Reviews

Six years and six months ago (to the day) I saw the first production of Downtown in Ballina, as staged by Sue and Paul Belsham’s company SUPA NORTH, and this restaging of the “Mod Musical” was an inspired choice as Ballina’s re-emergence post COVID-19.  The audience (reduced in size to comply with restrictions) loved every minute of this trip down memory lane.

It was a thrill to finally return to a crowded, albeit masked theatre, to see a big musical. The opening night audience was excited to be there and gave a well-deserved ovation to the spectacular song “Magic to Do” - which combined a lovely tune, colourful costumes and circus tricks.

Pippin – first staged on Broadway in 1972 – is not a tier one commercial musical with general public name recognition that we are used to seeing in this venue, but is more in the field of classics which music theatre aficionados relish.

My first visit to the Harvest Rain Theatre was very productive, with such an exciting crop of talent on display as they reaped the benefits of their lessons there. This is a completely original production from the writing and composition to the staging. The stage is an open space on the floor, which meant the many dancers could launch into the routines with freedom and liberty – and they did.

Reuben Kaye’s new Melbourne Fringe show was performed at Assembly Checkpoint in Edinburgh in 2019 and is testament to his amazing talents. He is a sensational cabaret showman with an acerbic tongue and high-camp charm.

After winning a bunch of accolades from the Melbourne Cabaret Festival and the Adelaide Fringe between 2017 and 2019, he has gone on to perform and host on UK Channel 4 and Café de Paris in London, charming the pants off everyone across Europe with his signature style.