Reviews

When I first started reviewing, some 6 years ago now, my first foray into Community Theatre was Fab Nobs. I’ll admit I was dreading it, but this little company, which always punches well above its weight, opened my eyes and not only made me a fan of their work, but a devotee of all great Community musical theatre – and believe me Melbourne has the best in the country. Fabnobs may not have access to the production budgets of PLOS or CLOC, but there’s the same level of commitment to excellence and talent.

The Diary of Anne Frank is not a play that one usually connects with a good night out. I headed to the Arts Theatre, Adelaide, on the opening night of this play, knowing that there was to be no way out for the characters in this story and feeling a depth of dread about going to the theatre to potentially be depressed. This beautiful production left me feeling neither of these emotions. What I did feel was calm and reflective. I was humbled by the experiences of these, and many millions of other Jews in the Holocaust.

Greta Lee Jackson. Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Evatt Room @ Trades Hall. 30 March – 9 April 2017

Greta presents how she undermines her very unsuccessful attempts to form adult relationships because of her desperate need to be accepted and her use of sex and drugs to ‘spak fill’ where the ‘trauma termites’ had eaten away her self-esteem.

The multi-talented Kate Mulvany has let her very vivid and extremely articulate imagination run wild in this farcical interpretation of the assassination of Rasputin, the mystic ‘monk’ who wormed his way into favour with the Russian royal family prior to the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. The play is a romp – a mischievous piece of theatre that pushes the boundaries of style and pace, reaching a crescendo of ridiculous, well-timed action that will either delight – or dismay.