Reviews

Laughing Horse Productions’ Jekyll and Hyde opened on Friday 13th, which seemed a perfect date for the opening of this very dark musical. Unfortunately, was the day that the Prime Minister announced the recommendation that large events be cancelled following the weekend - setting off a rash of cancelled shows, uncertainty and fear within the theatre community.

This musical is like a good slow cooking recipe. You add all the ingredients, leave it in a pot and come back hours later, where the lamb is falling off the bone. Many aspects of the production are very tasty. The music by Jason Robert Brown has a mixture of folk, country, pop and operatic influences. It’s easy to see why It won Tony Awards in 2014 for its score and orchestrations. The five piece ensemble assembled for the production by Musical Director Geoffrey Castles allowed the musical juices to stew sumptuously, as the temperature on stage heated up.

David Williamson’s plays often provide a microscopic view of some of the more staunch Anglo-Celtic aspects of Australian culture. The incisive manner in which he dissects some of the questionable aspects of stereotypical Australian characteristics shows a discomfort with the way they expose parochial attitudes and behaviours. Emerald City examines the film and publishing industries but echo many of Williamson’s own personal experiences of being a writer who is caught up in the cultural rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne.

More Than Opera is a small opera company which specialises in introducing opera in innovative ways to people who might otherwise not get to experience the art form. Artistic director, Alan Cook, who, during his European career had extensive experience conducting operas in Russia, had invited four of Russia’s finest for concerts in Melbourne and Sydney.

He brought together a 65 piece orchestra and presented an all-Russian program. It was excellent!