Reviews

Antonio

Presented by Butch Mermaid Productions. Adelaide Fringe Festival 2025. The Courtyard of Curiosities at the Migration Museum, Adelaide. March 11 to 16 2025

Antonio is billed as a ‘queer pop punk pirate musical’. Add a liberal sprinkling of Shakespeare and you have a production that goes where no show has gone before!

With a cast of 5, all playing multiple instruments, the pirate cast of Antonio sings up a storm on the high seas (or the Migration Museum). It is a song cycle of sorts set to punk rock. There’s a bit of everything in this production, comedy, slapstick, audience participation and most importantly songs with music by Ania Upstill, William Duignan, and Andy Manning.

Cat Power Sings Dylan

Adelaide Festival. Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide. 10 March 2025

‘Hey Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me / I’m not sleepy, and there is no place I’m going to’ – this well-known chorus from Bob Dylan’s famous song would be an apt description of the feelings from the captivated audience at Adelaide’s Her Majesty’s Theatre, listening to Cat Power and her amazing band.

Macbeth

By William Shakespeare. The Genesian Theatre Company. Directed by John Grinston. Genesian Theatre, St Joseph's Church Hall, 2B Gordon Street, Rozelle. March 8 – April 12, 2025

The Tragedy of Macbeth, known as Shakespeare's “Scottish Play," weaves a tale of murder, treachery, and madness, as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth plot to kill King Duncan after Macbeth hears the witches’ prophecy about his impending kingship.

Carmen

The Australian Ballet, with Orchestra Victoria. Regent Theatre, Melbourne. March 7 – 18, 2025

Do not take your children to see this ballet. This is a strange way to start a review but it needs to be said and said often – this ballet is not suitable for children. It not only includes adult themes but horrific depictions of gendered and intimate partner violence. Carmen should come with a trigger warning far more explicit than we are given. Art is a product of its time and so audiences need to be prepared to see ideas and ideologies that may be outdated. But just because you can show something doesn’t necessarily mean you should.

Complete Works: Table Top Shakespeare - Much Ado About Nothing / The Two Gentlemen of Verona / Romeo & Juliet

Presented by Forced Entertainment for the Adelaide Festival. Space Theatre, Adelaide. 8-16 March 2025

It’s an extraordinary undertaking to present every single play from William Shakespeare as part of an Arts Festival. No less challenging to do so with the only living performer being the narrator, whilst all characters are played by bottles of olive oil, cans of fizzy drink, or a pocket torch.

The Art of Storm-Whistling

Adelaide Fringe. Circulating Library at The Courtyard of Curiosities at the Migration Museum. 8-23 March 2025

John idolised his Uncle Max – but he disappeared at sea when John was only ten years old, and all he was left was a book of maritime folklore and a hagstone that reveals sirens and witches as their true selves.

When he’s old enough, he’s going to buy a boat, follow the treasure maps scrawled over his uncle’s book and find out the truth.

Tom Robins of Curious Roach Collective tells this story, racing through the excitement of mythical sea creatures and summoning a tempest with ill-advised pursed lips (the storm whistling of the title).

I Still Have No Friends

Adelaide Fringe. Odd Sockz Theatre. The Mercury Cinema. 7-16 March 2025

A young woman addresses an audience at a youth leadership conference when there is a huge explosion, a blinding light, and then… darkness.

So begins a twenty-first century retelling of Lord of the Flies, where instead of an island, it’s a conference centre; in place of the conch, is a school blazer, but the power dynamics of high schoolers trying to work out how to survive is familiar.

The Taming of the Shrew: Table Top Shakespeare

Presented by Forced Entertainment and co-produced by Berliner Festspiele. Adelaide Festival. 8 - 16 March, 2025

Have you ever been just a little enamoured with a mustard filled beer stein, or bewitched by a green juice extract that is able to disguise themselves just by inverting? Welcome to a 45-to-75-minute serve of a magical re-telling of all of Shakespeare’s 36 plays in eight days. Each play features a collection of household items, and for Taming of the Shrew, starring roles were taken by an orange, Tic Tacs, a flavoured soft drink, an ornamental rose and a delicately chosen and placed collection of shed and domestic essentials.

Come From Away

Book, Music & Lyrics: Irene Sankoff and David Hein. Director: Matthew Henderson. Musical Director: Tom Fernee. Choreographer: Natalya Munro. CentreStage. Play House, Geelong. March 7– 22, 2025.

Come From Away marks the 117th production in 15 years for CentreStage, Australia's largest amateur musical theatre company, based in Geelong. This award-winning musical, recognised with over 30 major theatre accolades, boldly addresses the sensitive topic of the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in New York. The narrative recounts the captivating true story of 38 aircraft (transporting more than 7,000 international passengers and 19 animals) being redirected to Gander Airport in Newfoundland.

That Knave, Raleigh

Adelaide Fringe. Main Theatre at Adelaide College of the Arts. 22 February - 15 March 2025

Sir Walter Raleigh spends a lot of time locked up in the Tower of London. Whether it’s for marrying the Queen’s lady-in-waiting without permission from the monarch, or treason against the King, Raleigh has found a way to live a reasonable life from within a prison cell, seemingly his only trouble being where he last had his clay pipe.

Raleigh cheats death with unusual frequency too: we’re told of death sentences aplenty, but delayed, then quashed, then renewed once more. This is a life of a true adventurer, but is he a visionary or a victim?

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