Reviews

This fun-sized musical for kids deserved a longer run, playing just four matinee performances on the opening days of the Fringe World festival.

For those who remember the early days of Barking Gecko, this was a step back in time, with a packed studio and children seated on the floor at the front. A warm family experience and a lovely first theatre experience for some.

The comedy and tragedy of a Frenchman with a large nose was Edmond Rostand’s peerless creation in 1897. Written for a nation that was in danger of forgetting its art and culture, Cyrano de Bergerac symbolises the still relevant struggle between skin-deep attraction and the lasting beauty of a soul.

Ballina Players never cease to entertain their audiences and their first production of the year, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, has set a very high standard for the 2019 season.

With a cast of around 50, the stage sprang to life and there wasn’t one dull spot in the whole performance.

As is the practice at Ballina, the January show is their youth production and with the majority of the cast and their five piece band under 25 it was an exhilarating experience. The best show I have enjoyed for the ten years that I have been reviewing there!

Using music, dance, projections and snatches of dialogue, Kim Carpenter’s Theatre of Image emphasises the visuality of theatre as it explores one of the most famous and vibrant Australian art stories. Brett Whiteley and Wendy Julius met and fell in love as teenagers at a time when social and artistic boundaries were being challenged and broken. Together they embraced a new era of excitement and risk-taking … in life and art.