Reviews

Ordinary Days

By Adam Gwon. ACP and Playlovers. Directed by Alide Chaney. Stirling Theatre, Innaloo WA. Mar 3-13, 2021

Ordinary Days had a less than ordinary journey to production. Originally scheduled for a run at His Majesty’s Theatre during FringeWorld, it was postponed, then cancelled during the most recent Perth Lockdown. Three of the four actors changed during the rehearsal period. Eventually Ordinary Days had a very successful Covid-capacity run as a co-production between ACP and Playlovers at Stirling Theatre, warmly supported by Stirling Players.

Conviction

By Zoey Dawson, presented by The Hive Collective and Metro Arts. New Benner Theatre, Brisbane. 17 to 27 March 2021

Conviction is a postmodern, ‘anything goes’ one-act play in three slices, each one taking us inside the mind of a young female playwright – in a play by a young female playwright. The character is named ‘Zoey’ and is a semi-fictional version of the playwright herself as she procrastinates her way through the day, with looming deadlines and domestic pressures.

The Opposite Sex

By David Tristram. Directed by Alan Cooke. Townsville Little Theatre (TLT). Pimpac Performing Arts Centre, Townsville. March 17 – 20, 2021.

THERE is a great deal to be said for living in regional Australia, where we have been relatively untouched by this pandemic, and as we slowly come out of this hole called 2020, community theatre companies are rather like tortoises cautiously poking their heads out to gather the lay of the land.

They are responding to the fact that people have woken up to the fact that they have been starved of live entertainment and consequently this may probably well lead to larger audiences as we – who had been spoilt with so much choice – realise what we have been missing.

The Trauma Project

By Elizabeth Walley. Directed by Elizabeth Walley and Alec Gilbert. Presented by Double Garage. fortyfivedownstairs theatre, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne. 17 – 28 March 2021.

This is an extraordinarily elegant piece of theatre which addresses its highly confronting and timely topic in a delicate and sensitive manner. The central event which inspired this production is Walley’s own personal experience of witnessing an incident of domestic violence homicide on her street.

The Ladies Foursome

By Norm Foster. Harbour Theatre. Directed by Jarrod Buttery. Camelot Theatre, Mosman Park, WA. Mar 12-27, 2021.

Harbour Theatre’s The Ladies Foursome is proving very popular, and you may need to fight huge crowds of lady golfers to purchase one of the few remaining tickets. This funny but poignant play, by Norm Foster, one of Canada’s most popular playwrights, is set entirely on a golf course, but covers a plethora of issues, and is expertly performed.

See You Later, Mum

A play written by Christine Firkin with lyrics and music by Kay Proudlove. Adelaide Fringe 2021, Breakout at The Mill. Mar 18 – 20, 2021

These are stories and songs of a daughter’s relationship with her mother: transcending the separation between England and Australia, revealing the differences and commonalities across three generations of mothers.

Jali

By Oliver Twist. Griffin Theatre Company. SBW Stables Theatre. March 16 – 27, 2021

Young Oliver Twist is a very accomplished jali, or as they mean in West Africa, historian or storyteller. 

Alone on Griffin’s suitably intimate and newly reopened stage, Twist shares his confronting refugee journey from Rwanda through war and hardship – before landing in Sydney as a stand-up comedian.

Chicago

Music: John Kander, Lyrics: Fred Ebb Book: Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse. Campbelltown Theatre Group Inc. Director: Kirsten Jowsey, Musical Director: Laura Glynn, Choreographer: Brendan Cascarino Town Hall Theatre. March 12 – 27, 2021.

Campbelltown Theatre Group’s Chicago is a skillfully polished brilliant production that cleverly evokes the style of the late ‘90s professional revival. Permeating this show is a lively pace, dark humour, and sassiness (not the negative-meaning “sass”).

For those unfamiliar with the 90s revival, that was the version which went for the sparse stage and with black being the dominant colour for costumes and set, the “much shorter skirts” being the basic style. Angela Cascarino’s costumes and set brilliantly achieve their goal.

Jersey Boys

Book by Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice. Music by Bob Gaudio. Lyrics by Bob Crewe. Directed by Kylie Tillack. North Queensland Opera and Musical Theatre (NQOMT). Civic Theatre, Townsville. March 17 – 27, 2021.

MANY a community theatre company would have shuddered when even considering a production of Jersey Boys because it represents three golden challenges: plot, staging and casting. However, against all odds Townsville’s NQOMT production met these challenges with more than equanimity in its first post-COVID foray.

Murder off a Duck's Back

Presented by Scratch Arts. Adelaide Fringe 2021 (World Premiere). The Garage International @ Adelaide Town Hall. Mar 16-20, 2021

Operating since 2015, Scratch Arts presents itself as Melbourne’s primary contemporary and ‘queer’ production house. Known for workshopping theatre, Murder Off a Duck’s Back presents rather like a sixty-minute workshop piece, and on opening night, it was obvious that the four, multi-character players were still polishing this piece. As they promise, this is a piece for absurdist fans, for absurd it is, right down to the very stylised clown make-up, and the leading ‘lady’ having a beard and moustache.

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