By Martin McDonagh. Castle Hill Players. The Pavilion Theatre, Castle Hill. June 4 – 26, 2021
The Cripple of Inishmaan is set in 1934 on a small island just off the west coast of Ireland. Right from the get-go the clever set design captures the audience’s attention. There is lovely stonework, lots of wooden panelling and an excessive number of bright green tins of peas on the shelves. There’s also an elevated bedroom which is cleverly recycled and even a small boat waiting at the jetty down stage left for one of the most pivotal scenes.
By Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins. WAAPA. Directed by Kylie Bracknell (Kaarljilba Kaardn). The Roundhouse Theatre, WAAPA, Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley WA. June 10-16, 2021
Gloria is a compelling and well-presented production, performed by part of WAAPA’s Third Year Acting cohort, with production and design from WAAPA students from a variety of departments. Highly polished and slick, this is a play with some interesting messages and much to say.
By Dean Pitchford, Walter Bobbie, Tom Snow and Dean Pitchford. Art in Motion. Directed by Lys Tickner. City of Gosnells, Don Russell Performing Arts Centre, Thornlie, WA. June 11-19, 2021
Footloose is a fun, bright musical and is probably Art in Motion’s best musical to date. A great nostalgia trip, it is presented with a great sense of verve and enthusiasm.
Central character Ren is played with great energy and a clear commitment to the role by Matthew Walford, with Maree Stedul very impressive has his mother Ethel. Their arrival in small town Bomont, a town that bans dancing, is the catalyst for action for this show, based on the 1984 film of the same name.
By George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin and Ken Ludwig. WAAPA. Directed by Crispin Taylor. His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth, WA. June 11-17, 2021
WAAPA’s most public showcase is probably the annual “big” musical. Presented for the first time at His Majesty’s Theatre, Crazy For You has a classic musical feel that is a great match for this large and ornate venue. Well polished, with excellent production values - this is a lovely showcase, not only for Second and Third Year Musical Theatre Students and Music Students, but for the Production and Design Students who have shaped this production very well.
Written by Michael Wilmot. Tweed Theatre Company. Directed by Raelene Richards. 11th-26th June, 2021.
Community Theatre is the very heart of entertainment for so many Australians, but it can be a hit and miss affair. Not so with Tweed Heads Theatre Company, whose latest offering is an absolute gem of a production.
Canadian Michael Wilmot’s play is a sketchy, sometimes hilarious, pastiche of two men, retired from work, seeking a purpose for the years to come - is it to be wood-working classes or a Harley Davidson - or fifty secrets to great sex?
Written by Melanie Tait. Ensemble Theatre production. Directed by Priscilla Jackman. Canberra Playhouse. June 3 – 5, 2021
The Appleton Ladies Potato Race is a thoroughly enjoyable dip into the lives of women in a small country town, their hopes and their grievances. Change can be hard for many; these women are no different, yet they have big hearts that allow them to meet challenges and to open up to reconciling differences. The race, where participants carry a bag of spuds on their shoulders, is more than just a race: it is a potential scene of conflict between the sexes, the established community members and new members, and history and what we can make of the future.
Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Dunstan Playhouse. June 12-14, 2021
Robyn Archer graces the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in 2021 after having ‘icon status’ bestowed upon her worthy shoulders in 2016 as winner of the Cabaret Icon Award. This is only one of her many awards over a rich lifetime as singer, writer, artistic director, public advocate for the arts and venerated mentor, but certainly celebrates Archer’s pre-eminent position in the world of cabaret.
Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Dunstan Playhouse, June 11-13, 2021
Image (above): Poof! at Sydney Opera House - Photo by Victor Frankowski
Poof: used to show that something has happened suddenly or by magic (Cambridge dictionary), or, a homosexual, the poor man’s term for homosexual (Urban dictionary).
Two very different meanings explored using magic, song and stand-up comedy by James Galea in his cabaret show, Poof!:Secrets of a Magician.
Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Festival Theatre. June 11, 2021
Described by Artistic Director Alan Cumming as a ‘smorgasbord of talent’, the Cabaret Festival opening event, The Variety Gala, a world premiere, may be equally well described as a Forrest Gump glamorous ‘box of chocolates’, or the exciting array of Christmas parcels under the tree that we cannot wait to open and enjoy.
By Bess Wohl. Sydney Theatre Company. Director: Jessica Arthur. Roslyn Packer Theatre June 11 – July 3, 2021.
Winter may be the time to ‘hunker down’ but it’s also the time we need a bit of cheer, and Sydney Theatre Company brings that cheer in this production. Though set in contemporary America, the play has universal appeal, requiring very little modification to change it to an Australian setting. After all, Grand Horizons could be any retirement village in any relatively wealthy first world city – and Nancy and Bill French could be any retired couple. Perhaps.
