Reviews

Once again, the Brisbane Music Festival has come up with an energising programme presented in a hidden gem venue. This time, Soprano Bethany Shepherd curated a programme to highlight the Baroque period’s forgotten female composers – women who defied the constraints of their time to have their musical voices heard. Bethany’s programme was an intriguing glimpse into the domestic and professional life of women in the 1600s, focusing on three ways Baroque women could be creative through music.

Twenty years ago, working class, from a Vietnamese immigrant family Lucy (Ngoc Phan) got a scholarship to Laurinda, an exclusive (i.e., private, snooty, high fees) girls’ school.  Now thirty-five, and still bearing the scars, she’s back at Laurinda to receive an award.  Worse, it’s an award as a teacher and it is to be presented to her by her chief school days’ nemesis and tormentor, Brodie, who is now a judge.  Lucy is having a panic attack. She’s hiding out in the loo.

2022 is the second year of the Winter Light Festival. Unlike Dark MOFO, which positions itself to celebrate shortened days of fear and shadow, Winter Light is a festival of hope and celebration.

Funded principally by the Salamanca Arts centre with contributions from the Hobart City council, the Australian Government Rise Fund, and Festivals Australia, Winter Light is a celebration of inclusion, youth and cultural diversity which includes art installations, street performers, music, dance, burlesque, circus, and new works from emerging voices.

Those of a certain age might remember the classic Hitchcock film of the same name which consolidated the spy genre of the innocent man on the run. This stage version of The 39 Steps uses most of the original dialogue, delivered by only four actors, to create a rollicking parody.

Jarod Goldsmith (6’ 1” with a stylish pencil thin moustache) immediately establishes the tone of the work with one expertly raised eyebrow. Goldsmith, as John Hannay, is the only actor not undertaking another role. His is a pivotal and assured presence.