Reviews

Julia

By Joanna Murray-Smith. Presented by State Theatre Company South Australia in association with the University of Adelaide, Sydney Theatre Company and Canberra Theatre Centre. Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide. 16-31 August 2024

It’s more than a decade since Australia’s first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, gave a speech that made global headlines. She took the podium during Question Time to respond to a motion proposed by the then leader of the opposition, Tony Abbot, which accused her of sexism and being unfit to lead. Her words that followed – her ‘misogyny’ speech – became instantly famous and globally viral.

Some Like It Marilyn

Lexi Sekuless Productions. The Mill Theatre Company, Canberra. August 7 – 24, 2024

This is not a straightforward biography of Marilyn Monroe’s life, but rather a show based around documents and artefacts related to Marilyn. We see her starry show business moments, her interviews showing her quick wit and easy charm, and how others viewed her. In all, it is a wonderful evening to remember what a star the actress was, and how very human she was as well.

Alice by Heart

Book by Steven Sater and Jessie Nelson. Music by Duncan Sheik. Lyrics by Steven Sater. Townsville Choral Society. Directed by Sandra Neal. Musical Direction Luke Gallagher. Choreography by Jarrah Scarsi. Vocal Director Emily Lafferty. Townsville Civic Theatre C2, 15 – 24 August 2024.

As the name indeed suggests, this is a re-working of Lewis Carroll’s much-loved Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Created almost 160 years ago, Carroll was even then accused of indulging in too many magic mushrooms to create the outlandish series of stories. It is no wonder as it peopled with exaggerated characters in increasingly weird and outrageous situations conversing in language peppered with silly puns, word-play and made-up words, and it might even be said that this version takes this hallucinogenic notion a few steps further.

All Boys

By Xavier Hazard. every other theatre company. Directed by Cezara Critti Schnaars. The Studio, The Blue Room Theatre, Aug 6-24, 2024

Testosterone filled new play All Boys, from every other theatre company, tells of ten boys attending an all-boys Catholic school in Sydney, between 2009 and 2014. Set during the time of the Royal Commission into Institutional Sexual Abuse, it looks at that issue as well as bullying, hyper-masculinity, generational and institutional privilege, and what boys will do when they believe that they are immune from consequences.

King Lear

By William Shakespeare. Presented by University of Adelaide Theatre Guild. Little Theatre, Adelaide. 16-25 August 2024

Shakespeare’s epic tragedy is reset to a post-apocalyptic world that has reverted to medieval power through monarchies, but this production from the University of Adelaide’s Theatre Guild retains the power, language and universal themes of its origins.

The Offering

By Omar Musa and Mariel Roberts Musa. Presented by Q The Locals. The Q: Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre. 8 August 2024

Reading Omar Musa’s bio will not prepare you for the transporting experience of his performance art piece The Offering. The only real clue is that the Queanbeyan local Musa seems to have a restless creativity, inspiring him to create poetry, novels, four hip-hop albums and latterly woodcut prints. The Offering is hard to fit to any one genre, which is equally the contribution of his partner on stage and new wife, avant garde virtuoso cellist and composer Mariel Roberts Musa.

Three Magpies Perched in a Tree

Written, Performed & Directed by Glenn Shea. Associate Director Kirsty Reilly; dramaturgy by Julian Meyrick. La Mama & MPAC present a Storyteller Production. La Mama Courthouse, Carlton. 14 – 25 August 2024

As we wait for Glenn Shea to come on stage, we range over Meg White’s resonant, evocative design.  There is a bare, dead tree, stark against what would be the sky.  There are outcrops of rock, some spread with skins – possum or kangaroo.  One outcrop holds a small pool of water – a sink for travellers.  Another a circular dish of whitefellas’ flour.  Upstage, a sort of battered, derelict structure of aluminium frame, cyclone wire mesh and missing panels. 

Pride & Prejudice in Words and Music

A musical reading featuring Nadine Garner with Madeleine Easton and Melvyn Tan. Presented by Spiritworks & Theatre Tours International. Directed by Tyran Parke. The Playhouse, Sydney Opera House. 14 August – 1 September 2024, then Fairfax Studio - Arts Centre Melbourne, September 27 - October 6.

Jane Austen’s classic story, Pride and Prejudice (written in 1796/97, two-and-a-third centuries ago), tells the story of the unlikely courtship of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. Despite what Austen called its ‘light and bright and sparkling‘ surface, it explores ever-present issues related to money and matrimony, rank and social class, morality and manners.

The Marvelous Wondrettes

By Roger Bean. Star Rae Productions. Australian Italian Club Prospect, Tasmania. Jan Gluszyk (Director). Kellie Cutler (Musical Director). 9-17 August 2024

The Marvelous Wondrettes is a jukebox musical which premiered for Milwaukee Repertory Theatre in 1999. Devised for a cast of four in an intimate setting, the show uses songs from the 50s and 60s in two acts. Act One takes place at the 1958 High School prom and Act Two at the reunion ten years later. The small stage at the Italian Club in Prospect was the right choice of venue.

Studio ‘24: A Disco Choir Experience

QPAC Chamber Choir. Concert Hall, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), Brisbane. 13 August 2024

The magic that happens when human voices harmonise is one of life’s great mysteries and thrills. Combine that with classic Disco tunes and you have a very special musical treat. QPAC’s Chamber Choir of more than 50 voices have been busy channelling the spirit of New York’s infamous Studio 54 to create a fabulous night of entertainment in their Studio ‘24 celebration of Disco – the music that gets mirror balls spinning and toes tapping.

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