Reviews

After previous successful seasons presenting “Beer theatre”, Butterfly are returning in 2017 with Autobahn, four one act plays written by American Playwright Neil LaBute, all set within the confines of an automobile. The common link with these four plays is the fact they are all set in a car and are about relationships, but I found the stories lacked any kind of journey or ending and I was left a little unsatisfied.

It seems fitting that the community theatre year in WA was kicked off with this bright youth production, Grease, presented by Studio2Stage and Phoenix Theatre. This year appears to be the ‘Year of the Youth Musical’ with teen and tween productions of Camp Rock, Calvin Berger, Once Upon a Mattress and Mulan Jnr following hot on its heels.

Studio2Stage’s show is brimming with energy and enthusiasm and life and had attracted a young and cheerful audience. Featuring a cast of 13 to 18 year olds, it had much to like.

It felt like Chatswood was raining with cats(but no dogs). Two kittens, beautiful groomed with make-up and costume, were in our restaurant lapping up their dinner before the show. The felines were crawling through the audience inside in the theatre and on stage it looked like there were whiskers in every conceivable corner.  

These two short Italian operas, composed within years of each other by two musical youngsters, and since so often paired as Cav andPag, both show a gritty social realism which made them operatic novelties in the 1890s. 

Both are about sexual jealousy and the murderous consequences of female infidelity (never mind the boys) in a poor Sicilian village.  Down and dirty they are, with not a god or aristocrat to be seen!