Reviews

As the audience files into the Dunstan Playhouse, we find writer and philosopher Édouard Louis seated at a desk, typing on a laptop. The cyclorama behind him produced by Sébastien Dupouey and Marie Sanchez, transforms into a never-ending road, subtly lit, indicating that we are on a journey - initially, a clouded and foggy one, which eventually clears as the turmoil of this talented performer come to a crescendo.

Chess, the musical, was first performed in 1986, three years before the fall of the Berlin wall. It is nearly 40 years old and yet the eclectic music and story of political machinations retains relevance. Two superpowers contest world domination in a game. Antagonists are the unstable Freddie Trump (-er) and slightly more sympathetic Russian, Sergievsky. Sergievsky’s paean to Russia’s eternal heart connects individuals to nations in the lyric “Let man's petty nations tear themselves apart”.

Boeing Boeing has a long history! It was a hit in its native France in 1960. The English adaptation opened in London in 1962 and ran for seven years! And despite some misgivings concerning inferences about American society, the 1965 movie starring Tony Curtis and Jerry Lewis did well overseas. By 1991 the play was listed in the Guinness Book of records as the most performed French play in the world. Multiple revivals over the past 20 years have also done well, some winning awards.

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice famously composed the music and wrote the lyrics to their early blockbusters Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph and Evita before forging incredible careers separately.

In the beautiful Civic Theatre, 100 members of a community choir, an orchestra of more than 30, local performers and dancers joined professionals Marina Prior, Silvie Paladino, Chloé Zuel and Joshua Robson to pay homage to the duo.