Written and performed by Amarantha Robinson. Directed by Jaime Wilson. La Mama HQ, 205 Faraday St, Carlton Vic. 28 February - 3 March 2024.
Amarantha Robinson has created an extremely evocative and alluring show. The performance is inspired by a myth from the Yoruba (West African) oral tradition and the coming-of-age experience of the young god Oshun. When Oggun, the god of metal and technology, flees he leaves Ile Ife and Earth in darkness and chaos. Oshun believes this is her chance to prove herself and decides to pit her abilities against this powerful god. She overcomes the ridicule by other deities, the Orishas, which trigger sentiments of fear and self-doubt and uses all her feminine wiles to seduce the evil Oggun.
Presented by McKellar & McKellar, Adelaide Fringe: Goodwood Theatre and Studios, 28 February – 2 March 2024
Just a picture-perfect family. Mum, Dad, two kids, and the dog. It might look ideal, but it’s far from it in this new musical from Dr Erin McKellar and Jeremy Anderson, where the dysfunctional family are only held together by the shared affection for the dog, Billy.
Simone Young Conducts Mahler’s Fifth Symphony. 28 February – 2 March, 2024
A warm, balmy late summer night in Sydney. The forecourt of the Opera House is busy – some just enjoying the sights and the buzz; others hurrying on their way to one of the events on offer at The House: opera, (La Traviata) theatre (RBG), cabaret (Gatsby) … Or the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s gala opening of their 2024 season: Mahler’s Fifth Symphony with Australia’s own Simone Young conducting!
By William Shakespeare. Produced by Australian Shakespeare Company. Directed and adapted by Glenn Elston. Musical Direction by Paul Norton. Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne - Southern Cross Lawns, 100 Birdwood Avenue, Melbourne. 23 February - 17 March 2024.
Drawing on the musical allusions inherent in this play and expanding them to develop music, dancing and song gives this text an inspiring new interpretation. Pop and rock music is cleverly woven into the play and parts of the text are given musical adaptations. The characters are dressed like new romantic artists and pop culture is instantly and seamlessly married to historical Messina where the play is set. Soldiers are swapped for members of a band (Benedick and the Love Gods) and Beatrice (Anna Burgess) and Hero (Larissa Teale) headline their own group (The Babes of Disdain).
Presented by Sydney Fringe: Made in Sydney and Clockfire Theatre Company. Adelaide Fringe: The Courtyard of Curiosities at the Migration Museum. 27 February to 3 March 2024
A nun who only speaks French, another woman who doesn’t speak at all, and an English-speaking man rescued from the surging seas. Communication between the three is piecemeal and misinterpreted, but eventually, the newcomer to the fishing village of Saint-Cotriade becomes a part of the team that during the day, fishes for their supper, and at night… well, that’s best left for the audience to discover.
Adelaide Festival. Mario Banushi. The Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre. Thurs 29 Feb - Sun 3 Mar 2024
Born in Albania in 1998, Mario Banushi is a director and actor and the creative force behind Goodbye, Lindita which premiered at the National Theatre of Greece in March 2023, the second work in a planned trilogy. He moved to Greece at the age of six and went on to study drama at the Athens Conservatory. Much of the heavy symbolism in this piece hails from the director’s cultural ties to the Balkan regions; indeed the work was inspired in part by the enduring image of Banushi’s stepmother surrounded by flowers upon her deathbed.
Directed by Stephen Page. Adelaide Festival: Glenelg (Pathawilyangga) Beach. 28 February – 2 March, 2024
‘Whale totem of mine, carry my spirit’ – the introduction to this wonderful performance that is Baleen Moondjan, on the sands of the beach, with the roar of the sea to our left, and the water threatening to lap over our blankets.
By Rob Drummond. Presented by Virginia Plain, in association with bAKEHOUSE Theatre. Direction and Set Design by Victor Kalka. At KXT, Broadway, Sydney. 23 February – 9 March, 2024
A thriller comes to Sydney’s Broadway. Usually thrillers belong to the cinema, but this one is definitely a theatrical event, with a moral dilemma in a creepy setting in a country far, far away. Where are we? What style of language am I hearing? We are definitely deep in the back-blocks but, with no program to aid me, I had no idea where. And when I obtained the brief program downloaded onto my phone, I still had no idea.
By Maxine Beneba Clarke. Directed by Tariro Mavondo & Courtney Stewart. Beckett Theatre, The Malthouse. 113 Sturt St, Southbank, Melbourne. 27 February – 17 March 2024.
The Hate Race is a magnificent adaptation of Clarke’s memoir which charts her experience of growing up as an Australian of Afro-Caribbean descent. Her story chronicles her experience of otherness and provides a moving insight into the emotional turmoil caused by the daily episodes of discrimination. However, Clarke’s book is emphatic about rising above this through pride in your heritage. This show is much more than a mere adaptation of the novel. It is a clever, creative, and compelling reimagining of the story for the stage.
Concert Hall, Perth. Perth Festival. 27 February 2024.
“Time and tide wait for no man,” says the Chaucer quote.
Paul Kelly has been exploring this theme on his latest album, TIME (2022) and touring a 2-hour concert version.
He has chosen songs from over 30 albums that remember old friends, “in the shadow of time”; celebrate lovers apart, “for whom time moves too slow” and of course “doing time”, perfectly captured in “How to Make Gravy”.
