Reviews

The Full Monty

Music & Lyrics by David Yazbek. Book by Terrence McNallyBased upon the screenplay by Simon Beaufoy. StageArt. Director: Drew Downing. Musical Director: Nathan Firmin. Choreographer: Rhys Velasquez. National Theatre, St Kilda. March 3 – 19, 2017

StageArt’s production of The Full Monty was a high energy affair. The story, familiar to audience members from the film, had been moved to America. With the local factory having been closed, Jerry is struggling to pay maintenance to his ex-wife and faces losing access to his son, Nathan. So he enlists some mates in a get rich quick scheme to produce a male strip show.

Initially we encounter the wives attending a strip show, enjoying themselves enormously and complaining about their husbands. Sophie Weiss is particularly strong as Georgie.

Betroffenheit

Electric Company Theatre/Kidd Pivot. Adelaide Festival. Dunstan Playhouse. 3-4th March, 2017.

The German word Betroffenheit carries with it a sometimes inexplicable feeling; bereavement, shock and impact caused by tragedy. It’s a sensation attached to an incomprehensible emotion that encompasses the whole body. In their latest performance piece, Electric Company Theatre and Kidd Pivot channel performer Jonathon Young’s personal struggle.

Confessions of an Aerobics Instructor

Written and performed by Joana Simmons, co-written/co-directed by Elizabeth Dawson Smith. Music by Jamie Burgess. Speakeasy HQ (Vic). March 3, 10, 17th, 2017.

With all the hype that surrounds the ever-popular exercise industry; from the wardrobe essentials of active wear to the gym memberships, the fitness tracking accessories, and mass-produced elite gym equipment, Confessions of an Aerobics Instructor delves into the minds of the super humans that work in this business.

In Difference

By Craig Barry. Form Dance Projects. Riverside Theatre, Parramatta. 2-4 March 2017

Coinciding with the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in Sydney this weekend, In Difference embodies the theme of this year’s festival – “creating equality”.

The Executioner

Written and directed by Simon Lancione. Beating Heart Theatre Company. Adelaide Fringe. The Bas3ment. March 1st- 4th and 15th – 18th, 2017

A dramatic monologue can be a confronting and/or emotional experience for both the actor and the audience. The Executioner at the Bas3ment falls short on both counts. One of the first rules of theatre is to engage. This script is a 50 minute rant of random thoughts going through the character's head, and this reviewer was not engaged.

Wot? No Fish!!

By Danny Braverman. bread&circuses. Adelaide Festival. AC Arts Main Theatre. March 3rd – 7th, 2017

6pm on a Friday night after a long week is generally the time you are looking forward to going home to relax with a nice dinner and maybe a drink. Well, there is no dinner at AC Arts but there is Gefilte Fish and a storyteller extraordinaire. In a collaboration between Danny Braverman and Nick Phillipou, the audience hears the story of Braverman’s Great Uncle Ab Solomons through his wage packet art.

Mark Colvin’s Kidney

By Tommy Murphy. Directed by David Berthold. Belvoir, Sydney. Feb 25 - Apr 2, 2017

The story of one of the ABC’s most distinguished journalists - and how he received a kidney donation from an incredibly unlikely source - is a very unusual one for the stage. But Australian theatre has matured so much in recent years that these types of challenges are embarked upon with gusto. The results are fine indeed.

Dancing with Death

Pichet Klunchun Dance Company. Asia Topa, Arts Centre Melbourne – State Theatre. 2-4 March 2017

Dancing with Death is rarified theatrical adventure and immersive journey through the medium of an extremely unique form of modern dance. 

Creator Pichet Klunchun is a highly regarded Thai dancer and choreographer of international renown.  He first worked with traditional Thai dance and then went on to study in America and subsequently has participated in intercultural performing arts programs in Asia, North America and Europe.  This work has been commissioned through our Government’s funding of Asia TOPA’s commissioning program. 

Evita

Lyrics by Tim Rice, music by Andrew Lloyd-Webber. Gosford Musical Society. Director: Gareth Davis. Musical Director: Ben Ross. Choreographer: Amanda Woodbine. Laycock Street Theatre, North Gosford. March 4-18, 2017

Eva Peron (1919-1952), the legendary first lady of Argentina, rose from poverty to become one of the most influential women of the 20th Century. Her amazing, short life is the subject of myth and legend. This fact really wasn't brought to prominent international recognition until the Lloyd-Webber/Rice concept album Evita came to light in 1976, followed by it's Brechtian style musical in 1978.

Wait Until Dark

By Frederick Knott. Canberra Repertory. Directed by Jordan Best. Theatre 3, Acton A.C.T. 23 February to 11 March 2017

With a plot that — albeit riddled with holes — is complex enough to be intriguing to the end, Wait Until Dark challenges a housewife who has lost her sight to recognise the deceits in a confidence game that three villains run on her in order to motivate her to find a missing doll.  The doll is, of course, merely a vehicle for something more sinister, and it is plain from early on that their determination to possess it makes the villains extremely dangerous.

 

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