Reviews

Brecht wrote this diatribe about a gangster-turned-political saviour when in exile back in 1941, as the rise of Hitler looked assured.  

He wanted audiences to see the fragility of our democratic institutions, and the urgency for vigilance against the honeyed, fake truths of the next brute to turn demagogue.   He would love this version directed so sharply by the STC’s Kip Williams.

With 144 cast members (by my best count), We Will Rock You, currently playing at His Majesty’s Theatre would have to be one of the biggest shows to hit Perth in recent times.

Big, bold, brassy and loud, We Will Rock You by Queen and Ben Elton is constantly updated to stay relevant to audiences and it remains as fun, vibrant and topical as it was when the show first played in Perth in 2004 - when some of the cast were not yet born.

A sell-out hit before it opened at the intimate Hayes Theatre in 2018, In The Heights now explodes into vibrant life on the larger stage, and into it's much larger space, at the Sydney Opera House, its short season promising, once again, to pack out its new 2,000 seat venue.

Hard as it is to best last year’s season, in places the return season blasts off into new dimensions in its upsized version.

As a collection of 10 plays (due to unforseen circumstances, only nine on the night we attended) Neurosis was a dark dramedy that compelled us to think about life’s biggest issues. The plays explored themes of racism, loneliness, death, manipulation, seduction and, of course, neurosis. The scripting was clever, with an above-average vocabulary which only occasionally delved into prolix. Many of the scripts had dark punchlines which appealed to the audience’s sensibilities.