Reviews

A Flower of the Lips (Un Fior di Labbra)

By Valentino Musico. Produced by Valentino Musico & EMU Productions. King Street Theatre. Newtown (NSW). Oct 6 – 24, 2015

A Flower of the Lips (Un Fior di Labbra) may be a new play by Sydneysider Valentino Musico, but it’s also a love letter. It’s a biographical story about his great-grandfather, Bruno Aloi and is a love letter to this legendary man as well as Musico’s relatives, Calabria and Italy as a whole. This stark and bold play, which has its Australian premiere at the King Street Theatre raises many questions about divided loyalties and offers no easy answers.

The Agreement

By Clare Mendes. Melbourne Writers’ Theatre, Page to Stage & The Deluxe Bus Company. La Mama Courthouse, Carlton (VIC). 7 – 18 October, 2015

The ‘agreement’ of the title is the almost always unspoken understanding of the hierarchy that underlies a friendship.  As in ‘You’re the pretty one, but I’m the smart one’, or it’s Master and Apprentice, Teacher and Pupil, Mentor and Mentee.  Forget an association of equals!  ‘Unspoken’ because to spell it out would be just too stark or cruel.  But not all parties to these arrangements are necessarily aware of them… This turns out to be the state of play between Mathilda (Emma Cox) – the ‘smart one

Alfie

By Bill Naughton. Matt Byrne Media. Holden Street Theatres (SA). October 7-24, 2015

I would like to say that sexist, arrogant and egotistical men such as ‘Alfie’ are a dying breed; however I think many still lurk beneath the surface of a thankfully progressive society. Set in the 1960s, man about town Alfie Elkins portrayed by Marc Clement is charismatic and carries with him a hedonistic outlook on life.

This is undoubtedly Bill Naughton’s most famous work. When you think of his leading man, Michael Caine springs to mind or for the younger folk perhaps Jude Law. Both movies fared well, with Caine’s portrayal most remembered.

The Grumpiest Boy in the World

Victorian Opera. Director: Cameron Menzies. Conductor: Simon Bruckard. Malthouse Theatre. October 2 – 4, 2015.

Victorian Opera does some amazing work. They appear to have many streams, all running concurrently. This opera involved their Youth Opera performers. It was also a world premiere.

All the performers were between fifteen and twenty-five and full of the exuberance of youth. They were also well drilled. The venue worked well, as younger members of the audience could observe the orchestra in the open pit as well as the action on stage.

Swan Lake

National Russian Ballet. The Concourse Theatre Chatswood, October 2, 2015 and touring nationally

There is often a sense of anticipation about a production from an international ballet company, and, while it may not be fair to our own Australian ballet, productions from overseas attract, it seems, a wider audience. So much so, that many of the houses for the Russian Ballet Tour are booked out, as was the opening night of Swan Lake.

Miss Revolutionary Idol Berserker

Rehearsal Room, Adelaide Festival Centre. OzAsia Festival. 30 September - 3 October, 2015.

The title may suggest social satire, or even a wild parody of some kind - but Miss Revolutionary Idol Berserker is almost beyond categories. Beyond words, perhaps...

Upon entry into the arena of the 'Berserker', socks and shoes are required to be cast off, ponchos are deployed for our own protection and preservation, and earplugs are ominously provided...

As it turns out, a sensible precaution. Spinal Tap's amplifiers may go to eleven, but for this particular troupe, 'eleventyleven' would barely begin to describe the din they create!

Romeo and Juliet

By William Shakespeare. Directed by Emma Sproule. Dionysus Theatre (Vic). McClelland College Performing Arts Centre. Oct 2nd to 10th, 2015

Emma Sproule is one of the most innovative directors in the world of community theatre, and nowhere is this more apparent than in Dionysus’ new production of arguably the Bard’s greatest tragedy.

Dirty Dancing

By Eleanor Bergstein. Adelaide Festival Theatre. October 2-25, 2015

Adelaide’s Dirty Dancing enthusiasts are turning up in excited droves to see the dance show that’s based on the iconic movie that starred the late Patrick Swayze.

Ten years after its world premiere in Sydney, the stage show remains a worldwide hit. It’s not deep and meaningful theatre and it’s not strictly a musical; in fact the stars of the show don’t sing and the plot is almost incidental to the main focus, the dance moves, but the fans on opening night loved it.

Quick Death and Slow Love

Written & directed by Richard Murphet. La Mama, Carlton (VIC). 30 September – 11 October 2015.

Quick Death isn’t about Death and Slow Love is not about Love.  Well, not exactly.  This pair of clever one-act plays present images, catchphrases, and, yes, wittily chosen clichés that represent death and love, chiefly in cinema, but also in literature, and therefore, possibly, in our easily influenced imaginations.  Much laughter springs from the audience’s recognition of these tropes – but the underlying intention is deadly serious.  Richard Murphet is demonstrating for us how these representations, beguiling as they

The Return

By Reg Cribb. University of Adelaide Theatre Guild. Little Theatre, University of Adelaide. October 3-17, 2015

Contemporary psychological thrillers are difficult for theatre companies to stage because the tension that must be present to unsettle and therefore satisfy audiences can be difficult to achieve and even harder to sustain. When the script contains a liberal amount of dark humour the task of balancing the laughs with maintenance of suspense is a very challenging one indeed.

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