Reviews

The Blueberry Play is a warm, funny coming of age play, beautifully performed, that deals woith serious themes, but leaves the audience upfifted and fulfilled.

Originally developed by the Australian Theatre for Young People, and shortlisted for a Griffin Award, Ang Collins’ play is a first person monologue about a seventeen year old girl whose father is both bipolar and suffering from prostrate cancer, who is struggling with her growing feelings for a boy, and discovering her sexuality.

I’ll admit, reviewing Impromptunes was completely indulgent on my part. They have been reviewed before, but I just really wanted to see it. I was not disappointed.

Impromptunes is exactly as described. A completely new improvised musical at every performance. A cast of six (the line up varies) and a pianist, take a suggestion from the audience and perform that title over the next hour. Previous titles include Quarter Life Crisis, Texas Homeschool Prom, Mummies in Brunswick and Toyota Corolla.

This year and over the last couple of years in Adelaide, we have celebrated significant milestones for a number of amateur theatre companies. It is these sorts of companies that are the lifeblood of amateur theatre and the training ground for many prominent Australian actors. These companies also serve to provide pleasure, skill development, leisure, team building and collaboration skills, and entertainment for audiences and performers alike.  

There’s a certain anticipation as you enter Track 8 of Sydney’s Carriageworks and are greeted by a former prisoner or parole officer. You are here for a unique performance, where they will test your preconceptions of rehabilitation and the capacity of ex-offenders to reintegrate with society. The audience is asked to act as parole board and judge if one former prisoner - John Tjepkema at our performance - deserves freedom.