Reviews

A Girl’s Guide To World War

Music & Musical Direction: Aleathea Monsour. Book, Lyrics & Direction: Katy Forde. Musical Theatre Australia Inc. Events Centre, Caloundra, Qld. 11-12 October 2019 and Maleny Arts Council, 9-10 November 2019.

First produced in 2018, this new musical is being revived for runs at Caloundra and Maleny. Telling the true story of Agnes Bennett, an Australian/New Zealand doctor who, with other women, ran a hospital which served the Serbian Army in Macedonia during World War 1, the musical was highly effective in dramatising the frontline situation with comedy and pathos. More a play with songs, the cast of eight, all women, played a multitude of roles from doctors, surgeons, nurses, and ambulance girls, to Aussie soldiers and Serbian military Colonels.

Love/Chamberlain

By Bridget Mackey. Directed by Cathy Hunt. Theatre Works, St Kilda. 10 – 20 October 2019

That’s rock star Courtney Love and our Lindy Chamberlain.  Bridget Mackey’s play posits a connection.  Once you can accept – or get past – that premise, what we could get is an intriguing depiction of enduring loss and uncertain identity.  Courtney, would-be actress as well as a musician, about to break through with the release of her first album with her band Hole in 1994, is devastated by the suicide of husband Kurt Cobain – and accused of murder – and has her child taken away because she’s an unfit mother.  L

Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune

By Terence McNally. STARC Productions. Bakehouse Theatre. Oct 9th - 19th, 2019

Since January 2018 Adelaide’s STARC productions has produced seven plays where the focus is clearly on the actor and the text. Over this time the pairing of two of its founders, Stefani Rossi and Marc Clement has seen this tight acting partnership blossom into a mutually enriching team that is somewhat reminiscent of the pairings of legendary actors Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy.

Disenchanted

By Dennis T. Giacino. Directed by Lorna Mackie. The Studio, Subiaco Arts Centre. October 10-19, 2019

Disenchanted is an enchanting and dynamic look at the Princess Complex, as a bunch of familiar princesses give us the down and dirty on the princess experience in a cool and quirky cabaret.

Control

By Keziah Warner. Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre. St Kilda East. 1 October – 3 November 2019

A comedy sci-fi satire in three parts, Control is about variations of ‘control’: being controlled, attempting to regain control, and losing control.  In its way, it is reminiscent of Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones’ Black Mirror television series in which the characters adopt and use technology, only to face unintended consequences when they find that they are trapped and the outcomes are not at all what was expected.  One austere set, designed by Emily Collett serves for all three stories, with atmospheric light changes by Lisa Mibus.

Twelfth Night

By William Shakespeare. Directed by Dr Miles Gregory. Pop Up Globe, Crown Casino Perth, WA. Oct 9 - Nov 23, 2019

Pop Up Globe has arrived in Perth for a six week season. The brainchild of New Zealander Dr Miles Gregory, the season of four plays, Twelfth Night, Measure for Measure, Hamlet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is played in a pop-up recreation of Shakespeare’s second Globe Theatre, which has sprung up in the grounds of Crown Perth.

Relative Merits

By Barry Lowe. Directed by Porter James. Les Solomon/Lambert House Enterprises. The Butterfly Club, Carson Lane, Melbourne. 7 – 12 October 2019

In his program note, director Porter James says he wants to ‘tell [this] story today to continue the education for the younger generation on how far the gay community has come, and how we evolved into the LGBTI community of now’.  This production is a revival – and I suspect something of a reworking?

The Nutcracker

Choreographer: Peter Wright. Composer: Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The Australian Ballet. Adelaide Festival Theatre. October 8-12, 2019.

The Australian Ballet’s production of Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker is a superbly detailed and stupendously performed delight. This is a delicious treat for the upcoming festive season; traditional, but still with plenty of unexpected surprises that pop up like shining coins hidden in a rich Christmas plum pudding.

The Mikado

By WS Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Sydney. Smith Auditorium Lyric Theatre, Shore School. October 4 – 13, 2019

Entering a performance by the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Sydney is unlike any other amateur company in Sydney. You settle into your seat in the very posh Shore School theatre and look into the pit. There are members of the orchestra as far as the eye can see. I lost count when I got past 30.

Under the baton of Rod Mounjed the melodies of Arthur Sullivan were polished and sparkling.  As for the words, well that is a different matter. Wordsmith Melvyn Morrow was commissioned to write some updates.

An Intimate Evening with Faith Prince

QPAC & Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University. Cremorne Theatre, QPAC. 4-5 October 2019

This week Faith Prince has been in Brisbane giving master classes to the Griffith University Musical Theatre students, and this show was a master class in how to construct a cabaret act. With an impressive resume which includes a Tony award for her role of Adelaide in the 1992 Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls, the eclectic collection of songs was mixed with some amusing anecdotes from her career.

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