Reviews

Untitled, or The Seat of Narcissa is a rollicking, queer period romp with a talented cast.  It is presented by Burning Deck Theatre Company, who had a success with The Four Accordionists of the Apocalypse at Melbourne Fringe in 2012. Like The Four Horses, Narcissa looks at issues with a musical comedy approach wrapped around mythology.

Given the inherent limitations of youth theatre, this production of Disney’s  The Little Mermaid is an impressively staged, delightfully spirited affair. Those adults who retain affection for the source material, and are willing to be generous enough in their suspension of disbelief to accept performers playing above their age, will be rewarded with a musically accomplished and emotionally astute rendition of this comfortably familiar piece. Children who come to see this will be rewarded with an intelligent production that does not talk down to them.

Written by Christopher Bryant (who is also one of its three performers) and directed by Jessica Arthur, Intoxication is a play about anxiety and disconnection – that much is clear both from the program notes and the performances. However its structural shortcomings and odd directorial choices make it difficult to discern much else. Eschewing any solid narrative structure, it instead presents us with a series of vignettes from one female and two male actors, but it’s unclear whether any of them are playing distinctive characters as such.

The intensely physical aspect of dance, movement, acrobatics and circus acts frequently carry a simmering undercurrent of alternative sexuality and desire. Rather than relying on innuendo or allusion to explore this aspect, Uncovered is tantalisingly open and provocative in its unabashed emphasis on homosexuality.