. In 1789 he was captured by order of Governor Phillip and taken to Sydney, essentially to enable the study of the “savage”. However, Bennelong learnt English and became a crucial intermediary between his clan and the colonial forces.
Based on novel by Stephen King. Music by Michael Gore. Lyrics by Dean Pitchford/ Book by Laurence D Cohen. PRIMA. Directed by Drew Der Kinderen. Wongara Cultural Centre, Northgate. March 16 – April 1, 2018
Carrie, the central figure of the musical, is growing up unaware of the development of her body nor the school and world in which she lives. This is mainly due to the rigid control by her mother who is a religious fanatic, in the worse sense possible. Unfortunately, the school class members are intolerant and abusive to her. Sound familiar to the present day, with bullying so prevalent across much of our society? In one fight with her mother she learns she has telekenesis power and we learn later what that means.
Adelaide Fringe Festival. House of Sand. Holden Street Theatres/The Studio. February 28th – March 17th, 2018
The production company House of Sand is the creative brainchild of siblings Eliza and Charles Sanders. Having already won several awards for their collaborations, their strong works have not gone unnoticed and with Castles it does not take long to see why.
Entering the performance space, the audience is met with a strong female body clad only in black underwear. It appears that she is tangled up in her own arms, fighting to free herself from the constraints of her own mind. Deathly silence is broken only by the sounds of frustration.
The Australian Ballet. State Theatre Arts Centre Melbourne with Orchestra Victoria - 16 – 26 March 2018 and Joan Sutherland Theatre Sydney Opera House with Opera Australia Orchestra. 6 – 23 April 2018.
It’s a rare thing for a dancer to have a career that spans 50 years. It’s still more rare that said dancer would change the face of the art. Baryshnikov, Nureyev, Nijinsky, Pavlova, Fonteyn. They all changed the face of narrative ballet through their technique and presence. Murphy himself was a formidable onstage presence. It is, however, his off stage work which has made him one of the most influential dancers of our time.
Victorian State Ballet. The Concourse, Chatswood. March 17 and 18, 2018
Le Corsaire – or A Pirate’s Tale – is a ballet in three acts based on a poem by Lord Byron. The story is short and simple. Shipwrecked pirates Conrad and Birbanto, and a slave, Ali, are found on the shore by Medora and Gulnare. Conrad falls in love with Medora, Ali with Gulnare. Unfortunately the maidens are captured by Lankendam, a slave trader, and sold to a Turkish Pasha for his harem. The pirates search for the maidens and eventually rescue them despite betrayal by Birbanto.
Adelaide Festival of Arts 2018. Her Majesty’s Theatre. March 16 – 18, 2018
Xenos is a Greek word meaning "stranger" or "alien". Just as Prometheus, a Titan who is credited with the creation of man from clay defies the gods by stealing fire and giving it to humanity, an act that enabled progress and civilization, the Adelaide Festival production, Xenos, is precisely the opposite, showing us mankind’s ‘gift’ to humanity, namely war, that makes us strangers on Mother Earth.
By David Nielson. Roleystone Theatre. Directed by Brogan Smirke and Euan Macmillan. Cecil Andrews SHS Performing Arts Centre, Seville Grove, WA. 9-17 March, 2018
Congratulations to Roleystone Theatre for managing to get Robin Hood The Truth Behind the Green Tights to the stage. Just a couple of weeks before Opening Night, Roleystone’s heritage theatre was declared unsafe. The ‘Green Tights’ team managed to find a temporary venue, adjust the sets, notify all the ticket holders and reconvene – playing to capacity houses.
By Sarah DeLappe. Redline Productions. Old Ftiz Theatre (NSW). March 14 – April 14, 2018.
What a great vehicle Redline Productions has chosen to highlight the under-tapped wealth of women in theatre! Written by a woman, directed, designed and stage managed by women, and performed by nine fine, fit, feisty, female actors, this prize-winning first play by American playwright Sarah DeLappe raises the bar in the determined pursuit of recognition and equity across the arts.
Adapted from the memoir by Marguerite Duras by Lawrence Strangio; original translations by Barbara Bray, Leigh Harvey and Linda Coverdale. Dramaturg Annie Thorold. La Mama Courthouse, Carlton VIC. 15 – 25 March 2018
Lawrence Strangio, an always interesting, original and risk-taking director, has taken the bold step of adapting Marguerite Duras’ novella/memoir The Lover – and in an original and risk-taking way.
