Reviews

Oy Vey – any more Jewish and they would be serving chicken soup with matzah balls as you entered the theatre. Like a generous Bar Mitzvah spread, there are mountains of food to feast upon. The dishes on offer included a mother’s guilt, corny jokes, angst, marrying out of the faith and Nazis.

A straw poll of Jews at the opening night performance found nine out of ten thoroughly enjoyed the production, one said it gave him indigestion – whilst the non-Jew I spoke to was underwhelmed.

Can someone (your friendly reviewer, for instance) who, before seeing this show, barely comprehended (and to be honest, barely comprehends after it) that the casts of Buffy and Twilight exist in different realities/universes, still get heaps of hearty laughs from a musical spoof of these phenomena that have largely passed him by? In other words, does Buffy Kills Edward have the potential to deliver a good time in the theatre for a novice newcomer as well as a die-hard fan? Absolutely, it can.

Essendon Theatre Company have every reason to be very proud of this lovely smooth, seamless, clear, and even handed production of Louis Nowra’s coming of age play, Summer of the Aliens.  This production is a must if you haven’t seen this significant slice of Australian Theatre History.

Nowra has written some very probing and moving works such as Inside the Island, The Golden Age and Cosi.  As a playwright he was particularly prolific in the 1980’s and 90’s.

Glorious female harmonies resonate through the tiny black box theatre as Nine opens with the “Overture Dell Donne”, tantalizing the audience with the promise of a musically thrilling evening ahead. That promise is fulfilled in spades.

The visual tone is set too. Simple but striking, an upstage orchestra is seen, filtered through a scrim. Minimal props allow a large cast of talented women, stylishly dressed predominantly in black, with an occasional flash of white, to fill the stage, atmospherically lit by James Wallis