Reviews

On a windswept evening in Bardon in a lovely, intimate venue, a small independent troupe called ‘The Curators’ performed Uncle Vanya. Chekhov’s work was appreciated by a supportive opening night crowd that clearly enjoyed the script’s existential ennui, unrequited love and dark humour.

In a first collaboration with Victorian Opera, the adventurous Sydney Chamber Opera delivers this famously problematic chamber opera from Benjamin Britten.  

The Rape of Lucretiais an ancient myth about a uniquely virtuous Roman wife who is raped by the envious Traquinius, son of the Etruscan tyrant.  Her subsequent shame and suicide galvanised Roman outrage in the formative days of its republic. 

Three young women, university freshers, move into a share house: Di (Nadine Garner), a sporty lesbian business student, bursting with energy, Viv (Belinda McClory), a judgemental, driven, ambitious design student intent on escaping her roots, and Rose (Mandy McElhinney), more middle-class, insouciant, a student of Art History.  It’s the early 80s.  Their friendship, over the next twenty-seven years, is the subject and the heart of this light but amusing and entertaining show.  It’s made all the more entertaining by this cast, who individuate their characters beaut

BKO continues to impress. As one of a small number of amateur companies, they stand out with their innovative direction and committed performances.

This was a shortened version of the opera, but only those familiar with the opera would have noticed. Conductor, James Penn, had done an excellent job rearranging the music. Surprisingly, the ballet in the third act was included, without the traditional ballet dancers. However, this was given quite a different take with the girls flaying the boys with whips! It worked very well.