Reviews

Same Time, Next Year

By Bernard Slade. IpSkip Productions. Bakehouse Theatre, Adelaide. Sep 29 – Oct 2, 2021

Bernard Slade wrote Same Time, Next Year in 1975 – though the themes are no less relevant nearly forty years on. Two people meet in a hotel, wake up next to each other the next morning, and though both happily married to other people, continue to meet up just once each year, on the anniversary, and in the same hotel room of their first encounter. They become intimate much more than just physically, and over the next twenty-five years, the couple share their many neuroses, struggles and successes, within the context of the ever-changing world they inhabit.

Songs of Love and War

Presented by Opera Queensland and The University of Queensland School of Music in association with Urban Art Projects (UAP). Director: Patrick Nolan. Musical Director: Dane Lam. Head of Music: Narelle French. Chorus Master Shaun Brown. Arranger Demetra Politakis. Urban Arts Project foundry. 26 September, 2021

It’s fantastic to see so many producers taking their shows to new and exciting venues. It’s always sensational to see them take a risk, especially when that risk pays off so beautifully, as is the case with Songs of Love and War. The show is a collaboration between Opera Queensland and the University of Queensland School of Music, performed in the exciting space where Urban Art Projects builds enormous artworks destined for public spaces around the world.

Disney’s The Little Mermaid

By Allan Menken, Howard Ashman, Glenn Slater and Doug Wright. HAMA. Directed by Olivia Collier. The Regal Theatre, Subiaco, WA. Sep 24 - Oct 10, 2021

HAMA’s production of The Little Mermaid is a beautifully produced, sumptuous treat of a show. Perfectly timed for the school holidays, it’s a top-notch production with appeal for all ages.

With excellent production values, from the moment the blue shimmery curtain opens on this production, this show has a gorgeous look, with an impressive multilevel set, designed by Maeli Cherel, picturesque costumes and a stunning lighting plot from Max Mackenzie. There is some great makeup and hairstyling from Manuao TeAotonga.

Class of 2021 Acting and Musical Theatre Showcase

Griffith University Queensland Conservatorium. Burke Street Studio Theatre. 22–25 September, 2021

Having weathered the storms of Covid-19 and lockdowns, Griffith's Class of '21 must surely be the most resilient alumni to have ever graduated from the university's acting and musical theatre courses. The students have had to adapt to remote learning through online classes and workshops to maintain their quest to be industry-ready.

Ladies’ Day

By Amanda Wittington. Ipswich Little Theatre. Director: Jane Sheppard & Di Johnston. Incinerator Theatre, Ipswich, Qld 23 Sep – 9 Oct 2021

With the spring racing carnival just around the corner, Ipswich Little Theatre’s choice to program this trifle was sound, and with a strong cast, the laughs were plenty.

Hay Fever

By Noël Coward. Directed by Barry Park. Old Mill Theatre, South Perth WA. Sep 24-Oct 9, 2021

Old Mill Theatre’s production of Hay Fever shows that Noël Coward is still a great seller, with this show, advertised as “the well-loved comic masterpiece”, all but sold-out before it opened.

Z6QCQ6 Code of Rituals

Written and directed by Bello Benischauer. Existence Theatre. Victoria Hall, Fremantle WA. Sep 22-25, 2021

Existence Theatre’s World Premiere of Z6QCQ6 Code of Rituals is, appropriately, a highly ritualistic piece of theatre. Intimate and immersive, with audience involvement, it combines movement and dance with physical theatre and asks its audience to “witness and experience what it is like to feel”.

The Drowsy Chaperone

Music & lyrics: Lisa Lambert & Greg Morrison. Book: Bob Martin & Don McKellar. Savoyards. Director: Robbie Parkin. Musical Director: Benjamin Tubb-Hearne. Choreographer: Natalie Lennox. Star Theatre, Manly, Qld. 25 September – October 9, 2021

The ‘Man in the Chair’ character in this musical confection reminds us that good musical theatre should be ‘short, free of actors who roam the audience, and blessed with a story and a few good songs that will take me away.’ The Drowsy Chaperone does just that, and puts a smile on everyone’s face in the process.

The One Who Planted Trees

By Amberly Cull and Nick Pages Oliver. Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, Fremantle, WA. Directed by Philip Mitchell. Sep 25-Oct 9, 2021

Rather than attend the official Opening Night of The One Who Planted Trees, I had the pleasure of attending a schools matinee with many dozens of children, all of whom appeared to be enraptured by Spare Parts Puppet Theatre’s very first musical.

Students from Sawyers Valley Primary are lending their very informed voices to this review. Yr 2-6 students attended the performance as part of their Performing Arts and Sustainability studies.

Evita

Music by Andrew Lloyd-Webber. Lyrics by Tim Rice. The Gilbert & Sullivan Soc. of SA Inc. Arts Theatre, Adelaide. Sept 23 – Oct 2, 2021

The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of SA Inc are presenting one production in 2021 and what a production it is! The iconic musical Evita by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice centres on the life of Argentine political leader and second wife of Argentine President Juan Peron and her rise from impoverished beginnings to become Argentina’s answer to Princess Diana.

It may be sixty-nine years since Evita’s death, but the musical’s themes of duality, politics and female empowerment still resonate.

Subscribe to our E-Newsletter, buy our latest print edition or find a Performing Arts book at Book Nook.