Reviews

There’s a lot to love about The Curators’ production of the Lauren Gunderson play, The Revolutionists.

Set in Paris,1793, during the reign of terror in the French revolution, four feisty women face the sociological changes of their era. The characters are based on real women, however their meeting in this play is purely a work of fiction. Published in 2018, the dialogue is infused with modern twists and humour. Comedy is weaponised to defend serious political issues: women’s rights, democracy, freedom of speech, and equality.

Hungarian is not the language opera buffs are used to, and likewise almost every aspect about this opera is wildly fresh.  Composed by Béla Bartók for an opera competition in 1911, it was rejected by the judges as not having enough action or drama to qualify as theatrical music.

How wrong the judges were! In the hundred years since, the opera has come into favour for the searing cinematic style of the music and haunting narrative.

The Sum of Us, performed as part of the Perth Festival is Yirra Yaakin’s first queer themed production, and the first time that The Sum of Us has been performed with an all-indigenous cast.

High Performance Packing Tape starts with a massive bang. A lone performer lying prone on the floor strenuously expends all his breath to inflate a large balloon until the inevitable happens. It’s uncomfortable to watch, and immediately places the audience outside its comfort zone, as do many of the sequences that follow.

By using everyday items to create a performance, Branch Nebula have set out to challenge the audience’s notion of what theatre, dance and performance is, and can be.