Reviews

First-time director Rianna Hartley-Smith has assembled a talented cast including Nicola Barrett, David Fraser, Peta Simeon, Nathan Schulz, Margaret Radcliffe and Cecile Campbell for this ten-hander thriller, which is full of mystery and intrigue, with strong performances from all involved.  

Set in western England in the 1960’s, the story revolves around an old cliff-top house that has been uninhabited for a number of years and has been the focus of various stories over that time.

This reviewer has been involved in theatre for longer than I care to remember and the depth of talent both on and off the stage in Adelaide never ceases to amaze me. The latest offering from University of Adelaide Theatre Guild is no exception. Edward Albee’s Pulitzer Prize winning Three Tall Women was written shortly after the death of his mother in 1991 and is strongly autobiographical. Albee draws on his childhood that, while privileged, was devoid of a loving mother. He draws on memories of a mother who preferred horses to people and almost anyone to her adopted son.

Wagner may have been famous for synthesising all the arts into his operas, but with this concert version it’s a starker affair.  The singers stand in a row, the mighty chorus at the back and the Opera Australia Orchestra moves from pit to centre stage.  

Here the conductor, Pinchas Steinberg, is the star.

After a successful Tannhäuser in 2016, Melbourne Opera lifted the bar further with Wagner’s Lohengrin. We knew we were in for a special evening with an ethereal start to the overture, the sixty piece orchestra under the firm baton of David Kram. Having the brass in the boxes at the side of the auditorium added to the excitement.