Reviews

Miss Lily’s Fabulous Feather Boa is somewhat of a Spare Parts Puppet Theatre favourite, with revivals every few years to entertain a new group of children. The latest incarnation features a new cast and remains just as delightful.

A lovely little tale about a lonely little potoroo who finds her confidence at Miss Lily’s Tropical Holiday House, it has a myriad of lovely little subtle messages about conservation, the importance of not judging people by appearance, the value of building other people’s confidence of family and belonging.

Call her ‘bitch on heat’ and she will lap up the compliment. Alice Tovey has created a new brand of comedy performance and is currently on at the Butterfly Club with her show Doggo, for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

The Distraction morphs simple green screen trickery into ingeniously hilarious antics. David Collins and Shane Dundas, who form the renowned comic duo The Umbilical Brothers, incorporate a vast array of theatrical techniques in their show. It is not uncommon to see very inventive use of mime, puppetry, soundscapes and even slapstick in their performances. This show, however, ventures into some new territory and combines their eccentric brand of humour with special effects technology. The result is often sublime.

Ellida is a new adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s The Lady of the Sea, performed by WAAPA 3rd Year Acting students, with the creative support of WAAPA Production and Design students, and sensitively and thoughtfully directed by Will O’Mahony.

This 1888 work (nicely adapted) about marriage and freedom, still resonates today and features some excellent roles, especially for women. It is also an ideal vehicle for beautiful imagery and the production team have embraced their freedom with this wonderfully poetic work.