Reviews

John Harvey’s play Heart is a Wasteland is a testament to the healing power of falling in love.  It is a delightful romantic comedy grounded in a rich contemporary indigenous context.

Commencing with the best welcome to country ever, flying in from the West, it is a very finely tuned work throughout. This is a confirmation of the high degree of skill of all who have created and worked on it.   It is a co-production with Brown Cabs and made with the support of Footscray Community Arts Centre.

Let’s be honest, ANY Sondheim is better than no Sondheim at all. And, although the chronologically reversed narrative doesn’t truly work, so the emotional arc is hugely problematic, Merrily does contain one of Sondheim’s most beautiful ballads in “Not a Day Goes By.”

Another Perth show for which it is difficult to get tickets is Melville’s The Secret Garden. This simply lovely show, does not disappoint.

“No good parts for older actors!” - a common complaint, but yes there are  - in 70, Girls, 70 at Gold Coast Little Theatre. This is a Kander & Ebb musical about seniors on a shop-lifting spree to finance a secure place to stay in NY. Because? Well, who would arrest old people? Who even notices old people?

In vaudeville style, Melba and Fritzi (Marlene Blight and Noni Buckland) delivered rousing intro and song'n'dance breaks covering frequent scene-changes to Director Roger McKenzie's simple but effective set.