Reviews

600 Seconds

Fringe World. The Blue Room Theatre, Perth Cultural Centre, WA. Feb 5-9, 2019

600 Seconds is a short works development program presenting works-in-progress from emerging artists and artists who are experimenting with new ideas. Quintessentially Fringe, it is an experimental zone as well as being pure short form theatre. As an audience member it is likely that you will not connect to all of the pieces, but its short and sweet nature means that a completely different moment is always just around the corner.

Love Letters

Written by A.R.Gurney. Directed by Ray and Gloria Swenson. Brisbane Arts Theatre. Feb 3 – 14, 2019.

This play is a unique experience for the audience as it is invited to absorb the emotions and storytelling completely by the spoken word. There is no managed stage movement at all.  The two characters, Melissa and Andrew, met in childhood and we follow their lives and dreams from notes, letters and cards that they wrote right through to their twilight years. We engage with their dreams and disappointments, their awkward adolescence, their mature misgivings and, of course, their many missed opportunities.

Cake Daddy

Written & performed by Ross Anderson-Doherty, with songs by Lachlan Philpott & music by Marty Byrne; directed by Alyson Campbell. A wreckedAllprods presentation. Midsumma Festival. Theatre Works, Acland Street, St Kilda Vic. 5 – 10 February 2019

Ross Anderson-Doherty is a natural showman.  He has charisma, he engages the audience – they love him - and he’s just that bit confrontational.  After all, this is a show with a cause.  An argument.  A case to make.  You’ve heard of Weight Watchers?  This is Cake Watchers – a riposte to the careful, dieting, slim is beautiful thing, a counter charge.  At one point we’re invited to watch Ross watch a pink-iced cake – and not eat it.  As if abstinence is all.  This is a show about fat &

Cotton Wool Kid

By Zoe Hollyoak. Fringe World. Directed by Zoe Hollyoak. Rehearsal Room 1, State Theatre Centre of WA. Jan 25 - Feb 2, 2019.

Cotton Wool Kid is a roller coaster of emotions, a tenderly crafted story that is happy to turn the audience upside down without warning. A story of love and loss, where things can change in a moment, where the unlikely is plausible, yet the story is completely believable. 

Underground Railroad Game

Created by Jennifer Kidwell and Scott R. Sheppard with Lighting Rod Special. Ars Nova production. Malthouse – Backett Theatre. 30 January – 17 February 2019

Underground Railroad Game is full of twists and turns and shocking surprises.  And - warning adult’s only – full frontal nudity!

A Room with a View

By E.M. Forster adapted by Roger Parsley and Andy Graham. Genesian Theatre Company, Sydney. Director: Mark G. Nagle. Feb 2 – Mar 9, 2019

Photos of the cast interwoven with lovely shots of Italy play on a screen in the foyer of the theatre. Reproductions of Renaissance paintings adorn the walls. Others, stylishly framed in gold, surround the proscenium arch and reach around to encompass the stained-glass windows which are a feature of 1868 building that is the Genesian.

It’s so good to see a director and his creatives thinking beyond the stage and the script. Congratulations Mark! Your vision sets the scene as elegantly as E.M. Forster described it in 1908.

Sweet Phoebe

By Michael Gow. Red Stitch. East St Kilda, VIC. 3 February – 3 March 2019

Here’s a story about how a simple friendly gesture – like agreeing to dog-sit for a week – can disrupt two yuppies’ lives, change them, and reveal worlds they never knew existed. 

Dorian Gray Naked

Libretto by Melvyn Morrow. Music by Dion Condack. Limelight on Oxford, Darlinghurst. January 30 - February 16, 2019

The title of this one-man musical gave the audience a high expectation of seeing a fair bit of the birthday suit of Blake Appelquist. The posters plastered all over Oxford Street,  in the lead up to Mardis Gras, were hardly subtle.

Indeed, the moment of greatest dramatic tension was when the genetically blessed star looked poised to expose all. Sitting in the very cosy middle floor of the Limelight theatre, in close proximity to the star, the Director/Writer Melvyn Morrow left a little to the imagination.

Comedy of Errors

By William Shakespeare. The Raw Shakespeare Project. Various venues (SA). January 11-February 9, 2019.

The Raw Shakespeare Project are a fine ensemble of established and emerging actors who share a passion for bringing The Bard’s works to life, often in unusual or outdoor settings. Their latest offering, The Comedy of Errors opened on the 11th of January at the McLaren Vale and Fleurieu Visitor’s Centre, went on to Beach Road Wines, Marion RSL Club and will finish up at Fox Creek Wines.

The Flying Dutchman

By Richard Wagner. Melbourne Opera. Director: Suzanne Chaundy. Musical Director: Anthony Negus. Regent Theatre. Feb 3 – 7, 2019

Melbourne Opera’s first opera for 2019 was Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, and it was an unqualified triumph!

The orchestra, under the firm control of Anthony Negus, who conducted Tristan and Isolde last year, was superb, and still allowed the singers to be heard.

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