Reviews

La Traviata

By Verdi. Opera Australia. Director: Elijah Moshinsky. Revival Director: Constantine Costi. Conductor: Carlo Montenaro. Arts Centre Melbourne. April 17 – May 11, 2018

La Traviata returned to the Arts Centre to an enthusiastic audience. This was a revival of a production I hadn’t encountered before, but it worked very well. The opening scene was crowded for Violetta’s party, which was a nice contrast to the closing scene at the same venue, with little furniture or decoration.

Tom Vickers and the Extraordinary Adventure of His Missing Sock

Spare Parts Puppet Theatre. Directed by Phillip Mitchell. The WA Shipwrecks Museum, Cliff St, Fremantle. April 14-29, 2018

Tom Vickers and the Extraordinary Adventure of His Missing Sock is a World Premiere installation theatre event created by Spare Parts Puppet Theatre and the WA Museum. Currently playing at the WA Shipwrecks Museum, it will tour to museums in Geraldton and Albany in May and June. 

Ladylike: A Modern Guide to Etiquette.

Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The Butterfly Club, Melbourne 16-22 April, 2018.

Taste the sensational comedy routines of Louise Beuvink!

Her Australian debut show is here to embrace our shores with her unique feminist-satirical blend of cabaret and stand up. After a complete sell out national tour of her New Zealand homeland, she is assured we will dig her rhythm.

This show is a soda stream blend of fizzy concoctions of domestic and social situations parodying women of all demographics.

Dr Frankenstein

Written by Selma Dimitrijevic. Canberra Rep. Directed by Jordan Best. Theatre 3, Acton, Canberra ACT. April 5 – 20, 2018

What a fascinating choice of play for Canberra Rep’s “Power and Passion” season. Rather than the masculine-based original novel by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, this new re-telling has changed Victor into Victoria. This play premiered in England last year and it is good to see recent reinterpretations, especially one as well-structured and eloquent as this.

The Riddle of Washpool Gully

By David Morton. Terrapin. Directed by David Morton. The Backspace Theatre Royal, Hobart April 13-21, 2018

The Riddle of Washpool Gully is a stunning piece of theatre which will appeal to young and old. 

This show is a seamless hybrid of puppetry and live action. The skill, teamwork and concentration required of Guy Hooper, Mel King and Drew Wilson are extraordinary as they transition between intricately expressive operations of the manipulated characters and the dramatized scenes. All of this is expertly sequenced to an evocative soundtrack by Heath Brown and superb lighting by Jason James. 

Rock Of Ages

Music & Lyrics: Various. Book: Chris D’Arienzo. Pannic Productions. Director: Andrew Panda Haden. Musical Director: Grace Cockburn. Choreographer: Ashley Rae Little. Redcliffe Cultural Centre, 13-15 April 2018

Pannic Productions burst on the local community theatre scene last year with an impressive audio-visual heavy production of Pink Floyd’s The Wall. This year they’re back bringing a lot of glam-rock to the Redcliffe Peninsula with everybody’s favourite 80s jukebox musical Rock of Ages.

Annie

Book by Thomas Meehan, Music by Charles Strouse and Lyrics by Martin Charnin. Holroyd Musical and Dramatic Society. The Red Gum Centre, Wentworthville. April 13 - 21, 2018

HMDS's production of the classic Depression themed musical Annie was a great retelling of the well-known story about the red-headed optimistic, orphan and her chance adoption by the Billionaire Oliver Warbucks.

Director Olivia Linas and her cast gave a very well gelled and polished Opening Night performance.

The show opened with an action sequenced overture, which was a delight to see and gave the audience an immediate insight to the title character Annie, played on opening night by Sami Dinnerville.

An Emotional Rollercoaster

Debussy: Prelude a “l’apres-midi d’un faune” (Prelude to Afternoon of a Faun), Ginastera: Concerto No. 1 for piano and orchestra, op.28, Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98. Queensland Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alexander Prior. Piano: Sergio Tiempo. Concert Hall, QPAC, 14-15 April 2018

It has often been stated that Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera was arguably the finest composer South America ever produced and after listening to fellow Latin,Sergio Tiempo playing his Concerto No. 1 you would get no argument from me. This atonal work built on a twelve-tone scale is theatrically dramatic, bold and passionate with moments of underlying rage and volcanic power, and in Tiempo’s dazzling hands a bravura showpiece.

Billionaire Boy

By Maryam Master, based on the novel by David Walliams. Presented by Sydney Opera House and CDP Kids. Sydney Opera House (Playhouse). 14 – 29 April 2018.

After his Dad made eleventy squillion dollars inventing Bumfresh toilet wipes, 12 year old Joe has everything a boy could ever want including a golden underwater Ferrari, his own bowling alley and cinema, or so you would think, but all he really wants is a friend.

The world premiere Australian adaptation of David Walliams’ book, Billionaire Boy, is chucklesome, entertaining and appealing to all ages.

Electric Butterflies

Kuah Jenhan. Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Mantra On Russell. March 29 – April 22, 2018

Kuah Jenhan has returned to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2018 with his brand new show - Electric Butterflies.

One of Malaysia’s brightest comedy talents, with sellout shows cross Asia, Jenhan is back with his unique Asian induced flavors to tantalize our exotic taste buds.

Electric Butterflies is a romantic comedy in sixty minutes. He doesn’t get the girl but he finds true love in true screwball comedy style.

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