Reviews

Beth Paterson opens the show, sitting at a table, surrounded by archive boxes. There are dozens of books piled up on and around the table – the spines suggest history, culture, philosophy – and Barry Humphries.

Paterson tells us of her Saturday morning visits to see her Nana, bribed with a hot chocolate, and aged 14, watching the clock so she’d know when it was time to leave. She didn’t want to be there – her Nana, Niusia, might have been a holocaust survivor, a concentration camp hero, but to teenager Beth, she was a bitch.

Stirling Players licked off their 2025 Season with three one act plays under the banner Matriarchs, Mystery and Mayhem. The three plays were loosely associated by a theme of matrimony, with the first featuring a widow keen for remarriage, the second a silver wedding anniversary and the final play being set on the day of a wedding. The three plays were very different in style, but all were clever comedies.

Presented by Lazy Yarns, Shark is a behind the scenes look at a low budget Sharkageddon film, where the young actress at the centre of the story and the ‘Shark’ both dream of stardom.

Campy, schlocky and most certainly not taking itself seriously, Shark was written by actor Lucy Wong, in collaboration with fellow actor/designer/devisors Clea Purvis (who plays Girl) and Delaney Burke (Shark).

Looped, a story set on one afternoon, is based on a true story, and tells of a “loop’ recording for actress Tallulah Bankhead’s final film. Presented by Old Mill Theatre, this quality production deserves better audiences.