Reviews

Nineteen Eighty-Four

By George Orwell. Adapted by Michael Gene Sullivan. Theatre Guild Student Society (TGSS). Little Theatre: The Cloisters, Adelaide University. Thursday 14 September to Sunday 17th September, 2023

TGSS, created in 2017, describes itself as ‘experimental and progressive theatre at the University of Adelaide.’ Offered as an opportunity for students studying at Adelaide University, they operate under the auspices of the University of Adelaide Theatre Guild, affectionately referred to as The Guild. Well known and well regarded for presenting mainstream theatre that is often challenging or ‘cutting edge’ in Adelaide, The Guild has been the training ground of many of Adelaide’s actors, directors and technical teams.

Mr Bennet’s Bride

By Emma Wood. Canberra Repertory. Directed by Aarne Neeme. Theatre 3, Acton, A.C.T. 7–23 September 2023.

Emma Wood’s clever prequel to Pride and Prejudice looks at how the Bennet sisters’ parents came to marry.  James Bennet has spent much of his 28 years antagonising his widowed father, Robert, who has raised him with help from his widowed sister, Mary Ellingworth.  Robert is increasingly concerned that, under England’s laws of inheritance, the estate of Longbourne will eventually pass to the son of his loathsome cousin Benedict Collins unless James marries and produces a male heir.  But James has no interest in thinking of the future or in

WARU - Journey of the small turtle.

Bangarra Dance Theatre. Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne. September 15 – 19, 2023

The story of Waru – The journey of the small turtle, created by the Bangarra Dance Theatre, is directed by Stephen Page and written by Hunter Page-Lochard, who join with two alumni dancers Sani Townson and Elma Kris to present their inaugural educational children’s story on nature conservation and preservation of country. It’s an enchanting reimagining of the Waru - small green turtle, a symbolised and totemic animal in the Torres Strait communities; currently on the verge of extinction due to pollution and predators.

Maria Stuarda

By Gaetano Donizetti, libretto by Giuseppe Bardari. Presented by Melbourne Opera. Directed by Suzanne Chaundy. Conducted by Raymond Lawrence. Athenaeum Theatre, 188 Collins Street, Melbourne. September 9 – 17, 2023.

In this powerful and emotional drama Donizetti imagines an encounter between Queen Elizabeth I and her rival Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland. The meeting between the two women contrasts two very dominant female figures and creates a battle of will between the two. This production makes that confrontation full of fire and passion where the women are fighting a range of battlegrounds: claims to the throne, the hearts and minds of the population, and the love and loyalty of key advisors. This is all beautifully and artfully put on display in this elaborate and sumptuous production.

Cry Baby

Written & performed by Isabella Perversi. La Mama Explorations. La Mama Courthouse. 10, 11 & 12 September 2023

Before Isabella Perversi’s arrival on stage, we peer at a very small television screen showing clips from movies in which an actor cries.  Her program notes tell us that 96% of female Oscar winners ‘have cried in their performance’.  So… is crying a good thing, a bad thing, a revelation of vulnerability, a manipulative thing, a game-player tactic, a sign of neurosis, or of self-absorbed self-pity?  For Perversi, it’s a disability that is ruining her life.  The show explores such questions, although the central question is, ‘Why can&rs

Summer of Harold

By Hilary Bell. Ensemble Theatre, Sydney. Directed by Francesca Savige. 8 September – 14 October, 2023

Sets are always a problem at the Ensemble. The ‘thrust stage’ – with audience on three sides - makes everything unusual. The actors relish being right in the centre of the action, but set designers can have difficulty in establishing the scene using a straight, flat background. It’s especially tricky with Summer of Harold: three one-act plays with widely differing settings, no interval, two actors. 

The Phantom of the Opera

By Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe. Ipswich Musical Theatre Company. Ipswich Civic Centre. 9 – 17 September, 2023

The chandelier rose at the Ipswich Civic Centre on the opening night of Ipswich Musical Theatre Company’s production of The Phantom of the Opera. Playing to a sold-out audience, this classic musical proves its enduring popularity thirty-seven years after it was first performed.

Tartuffe

By Molière adapted by Timothy Mooney. Directed by Gwen Browning. Limelight Theatre, Wanneroo, WA. Sep 7 - 23, 2023

Tartuffe or The Imposter was first performed in its original French in 1664. This translation, by Timothy Mooney, uses modern language, but imitates the original style, written in alexandrines or 12 syllable rhyming couplets.

She Dies In Moonlight

Written and directed by John Da Cruz. Mousetrap Theatre, Qld. Playing Sept 8 – Sept 17, 2023.

If you ever wish to have night at the theatre that is intriguing and absorbing in plot and characters, while involving the audience in what is happening on stage, then a visit to this play is the ideal. The audience members are given questionnaires to test how observant they have been and they can also ask the characters various questions before the villain is revealed. With so many possible killers in the scenes, do not expect the same person to be found guilty more than once.

Cosi

By Louis Nowra. Directed by Bruce Akers. Heidelberg Theatre Company, 36 Turnham Ave Rosanna. 8 - 23 September 2023.

Louis Nowra’s play Cosi is very poignant. It is a story set in a psychiatric institution with mainly psychiatric patients as the characters. Lewis (Rhys Carter) is an emerging theatre director who has been employed by the institution to help the patients produce a theatrical performance. The production certainly reflects the era in which it was written and the era in which the play is set. 

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