Reviews

Romeo and Juliet

By William Shakespeare. Bell Shakespeare. The Playhouse, Sydney Opera House. February 24 to March 27, 2016

This Bell Shakespeare production returns to the sexy, sumptuous garb of Shakespeare’s High Renaissance but, inexplicably, is set in an old theatre cluttered with scaffolding.

While we admire Anna Cordingley’s costumes, the metaphor of her no-where, theatre set - despite its different levels being inventively employed - is never explained in this remote, uneven production directed by Peter Evans. 

Love, Loss & Lattes

By Missy. Adelaide Fringe. Tandanya Theatre. Feb 24th – 28th, 2016.

It is not very often we see someone’s love affair with coffee interpreted in such an imaginative way. Coffee has become the 21st century’s drug of choice with no defining demographic. Missy brings her diverse skills to the stage in her first solo show. Her ambition to perform by herself at the Adelaide Fringe is one she claims she can now cross off her bucket list.

ABBOTT The Musical

Adelaide Fringe. Tandanya, Grenfell Street. February 24-28, 2016 8pm and March 2-5, 9.30 pm.

The cast of ABBOTT The Musical is talented and the material is clearly spot-on, with the musical’s 2016 Adelaide Fringe production parodying events in Canberra up to the demise of Tony Abbott as Prime Minister.

The Light In The Piazza

Music & Lyrics by Adam Guettel. Book by Craig Lucas. Based upon the novella by Elizabeth Spencer. Directed by Hayley Horton. Adelaide Fringe / Davine Interventionz. The Star Theatre, Hilton (SA). February 24-March 5, 2016

For this year’s Adelaide Fringe Festival, Davine Interventionz Productions present a classy, yet accessible South Australian premiere of The Light In The Piazza – a musical that tells a disarmingly simple, intimate love story through a series of deeply layered, sometimes dazzlingly complex songs.

Little Shop of Horrors

Book and Lyrics by Howard Ashman. Music by Alan Menken. Luckiest Productions and Tinderbox Productions in association with Hayes Theatre Co. Hayes Theatre, February 18 – March 19, 2016, then touring.

Audience members were overheard describing the evening as  "magical" as they left the Hayes Theatre. The Sci-Fi musical, based on the 1960 cult film written by Charles B Griffith then developed into a musical by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, had just exploded onto the stage, with power house vocals boosted by surround sound.

Moonlight and Magnolias

By Ron Hutchinson. Directed by Bruce Akers. Heidelberg Theatre Company 36 Turnham Avenue, Rosanna. 19 February – 5 March, 2016.

David Zelznick (Tim Constantine) is the hyperactive visionary who created what is often considered the greatest film produced in Hollywood. Zelznick convinces scriptdoctor Ben Hecht (James Antonas) and director Victor Fleming (Jeremy Just) to work on a rewrite of the screenplay for five days, while cooped up in his office. They live off peanuts and bananas provided by the faithful assistant Miss Poppenghul (Pauline Constantine).

Beowulf: The Blockbuster

Developed & Directed by David Horan. Written & Performed by Bryan Burroughs. Adelaide Fringe. The German Club, Adelaide. February 23-28, 2016

A single father discovers that he is dying of cancer, and won’t live to see his young son grow up. Whilst struggling to find the right words to express this sad news, he relates the epic legend of drangonslayer extraordinaire, Beowulf, to his child in the form of a bedtime story, at times appropriating the language of Hollywood blockbuster movies that the youngster can relate to. Over the course of the evening, as the action in this epic tale grows more intense, various emotional issues that both father and son have bottled up rise to the surface.

The Point of Light

By Amberly Cull and Greg Lavell. Casa Mondo, The Pleasure Garden, Fringe World, Northbridge WA. Feb 17-21 2016

The Point of Light was a fabulous choice for my final Fringe World show for 2016, a sweet and inspiring show from a supremely talented performer.

The Magic Flute

By Mozart. Presented by State Opera SA. Adelaide Fringe. Directed by David Lampard. Freemasons Great Hall, Adelaide. Feburary 19-24, 2016

For this year’s Fringe Festival, State Opera SA present a musically immaculate and visually striking, if dramatically uneven production of Mozart’s much beloved light opera, The Magic Flute – that is likely to delight fans, even as it leaves opera newbies scratching their heads.

The Legend of Ned Kelly

Written and compiled by Deirdre Quinn. Upstage Theatre Inc. Adelaide Fringe. The Irish Club. Directed by John Martin. 21 February - 5 March, 2016.

It's terribly frustrating to witness a show begin so promisingly, and to aim so high, only to fall so disappointingly short.

The exploits of the Kelly Gang are virtually second-to-none in terms of genuine historical - yet mythic - figures to emerge from - and endure throughout - Australia's history. There will presumably always be tremendous appeal to the idea of staging a re-telling of the tale, and probably always an audience interested in paying to see one.

Subscribe to our E-Newsletter, buy our latest print edition or find a Performing Arts book at Book Nook.