By Paul Slade Smith. Centenary Theatre Group. Community Hall, Chelmer, Qld. 21 May – 11 June, 2022
Actor/playwright Paul Slade Smith’s Unnecessary Farce has been given a riotous production by Centenary Theatre Group, with the requisite number of door slammings, characters losing their clothes, and silly situations bringing laughs. Premiering in 2006, this farce is the sort of show community theatre audience’s love, and William McCreery-Rye’s cast dive into the high jinks with relish.
It was heartwarming to see an almost full house at the Queensland Symphony Orchestra's matinee performance of this Mozart classic. All of our national orchestras have suffered at the hand of the pandemic, the QSO being no exception, sadly, particularly as it has grown and flourished to become one of Australia's most respected orchestras, even internationally.
By Morgan Rose. Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre. 14 May – 5 June 2022
In a minor outlet of a fast-food franchise, career manager Troy (Kevin Hofbauer) tries to enthuse, motivate, and control his mostly disaffected crew as they set up for the day.
By Bella Alexander, Noemi Finaldi and Charlie Macgregor. UWA Pantomime Society. Directed by Elizabeth Hamilton and Isaac Whiteside. The Dolphin Theatre, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA. May 19-21, 2022
The Wizard of Aus is an original pantomime presented by UWA’s Pantomime Society. Playing for a very short season at the Dolphin Theatre, it is very loosely based on the L. Frank Baum story and is aimed at an adult audience.
Like most productions at the moment there have been some cast changes, with one performer hospitalised very shortly before opening and another, actor and writer Bella Alexander, succumbing to Covid at the last minute - her roles nicely covered by other cast members.
By Tim Winton. Adapted by Nick Enright and Justin Monjo. Glenbrook Theatre Company. Glenbrook Cinema. 20-28 May, 2022
Set in Perth between 1944 and 1964, Tim Winton’s novel is the saga of the Pickles and the Lambs, two families who share a large house in one of the poorer areas of the city. The Pickles inherited the house, which is haunted by the ghosts of badly treated aboriginal girls whose spirits have been trapped there until “love and new life” comes back to the house.
By Adam Fawcett. Lab Kelpie. Director Lyall Brooks. Riverside Theatre, Parramatta. 19-21 May, 2022
Tom is an AFL legend. Fit, muscular, toned, he embodies masculinity. He comes from Brighton, a wealthy background. Noah is a cleaner, sent by the agency for Tom’s approval. He is hesitant, shy, tentative, certainly a bit doubtful about taking this job. They are opposites it seems, so why does it feel so tense?
By Meyne Wyatt. Sydney Theatre Company and Black Swan Theatre. Directed by Shari Sebbens. Wharf Theatre. May 7 - June 11, 2022.
Meyne Wyatt’s electrifying performance of a monologue from this play on the ABC’s Q and A program means that most people attending wait in anticipation for the To Be Or Not To Be moment or, if it were an opera, the grand aria.
This level of recognition is an extremely rare achievement for an Australian play and in the revival performance it packs just as much punch.
By Fiona Spitzkowsky. Theatre Works. Director: Julian Dibley-Hall. 18th - 28th May 2022
Exploring of the intersection of the impacts of climate change and family relationships, this play is set in the aftermath of a devastating bushfire which has obliterated a family farm. The family of mother (Emily Tomlins) and two daughters (Brigid Gallacher and Chanella Macri) gather on the site of the house amid the destruction. One of the daughters has brought a friend (John Marc Desengano) as ‘moral support’ and he acts to add fresh insights to the family members’ understanding of each other.
By Jane Bodie, based on the book by Eva de Jong-Duldig . Music by Anthony Barnhill, Lyrics by Barnhill, Bodie, Tanya de Jong – plus music of Franz Lehar, Johannes Brahms, Max Janowski. Umbrella Productions. Chapel off Chapel, Prahran. 18 – 28 May 2022.
Driftwood is a passion project for Tanya de Jong, the granddaughter of two extraordinary Jewish refugees, Slawa and Karl Duldig.
Music by Jeanine Tesori. Book & Lyrics by Brian Crawley. Lane Cove Theatre Company. The Performance Space @ St Aidan’s - 1 Christina Street, Longueville May 14 – 28, 2022
Lane Cove Theatre Company’s production of Violet is a musical not to be missed. It is complicated, sweet and topical all at once.
