Reviews

One man shows have the possibly of being exceedingly boring, however, this performance in Every Brilliant Thing by actor Jason Klarwein had the audience wanting more.

Klarwein commenced his performance on the sparse but compact in-the-round-set, by getting off his chair in the audience and communicating in a normal voice. There was no grand drum-roll entrance, nor did he try to impress with Richard Burton-like vocals. Klarwein, casually dressed, simply talked to us. 

Welcome to the world of gay throuples in New York. S. Asher Gelman is the writer, director and choreographer of this hit play about a married gay couple who take in a third lover. Gelman knows the deal well – he lives in New York with both his husband and his partner, plus two cats.

“An afternoon’s beautiful journey into night” was how SXS’s fresh and new Artistic Director Tim Munro described HUSH, the first of a series of three SXS gigs this year at QPAC. HUSH was an unusual but inspired choice – a carefully curated mix of quiet, contemplative pieces to soothe the soul. Perfect for a Sunday afternoon. You know you are in for a treat when the Grammy-award-winning flautist also has a melodica in his kit bag, and the afternoon’s presentation features guest artist, guitarist Karin Schaupp.

Listening to a programme of John Williams film music is not like any other classical gig. The scores are the soundtrack to our lives – starting in the 1960s (Mr Williams won his first Academy Award in 1967), moving through to the Spielberg-Lucas blockbuster era of the 1980s, and then the Harry Potter franchise in the early 2000s. His music helped us believe in a 20-foot killer shark (Jaws), that aliens wanted to communicate with us (Close Encounters of the Third Kind) and that a man could fly (Superman).