Reviews

Russell Morris: The Real Thing

Concert Hall, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), Brisbane. 15 January 2022

Russell Morris won't like this review because I am going to describe him using a word he hates: 'icon'. But to me, he is an Aussie music icon because, like most of his compadres from our music industry from the 1960s to present day, he's highly underrated and has had to adapt to survive in an industry that would really rather he had success overseas. Instead he chooses to stay in Australia and reinvent himself to continue to work.

Sh*t We Like To Sing - Unfiltered

Broken Crayon Productions. Directed by Dylan Dorotich. Connections Night Club, Northbridge, WA. Jan 14-20, 2022

FringeWorld is back, and with it two new ‘episodes’ in what has become known as the “Sh*t Show”. The first of these is Sh*t We Like To Sing - Unfiltered, featuring an all female line-up and set at a sleepover.

Great work from the pyjama clad performers, Dylan Dorotich, Grace Johnson, Shannon Rogers, Danielle McDonald and Charlotte Louise.

Garrick Theatre’s Debutante Director One Act Season

By Eddie Zipperer, Barbara Weichmann and Peter Manos. Directed by Matthew Roberts, Adam Giltrow, Kailem Mollard and Roxanne Moore. Garrick Theatre, Guildford, WA. Jan 13-22, 2022

One Act Seasons in Perth used to be a very common pathway for emerging directors. Garrick has revived this tradition for their first season of 2022, with three very different plays, directed by four first time directors.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf

By Edward Albee. State Theatre Company SA. Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House. Sydney Festival. January 13 – 23, 2022.

Edward Albee was highly prescriptive about how his plays were cast and staged, as was his estate after he died in 2016. And nowhere was this more so than with this famous American all white classic of the 1960’s.

So it’s a happy surprise director Margaret Harvey was able to cast three actors of colour with one Anglo Australian in this State Theatre Company SA update  – adding race to lurk in the gladiatorial epic between the four this one drunken night.

Aufbruchsgeister - Departing Minds

Written and directed by Bello Benischauer. Existence Theatre. Old Customs House, Phillimore St, Fremantle, WA. FringeWorld. Jan 14-22, 2021

Existence Theatre’s Departing Minds is a highly physical, ethereal piece of theatre that asks the audience to examine their beliefs and perhaps their existence.

A group of people scattered around the world are afraid of losing their freedom, so with the help of a mysterious phone ap, they leave their old lives behind, and escape to a forest. Once together they realise that despite their shared feelings, they actually have little in common, and they are forced to face themselves.

Triple X

By Glace Chase. Sydney Theatre Company. Wharf Theatre. January 8 – February 26,

My sister reckons that contemporary plays, especially Australian ones, rarely tell happy love stories. I’ll suggest she go to Triple X for an update on the genre.

Puffs

Written by Matt Cox. Original incidental music Brian Hoes. Directed by Mitchell Walsh. Spotlight Theatre – Gold Coast. 14th – 30th January, 2022.

Yes, we’re in the midst of a pandemic, but if you think there’s nothing left to laugh about, you clearly haven’t seen Puffs, a high octane homage to Harry Potter movies (without the copyright or royalty issues). It’s living proof that chaos doesn’t have to be a downer!

The Comedy of Errors

By William Shakespeare. Presented by the Australian Shakespeare Company. Directed by Glenn Elston. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. December 18th to February 19th 2022.

This is one of Shakespeare’s earlier works and it provides plenty of opportunity for unbridled silliness and rollicking physical theatre. Glenn Elston has chosen to use the Commedia Dell’Arte box of tricks including stock characters, masks, exaggerated costumes and Punch and Judy slapstick to bring this tale of twins separated early in life to the stage.

Lost In Shanghai

By Jane Hutcheon. Sydney Festival. Seymour Centre. January 12 – 16, 2022.

True stories are so often more compelling than fiction: real characters call more urgently to us, especially when they’re generations of one family shaped and battered by big historical events.

44 Sex Acts in One Week

By David Finnigan. Club House Productions. Sydney Festival. Seymour Centre. Directed by Sheridan Harbridge. January 12 – 16, 2022

If you are in a long-term relationship, the idea of 44 Sex Acts in One Week seems more than a little farfetched. Perhaps a year might be more realistic?

The concept did not deter the opening night crowd, who were noticeably younger than many regular Sydney theatregoers. Perhaps they pondered that they might be up for it.

Originally staged downstairs at Belvoir St, this fruity romcom is a hoot and felt at home on the larger arena-like stage of the York Theatre.

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