Reviews

Ken (James Lau) is in Melbourne from Shanghai.  He’s an engineer, a widower with a disabled children back in China, and he’s possibly his own worst enemy.  His quest is to get a residence visa – and that means, of course, getting his qualifications recognised and bringing his family to Australia.  It’s that or go back to Shanghai.  And now time is running out: his deadline is 190 days, and the clock is ticking… 

Now, that’s how to fill a Concert Hall! Wow! Songs of Hope & Healing was a benefit concert for the charity, HEAL, which supports young people from refugee backgrounds, and the talent showcased was astounding. After a warm welcome to country by Gaja Kerry Charlton, the opening number set the tone for the 90-minute show to follow with the beautiful Bill Withers song, ‘Lovely Day’ sung by the QPAC Chamber Choir, with Tina Liu accompanying, led by Choir Master Timothy Sherlock. What a treat to hear that piece sung by more than 20 voices.

Shows of such high calibre don’t happen by chance. The creative team and volunteers at CentreStage Geelong have gone above and beyond (the barricades) to bring Les Misérables to regional theatre starved audiences. During Covid, CentreStage’s previous production, West Side Story, had to be shutdown with enormous repercussions financially and otherwise.

Some of the best anti-war stories are those with the horrors just out of sight but foreshadowing what is to come. That’s the strength of The Sound of Music, written by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, based on Maria von Trapp’s memoir of her family’s pre-war escape from their beloved Austria to Switzerland to escape the Nazis. The story lures you in with the singing children, spirited Maria and enigmatic Captain Von Trapp, and then the clouds of war loom.