Reviews

Miss Bilby and the Moss-Covered Cleric

Written by Linda Aronson. Directed by Suze Harpur. Presented by Mates Theatre Genesis. Birkdale School of Arts Hall, Queensland. 25 – 31 October, 2021

Linguaphiles and fans of all things vintage and retro were in for a treat this Halloween at Miss Bilby and the Moss-Covered Cleric. The punny satire of Miss Marple and Agatha Christie style murder mysteries was brought to us by a cast and crew entirely made up of seniors. It was Mates Theatre Genesis’ inaugural Seniors Perform production, an initiative which serves to support the creative development of seniors in the arts.

Van Gogh Alive

Created by Grande Experiences. Produced by Andrew Kay in association with BBC Studios and Fane in partnership with Lexus. The Grand Pavilion, Northshore. 28 October – 24 December, 2021

Have you ever wanted to walk inside a beautiful painting? Have you wished you could get up and close to the tiniest brush strokes of a masterpiece? Do traditional art galleries leave you wanting a little more? Don’t worry dear reader, Van Gogh Alive has got you covered. This isn’t your grandma’s reverentially quiet, controlled, security guarded gallery. This is an in your face, immersive, multi-sensory experience.

All New People

By Zach Braff. T.E.N. Performing Arts. Directed by Nicholas Allen. Camelot Theatre, Mosman Park, WA. Oct 29-31, 2021

T.E.N. Performing Arts present this offbeat black comedy at Camelot Arts for a very short season. Written by Zach Braff, perhaps best known for his role on Scrubs, it is a darkly twisted modernisation of the drawing room comedy, set in winter at an expensive beach house.

Open Homes – Be Our Family

Hannah & Gabriel Lee. OZAsia Festival 2021, presented by Jeffrey Tan & No Strings Attached Theatre of Disability. Oct 22 – Nov 7, 2021

Be Our Family with Hannah and Gabriel Lee is the second Open Homes experience that I have seen. There are six in this extraordinary series, played in the privacy of the homes of real people who live in Adelaide and the surrounding regions, including Aldinga, Noarlunga, Klemzig, Athelstone, and Golden Grove. As with the previous one (Journey to the South) Be Our Family is a beautiful and uplifting experience.

Pinoy Street Party with DJ Kuya James

OzAsia Festival 2021. Lion Arts Centre, Adelaide. Oct 29, 2021

Pinoy Street Party is the brainchild of celebrated modern music maestro DJ Kuya James. This celebration of ‘everything that is Pilipino’ is a music feast incorporating traditional as well as modern Pilipino and Australian music, including Indigenous dance, hip-hop, poetry, and R & B. Pinoy Street Party was first successfully staged in Darwin and now, for the first time, in Adelaide as part of this year’s Oz-Asia Festival.

Queer as Flux

By Stace Callaghan. Directed by Leah Mercer. The Blue Room Studio, Perth Cultural Centre, WA. Oct 26-Nov 13, 2021

Queer as Flux is a dynamic, fascinating and heartwarming solo show, written and performed by Stace Callaghan at the Blue Room Studio. 

The product of The Nest Ensemble, Queer as Flux is based on Stace’s life experience, including transitioning throughout life, from football-mad tomboy, to school captain of a Brisbane Girls’ School, to proud lesbian and now a trans man, who uses they/them pronouns, told with a realisation that everyone is transitioning at all times, including ageing parents, and society itself.

Fourthcoming

Writer/Co-Director: Nelle Lee. Co-Director: Nick Skubij. Shake & Stir and QPAC. Cremorne Theatre, QPAC. 23 Oct – 7 Nov 2021

Sex, liquid courage and finding Mr. Right are age old themes in the dating game, but they’ve been given an up-to-the-minute contemporary and interactive twist in Nelle Lee’s  Fourthcoming, a riotous rom-com from the Shake and Stir team. This is one show where you are encouraged to use your phone, checking in with the app on the seat in front of you, and participating in the action and end result.

Stones in His Pockets

By Marie Jones. Presented by Joh Hartog Productions. Bakehouse Theatre, Adelaide. Oct 27 – Nov 6, 2021

Charlie Conlon is trying to persuade the food van to give him a second pudding when he first meets Jake Quinn. They are both extras on a Hollywood movie set in the lush green south-west of Ireland, along with what seems like half the town, most of which are related to Jake in some way. With a film crew being the buffer between the US leads and the local extras keen to earn their ‘forty quid’ whether or not the sun shines, there are some fifteen characters here.

Perahu-Perahu

OzAsia Festival 2021. Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide. Oct 27-30, 2021

Perahu-Perahu, which means ‘boats’ in Indonesian, is an intriguing glimpse into Indonesian history and culture told through music and wayang kuli (Indonesian shadow puppetry) with a modern twist.

It explores the precarious relationship between humans, their treatment of mother earth and outlines the history of travel across the waters between Indonesia and Australia, all told with the sea as a linking element.

Merrily We Roll Along

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by George Furth. Luckiest Productions and Hayes Theatre Co. Directed by Dean Bryant. Choreography by Andrew Hallsworth. Musical Direction by Andrew Worboys. October 21 - November 27, 2021

Famished music theatre fans, kept away from live theatre by the pandemic, will have much to feast upon in this banquet of tasty morsels.

The company, which had staged one preview when the dreaded delta virus closed down Sydney, have been able to spend the extended break continuing to rehearse at times, bringing a rich depth to the characters that might not normally be available in a tight Hayes Theatre rehearsal schedule.

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