Reviews

Given the inherent limitations of youth theatre, this production of Disney’s  The Little Mermaid is an impressively staged, delightfully spirited affair. Those adults who retain affection for the source material, and are willing to be generous enough in their suspension of disbelief to accept performers playing above their age, will be rewarded with a musically accomplished and emotionally astute rendition of this comfortably familiar piece. Children who come to see this will be rewarded with an intelligent production that does not talk down to them.

Written by Christopher Bryant (who is also one of its three performers) and directed by Jessica Arthur, Intoxication is a play about anxiety and disconnection – that much is clear both from the program notes and the performances. However its structural shortcomings and odd directorial choices make it difficult to discern much else. Eschewing any solid narrative structure, it instead presents us with a series of vignettes from one female and two male actors, but it’s unclear whether any of them are playing distinctive characters as such.

The intensely physical aspect of dance, movement, acrobatics and circus acts frequently carry a simmering undercurrent of alternative sexuality and desire. Rather than relying on innuendo or allusion to explore this aspect, Uncovered is tantalisingly open and provocative in its unabashed emphasis on homosexuality.

Your Mouth Collective is a newly formed Perth based theatre company, participating in their first Fringeworld season.

Alice is Drowning is a simple, nicely told tale, which combines a coming-of-age story with road-trip and fairy-tale genres, to create a sweet, enjoyable two-hander.

Baby-faced twenty-year-olds Phoebe Sullivan and Lukas Radovich play sixteen year old best friends Alice and Brian very convincingly. Phoebe gives dreamy but deluded Alice a genuine charm, while Lukas' Brian is charming, loyal and superbly played.