Reviews

Pelican Productions’ staging of children’s favourite “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” offers not only thrilling spectacle, but also a lot of genuine heart. It is a testament to the high quality of the amateur dramatics talent pool in Adelaide, that their work here can proudly stand shoulder to shoulder with most professional productions mounted today.  

There is a good reason why Ira Levin’s Deathtrap is the longest running thriller on Broadway - it’s a cracker of a story within a story that hinges on the element of surprise, therefore I will avoid giving away the plot.

But even if you have seen it before or are a fan of the brilliant film starring Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve you will not be disappointed by Darlinghurst Theatre’s rendition of this classic tale.

The original Australian cast members held a reunion prior to the Sydney opening and shared war stories. We heard that when The Rocky Horror Show opened in 1974 the venue was a genuine scary old building with real life rats running around. The show has moved from a crumbling ruin forty years ago to the sparkling Lyric Theatre in 2015.

This was a sumptuous production. The sets were striking, the costumes magnificent, particularly the Pontevedrian ones, the direction effective and ensemble singing tight. There were nine young dancers, three of them male, who added immeasurably to the show. The orchestra was excellent.

When directing The Merry Widow myself I struggled to find a workable translation. Director Robert Ray has, with permission, made changes which made for an effective show, including substituting a finale from another Lehar operetta. It worked very well.