Reviews

Chloe Black hails from Hobart, Tasmania. This is her first Fringe Comedy show in Melbourne and she is excited to take that first step to celebrate her new transgender identity and wants the world to know she is proud, loud and happy to finally find solace with her new self.

Her stories jump from her mother’s uncomfortable unease with her gender transition, through to a personal learning curve with a new breast size. She loves her new role as mother as opposed to fathering her eight- year old son.

Sarah Houbolt’s uncanny resemblance to Minnie Woolsley is truly haunting. Woolsley starred as her character Koo Koo in the 1932 film Freaks (Tod Browning), a pre-code horror film about carnival characters featuring disabled performers. The film was considered so shocking and controversial it was banned for 30 years. Houbolt’s affinity to the film and the character is completely indulged in this magical and eerie performance. 

Choreographer Lucas Jervies has spent years working on this world premiere of Spartacus, the latest iteration of Aram Khachaturian’s epic work. For The Australian Ballet, this piece has been spruiked far and wide as the jewel in the crown of this year’s season.

Brisbane’s newest independent community theatre Oz Theatricals is presenting the Queensland premiere of Peter Rutherford and James Millar’s darkly themed musical The Hatpin. An art-house piece, it’s a brave choice but one that paid off handsomely.

Set in Sydney in 1892 and based on a true story, director David Harrison has given this Dickensian tale an almost grand operafeel with a heightened sense of reality that underlines the horror of the plot - a young single mother who puts her baby into care with tragic results.