Reviews

Shakespeare in the Park - The Taming of the Shrew

By William Shakespeare. Roleystone Theatre. Directed by Paul Treasure. Araluen Botanic Gardens, Roleystone, WA. Nov 6-14, 2021

The Taming of the Shrew is the second annual Shakespeare in the Park, performed by Roleystone Theatre in the beautiful surrounds of Araluen Botanic Park’s amphitheatre. Playing on two consecutive weekends, the show plays at 4pm, avoiding the heat of the day, but allowing the use of natural light.

Once again under the direction of Paul Treasure, this time we enjoy The Taming of the Shrew, set beautifully in the late 1950s (a nice twist for a play written in the 1590s),

The Wharf Revue: Can of Worms.

Wharf Revue, directed by Jonathan Biggins and Drew Forsythe. Musical direction by Phillip Scott. Canberra Theatre from 9–20 November 2021, and touring NSW, VIC, TAS, and NT.

Dismayed reactions were common when the Sydney Theatre Company advertised its final Wharf Revue last year — but the change was in fact merely structural, not fatal.  It’s back!

Austen Con 2021

Presented by 24carrotproductions. Abbotsford Convent Industrial School & North Magdalen Laundry, 6 November 2021.

This event is a celebration and exploration of the Jane Austen universe. Workshops, presentations and performances on aspects such as Regency dancing, letter writing, sewing, music and fashion all helped to bring this world to life. The enthusiasm for this event reveals a real appetite to lose oneself in the whimsical and romantic nature of Austen’s wit and social commentary. 

The SpongeBob Musical

Based on the series by Stephen Hillenburg. Book by Kyle Jarrow. Art in Motion Theatre Company. Directed by Terence Smith. City of Gosnells, Don Russell Performing Arts Centre, Thornlie, WA. Nov 5-13, 2021

Art in Motion Theatre Company’s The SpongeBob Musical is a big, colourful celebration of all things SpongeBob and the world of Bikini Bottom, with a large, hard-working cast and orchestra, that is presented with lots of pizzazz.

Celtic Spectacular

Queensland Pops Orchestra. Conductor: Patrick Pickett. Soloists: Sarah Calderwood, Greg Moore, Kevin Higgins. Brisbane Boys College Pipe Band: Principal: Bruce Grice. Watkins Academy of Dance - Principals: Tyler Watkins, Samuel Barnes. OzScott Australia Highland Dancers. Vocal Manoeuvres Academy. Concert Hall, QPAC. 6 November 2021

After being postponed for a month because of Covid, Celtic Spectacular was back in all its glory in a capacity concert at the Concert Hall. With 200 performers on stage – a fifty-piece orchestra, a 25-piece Pipe Band, a 93-voice choir, Scots and Irish dancers, and vocal and instrumental stars, it was as rousing and as noisy as the Edinburgh Tattoo.

Spider’s Web

By Agatha Christie. New Farm Nash Theatre, Brisbane. Directed by Sharon White. November 5 to 27, 2021.

Everyone, at some time in life, has become trapped in a spider’s web and the more you try to get it off you, the more entangled you become.  That is the case with this murder mystery in every way – you have solved it, you haven’t and thus you are absorbed in the plot and action full time. This play, which premiered in London’s West End in 1954, Agatha Christie’s her second most successful play after The Mousetrap. It is easy to see why. This production is basically set around that time in England on a set suitable for the period.

Wonder

Devised by WAAPA 3rd Year Performance Making students. Directed by Michael Barlow. Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, Fremantle, WA. Nov 6, 2021

The final performance from the 2021 Performance Making Graduates was part of the 40th birthday celebrations for Spare Parts Puppet Theatre. It ran for just two performances on the day of Spare Parts Puppet Theatre’s Puppets in the Park Celebration.

Calls to 1194

Written and performed by Sandra Thibodeaux. Soundscape by Panos Couros. Video imagery by Naina Sen. Darwin Entertainment Centre Rehearsal Room, Darwin. 29 and 30 October. 2021 Darwin Fringe Festival.

Occasionally, we have the opportunity to experience theatre that transports us into something like an ethereal flight through time and place. Sandra Thibodeaux’s epic poem is one such masterpiece, performed with a rare and restless authenticity and an equally brittle honesty and self-awareness. We were, from the first words, utterly enthralled and completely on her side in the life and death battle against her failing heart and her equally failing faith in the ‘gowns’ – the doctors and attendant ‘scrubs’ – who might save her life.

Mamma Mia!

Music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, book by Catherine Johnson, original conceived by Judy Craymer. Serasi Entertainment. Directed by Chris Dodson. The Regal Theatre, Subiaco, WA. Nov 3-13, 2021

New company Serasi Entertainment has burst on to the Perth theatre scene, with a high quality, beautifully polished production of Mamma Mia! at the Regal Theatre.

Attracting a top-notch cast, with a well-respected production team, Serasi has at the top of its core values “Generosity of Spirit”, (as well as aiming to be excellence driven, customer focused and future orientated) and this warmth shows in this open-hearted, feel-good production. The show is also expertly crafted and performed, with very high production values.

The Private Secretary

By Charles Hawtrey. Blackwood Players. Blackwood Memorial Hall. November 5 – 20, 2021

Adelaide is blessed with several vibrant theatre companies on its margins including Blackwood Players, with most having a strong mandate to entertain their local communities. Each company presents the type of theatre and plays that their audiences both demand and love, and in doing so, provide a niche community resource.

Subscribe to our E-Newsletter, buy our latest print edition or find a Performing Arts book at Book Nook.