Reviews

Lucy Kirkwood is a much-lauded playwright, described as one of the best of her generation, and this production, from Black Swan Theatre, does justice to one of her most well-known plays. Well-acted and thoughtfully directed, this production is well crafted and fascinating to watch.

This is the second production of this play in Perth, the first being Theatre 180’s excellent pre-Covid production, performed in a tiny venue, and unfortunately not widely seen. Black Swan allows this story to reach a bigger audience.

Sunset Boulevard is about a movie star past her prime, trying to reinvent her career by taking a new ill-advised direction.

As per the original movie Norma Desmond is writing a screenplay with herself as a 16- year-old in an adaptation of Salome.

Cosi Fan Tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart holds a special place in my heart having performed as Roy in the famous Australian play Cosi which explores the patients in a mental asylum during the 1970s rehearsing their own version of this iconic opera!

The opera was performed in 1790 and was one of three written and produced operas in the space of four years. Instead of the usual 7 scenes over 2 acts, set and costume designer Elizabeth Gadsby has set the opera over two acts, in present day, in a villa on the coast of Italy.

History may be “one fucking thing after another” as Rudge says, but it is also about the individuals who live through it. The History Boys tackles sweeping concepts through the lives of eight boys preparing for entry to Oxford and Cambridge Colleges.

Juxtaposing classic literature with the popular culture, this production is underscored by well curated music of the 1980s. Various other competing forces shape the students; educational philosophies, opposing values and teacher personalities.