Reviews

The Road to Huntsville

By Stephanie Ridings. Directed by Elodie Boal. Wynnum Fringe, Wynnum Library Meeting Room. 18 - 19 November, 2021

The 2021 Wynnum Fringe Festival boasted a talented line-up of local, national, and international acts performing in a range of venues in the Bayside suburb. While a library meeting room might not be a producer’s first choice for a play, in a way it seems quite fitting for Stephanie Ridings acclaimed one woman show, The Road to Huntsville.

Julius Caesar

By William Shakespeare. Sydney Theatre Company. Directed by Kip Williams. Wharf 1. November 15 – December 23, 2021

Kip Williams is making the sort of theatre that embraces all the creative possibilities of  twenty-first century technologies and talent. In this Julius Caesar he brings together video, smart phone technology, split second mixing, inventive sound composition and innovative lighting design – and three highly intelligent and experienced actors – in a production that challenges and inspires. That it does so on a very innovative interpretation of ancient Greek theatre-in-the-round is a wry tribute to the long history of theatre.

Treasure Island

By Ben Crocker. Directed by Douglas Sutherland-Bruce. Garrick Theatre, Guildford, WA. Nov 18- Dec 11, 2021

“The best thing about being in a panto, is the prerogative to have some fun” sing the ladies of the Smugglers Cove Women’s Institute, in Garrick Theatre’s pantomime Treasure Island. The same thing can be said of being in the audience of a pantomime, especially one that is as nicely produced, well performed and funny as this one.

As You Like It

By William Shakespeare. Melbourne Theatre Company. Southbank Theatre, the Sumner. 13 November – 18 December 2021

Melbourne Theatre Company bursts back from lockdown hiatus with this spectacular, star cast, high energy, visually sumptuous version of one of Shakespeare’s funniest and yet most profound plays.  There are lively songs that bridge contemporary and ‘Elizabethan’ modes from Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall.  The on stage, costumed musicians all play supporting roles with seemingly effortless transitions – and make up a fine recreation of Shakespeare’s strolling players.

Humble Boy

By Charlotte Jones. Presented by Adelaide Repertory Theatre. Arts Theatre, Adelaide. Nov 18-27, 2021

When the socially awkward Felix returns home for his father’s funeral, his mother’s behaviour and ongoing scorn regresses him to his childhood. Another man, who is nothing like his father, is spending too much time with his supposedly bereaved mother – and that man’s daughter once had a relationship with Felix before he ran off to study Superstring theory at Cambridge.

A House on an Island in The Aegean

By Luke Icarus Simon. La Mama Courthouse (Vic). Nov 16 – 21, 2021

La Mama has opened its doors again - there is anticipation and eagerness from audiences and a hunger from artists to shake the lockdown out of their systems and get back into rehearsal and live performance.

One such Sydney-based performer/writer/director Luke Icarus Simon has been making work for over forty years, his new play A House on an Island in The Aegean tackles the issues that arise when one is Greek, Greek -Cypriot, gay, sexually abused and closeted.

Wyrd Sisters

By Terry Pratchett, adapted by Stephen Briggs. Unseen Theatre Company. Bakehouse Theatre. November 17th-27th, 2021

Sir Terry Pratchett, satirist and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works, is best known for his Discworld series of 41 novels. The books frequently parody or take inspiration from classic works, usually fantasy or science fiction, and mythology, folklore and fairy tales. Famously, he often used them for satirical parallels with cultural, political and scientific issues. He said, “Fantasy isn't just about wizards and silly wands. It's about seeing the world from new directions."

Prayer Machine

By Eric Gardiner. Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre. 12-28 November 2021

This is Red Stitch’s first show back after lockdown.  Before we went in, Artistic Director Ella Caldwell welcomed us, and the Red Stitch audience of regulars and just theatre lovers cheered the event.  Nevertheless, Prayer Machine is, perhaps, a curious choice by Red Stitch to kick off their (our) return to live theatre.

Dry

By Catherine Fitzgerald. Far and Away Productions & Country Arts SA. In association with the State Theatre Company South Australia. Hart’s Mill, Port Adelaide. Wednesday 17 to Saturday 10 November 2021

Catherine Fitzgerald’s Dry is ‘an absurdist dystopian Western inspired by the tough, resourceful women who live in our remote regions’. It tells the story of two sisters who have remained behind on an outback station when others have fled to either the far distant hills or the remote ‘Capital’. The reason for this population movement, which is affecting the entire country, is a lack of life-giving water. There is a telling line that was said by one of the departed – that ‘he didn’t want to be a refugee in his own country’.

Forbidden Broadway - Greatest Hits Volume 1

By Gerard Alessandrini. Pride Fest. Directed by Andrew Dobosz. Studio Underground, State Theatre Centre of WA. Nov 16-20, 2021

Rarely do you see a cabaret production that is as rapturously received as Forbidden Broadway, currently being performed as part of Pride Fest, at the State Theatre Centre. The audience adored this slick, expertly performed production, giving it a very enthusiastic standing ovation - and deservedly so.

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