Reviews

The Point of Light was a fabulous choice for my final Fringe World show for 2016, a sweet and inspiring show from a supremely talented performer.

It's terribly frustrating to witness a show begin so promisingly, and to aim so high, only to fall so disappointingly short.

The exploits of the Kelly Gang are virtually second-to-none in terms of genuine historical - yet mythic - figures to emerge from - and endure throughout - Australia's history. There will presumably always be tremendous appeal to the idea of staging a re-telling of the tale, and probably always an audience interested in paying to see one.

Chase The Feeling is a multi-layered, genre-busting theatre piece that defies easy categorisation or explanation. It’s a poignant coming of age drama, that pulls at the heartstrings without watering down the harsh realities of life… it’s also a critical examination of the nature of theatre as an art form, that presents academic concepts to the audience in a manner that is both accessible and humorous.

Terence Rattigan was lauded in his heyday for using understated emotion in his devastatingly accurate plays about the emotional damage wrought by self-denial. Yet reviews slammed his Variation on a Theme when John Gielgud produced the play’s premiere in 1958. Critics believed then that Rattigan had lost his touch in this play and focused too much on the new trend for sexual frankness.

Variation on a Theme wasn’t revived professionally until 2014, with the resultant British production also achieving mixed reviews.