Reviews

Adore Handel’s Little Black Book

Adelaide Fringe Festival 2024. Adore Handel. Dom Polski Dwa at Dom Polski, Adelaide Mar 4 to Mar 10

Adore Handel’s Little Black Book is a one performer show that transports us back to 18th Century Europe and the sexual exploits of Adore Handel (alias Luke Bell), some successful, some not, all delivered with tongue in cheek and song.

Adore Handel is a real housewife of the 18th century telling tales of rubbing shoulders with Mozart, Bach and Vivaldi and is a time travelling pansexual fashionista with a quick wit and a baritone voice to die for!

After Rebecca

Presented by The Miscellany Co-operative and The Garage International. Adelaide Fringe: The Garage International @ Scots, 5-16 March 2024 (then ACT Hub, Canberra, 19-25 March 2024)

‘Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again’ is one of the most famous opening lines of a novel, originally written by Daphne Du Maurier in the 1930s. That story concerned a young woman in a whirlwind romance, whisked away to the country estate (Manderley) of a millionaire whose first wife tragically died in an accident.

Emma Gibson’s version moves the opening to be contemporary Australia, and whilst adopting similar themes and characters, takes the story in a different direction to become one frighteningly familiar to women everywhere.

Much Ado About Nothing

By William Shakespeare (slightly adapted & updated). Melbourne Shakespeare Company. Central Park, Malvern. 17 February – 10 March 2024

Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing doesn’t really need a lot of adapting or updating.  It’s contemporary already – although this version is set in the 1960s.

The Sound of Music

Music: Richard Rodgers. Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II. Book: Howard Lindsay & Russel Crouse. Director: Karen Shnider. Musical Director: Kent Ross (assisted by Alex Byrne). Choreographer: Suzie Pappas. Presented by Theatrical at the National Theatre, Melbourne. March 2 - 17, 2024.

The final collaboration between Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II, The Sound of Music (based on the 1949 memoir 'The Story of the Trapp Family Singers') has stood the test of time. Sixty-five years since its stage debut (nominated for 14 Tony Awards) and nearly sixty years since its movie release (winning five Oscars including Best Picture) audiences still can't get enough of it!  The attraction of this musical is universal and can even soften the most resistant individuals who are not typically interested in theatre.

The Rest is Politics

Adelaide Festival: Adelaide Town Hall. 3 March 2024

Writers’ Week is an essential component of each Adelaide Festival, where writers from across Australia and around the world flock to talk about their work to crowds of people who gather in the lush surroundings of the parklands. It’s a diverse and sometimes controversial event – there’s often attempts to ‘cancel’ a speaker who has said something someone else didn’t like. However, in most cases, our democratic principles of free speech win out, and everyone gets their chance to engage in honest debate.

A Body Which Draws Itself

By Micah Rustichelli. Presented by Metro Arts. New Benner Theatre. 29th February, 2024

At the heart of Brisbane's vibrant arts scene lies Metro Arts, an avant-garde hub pulsating with creativity. It was within this dynamic space that local artist Micah Rustichelli unveiled an evening of captivating performance art, showcasing two distinct yet thematically intertwined works - "A Body Which Draws Itself" and "Demon Rhythm" with the latter being a visual arts installation of small canvas works on the rear wall of the theatre space, each based on images stolen from the internet.

Grand Theft Theatre

Pony Cam & David Williams. Adelaide Festival. Latvian Hall ‘Tālava’, Wayville. Sun 3 Mar - Mon 11 Mar 2024

Not your usual Festival venue - a cherished community hall on the southern fringe of the city.  Nor is this the customary measured stroll into a performance where you are ushered to a numbered seat in a softly illuminated auditorium.  The audience arrives as the cast wanders about, warms up or says hi.  We interact with various performers, take a sticky label to write the name of our favourite theatre work thereon and affix it to our chest, somewhat gingerly wondering if one might be called upon to participate in some way.  Next, the chaos of finding a seat in the random

Villains: A Dizney in Drag Fantasy

Adelaide Fringe Festival 2024. The Hairy Godmothers. The Moa at Gluttony, Rymill Park, Adelaide. Feb 27 to Mar 16, 2024

Villains: A Dizney in Drag Fantasy is the Schmigadoon of the Disney franchise. Though I should point out, this production is not connected with Disney Films in any way. The songs sound like the Disney songs we love, but the lyrics bear no relationship whatsoever.

CUSP

Presented by Small Flock. Adelaide Fringe: The Jade. 3 – 11 March 2024

The husky vocals of Jamie Alexandra wisp around the double bass player standing in the centre of the room, and this qualified sexologist promises to ignite conversations and cultivate a safe space for positive sexuality. We’re told this will be the education we should have already had.

A Girl

Presented by C J Productions and Rek Kieron. Adelaide Fringe: Star Theatres. 1 – 5 March 2024

A young Indian woman marries, enjoys her life as part of a loving couple, until there is pressure from her mother-in-law, and then her husband, to conform to the expectations of the ‘family’. It’s a shocking story – in part because it’s inspired by events happening right now – told in a series of vignettes. Three generations of women show how the patriarchal culture is still ingrained, and how short-sighted it is not to realise its inevitable outcomes.

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