Reviews

Queensland Ballet’s new double bill gives us a ravishing Firebird and an earthy Carmen, two entirely different ballets that are stylistically poles apart.

Liam Scarlett’s thrilling ballet setting of Stravinsky’s The Firebird is a worthy successor to his glorious A Midsummer Night’s Dream, also in the company’s repertoire. First staged at the Royal Norwegian Ballet in 2013, the production is true in intent to Michel Fokine’s1910 Ballet Russes Paris premiere but given a contemporary twist.

Electro Girl is an electrifying, colorful and funny tale of one woman’s journey and personal struggle with epilepsy. Lainie Chait is a forty something Jewish woman, the writer and sole performer, directed by Clare Pickering.

Pop Goes the 80s was QPAC Choir’s annual concert which took a trip back to the eighties, the era that gave us leg-warmers, Rubik’s Cube and the Walkman. It was also the era in music which saw the rise of synth-pop and superstars Madonna and Michael Jackson. They were all represented in this showcase that featured 180 voices, guest artists from the Griffith University Musical Theatre course, and a nine-piece band.

It can be a little harrowing to take on the task of directing such a well-loved and oft’ produced play, but first-time director Trudy Ritchie has obviously approached the challenge with dedicated zeal – and the support of an experienced and creative team of designers. Her production of Earnest captures the elegance and wit of Wilde’s writing as well as the ‘modish’ manners and style of the time. It moves quickly and efficiently without losing the impact of the ripostes and repartee or the hypocrisies that Wilde cleverly exposed.