Reviews

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

By Tennessee Williams. Directed by Benedict Andrews. National Theatre Live. Film screening in cinemas across Australia from 5 May, 2018.

The unquestionable power of this iconic Tennessee Williams play is brought well and truly to life in this production. Andrews has made a variety of bold choices in relation to set and casting and they pay off well. Sienna Miller creates a husky Maggie and her smouldering sexuality is equally echoed in Jack O’Connell’s Brick. The performances, much like the original film and stage versions, capitalise on performances that are as much physical as they are intellectual.

Geli, Hitler’s Niece

By Enzo Condello. Globe Players. Richmond Theatrette, Church Street, Richmond VIC. 26 April – 5 May 2018

A dramatisation of the liaison between Adolf Hitler and his half-niece ‘Geli’, this play is reminiscent – in reduced form - of Shakespeare’s Othello – that is, a vain, self-dramatising and vulnerable man is manipulated so that his ‘love’ turns to murderous hatred.  Here, however, it’s 1931 and the man is Hitler (Matthew Richard Walsh) and the manipulators are Goebbels (Ben Byrne) and Himmler (Jonathan Harris), worried that their Führer is ‘distracted’ from his duties to the party by his

Common Ground

Choreographer: Anouk van Dijk. Chunky Move. Chunky Move Studios, 111 Sturt Street, Southbank. April 26 – May 5, 2018

A powerful and immersive tour- de –force!

Two performers walk into the brightly-lit studio, circumnavigate the edge of the white floor establishing their own pace; both look determined and headstrong.

Common Ground is the new highly innovative work by the acclaimed choreographer and director Anouk van Dijk, who has created the concept for and with two brilliant performers, Richard Cilli and Tara Jade Samaya, at the Chunky Move Studios.

Replica

Darebin Arts Speakeasy and Stephanie Lake Company in association with Culturelink (Singapore). Choreographer: Stephanie Lake. Northcote Town Hall. April 25 – May 5, 2018

A powerful exploration into relationships using creative devices other than storyline. An encapsulating performance that will delight dance lovers.

The formidable team behind the show is led by choreographer Stephanie Lake, in collaboration with dancers Christina Chan (Singapore) and Aymeric Bichon (France), with sound by Robin Fox, lighting by Bosco Shaw and costumes by Paula Lewis. The intimacy and respect shared among them was evident in the performance as well as in the Q&A session with Lake, Fox, Chan and Bichon that followed the performance I saw.

Deceptive Threads

Performed and Devised by David Joseph. Directed and Devised by Karen Berger. La Mama Theatre. April 25 to May 13, 2018

The play begins with a wise old man in a halo of candle-light beckoning us into a world of tales and truths from the ancients through to the moderns.

Deceptive Threads is a magical and mysterious diasporic tale of survival stemming back to the late nineteenth century when a one brave gentleman left Lebanon to find a better life in Australia, performed by David Joseph and conceived along with director Karen Berger.

‘Allo ‘Allo

By Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft. Stirling Players. Directed by Andrew Watson. Stirling Theatre, Innaloo, WA. Apr 27 - May 12, 2018

Fans of the TV series ‘Allo ‘Allo will be very pleased with this very faithful recreation of the television series, by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, which contains all of the famous catch-phrases, and some of the series’ most iconic moments.

Peter Neaves appears to be in his element as central character, cafe owner Rene. He works nicely with Kate Elder who plays his wife Edith, in a nicely broad performance. Rene is also carrying on with both of his waitresses, well played by Lara Brunini (Yvette) and Georgina Kling (Mimi).

Blanc de Blanc

Strut & Fret. Directed by Scott Maidment. Spiegeltent, Canberra Theatre Centre. 26 April – 20 May 2018 and touring

Blanc de Blanc is a well-polished blend of the sophisticated, the risqué, and the absurd in the form of brief dances, acrobatic acts, mock cabaret, and interspersed tableaux, all in a spirit of play.  Careful choreography and catchy energetic music make this a performance that can lift your spirits without blowing your eardrums.  Well-balanced, clean sound; judicious use of fog on which to display the lighting; and amusing lip-synching rounded out the performance’s

Baskerville – A Sherlock Holmes Mystery

By Ken Ludwig. Spotlight’s Basement Theatre, Benowa, Gold Coast. Co-Directors: Kaela Gray and Katie Grace. April 27th – May 13th, 2018

This production was a mixture of revue, pantomime and slapstick comedy. 

Originally written for a cast of five: Sherlock Holmes, Dr Watson and 43 other characters to be played by 3 people, the co-directors have augmented the cast to 9 very active performers.

In keeping with the various aforementioned genre, minimum props and scenery were used together with a plethora of wigs, costumes, (somewhat dubious) accents and a certain amount of cross-dressing to transport the audience around the Devonshire Moors.

A Little Night Music

Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by Hugh Wheeler. The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of South Australia. Arts Theatre, Adelaide. 26th April – 5th May, 2018

Composer and Lyricist Stephen Sondheim’s enchanting musical A Little Night Music was first performed in 1973 and although many feminists would balk at some of its lyrical content, it has lost none of its charm. With a book by Hugh Wheeler, and inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it is easy to see why it continues to be performed the world over.

Carmen, Live or Dead

By Craig Harwood. Music by iOTA. Oriel Entertainment, Progeny Pictures and Orange Sky Creative. Directed by Shaun Rennie. Hayes Theatre, Sydney. April 29 - May 13, 2018

There’s often a moment in the first minutes of an unknown show that you fear it’s not going to be good. When it’s unconventional, the fear is even greater. Will I be stuck here for the next hour-and-a-half for a show that I really won’t enjoy?

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