Reviews

Poulenc’s opera Dialogues Des Carmëlites is one of the masterpieces of the twentieth century. It is a powerful opera set during the French Revolution, based on an actual incident when some Carmelite nuns were sent to the guillotine.

David Hare’s Stuff Happens is a historical, political drama about the U. S. Invasion of Iraq. Dealing with real life events and people, it is performed as an ensemble piece by the Final Year Acting Students at WAAPA.

Performed on Riley Tapp’s clean, panelled stage, projections and vision help create a myriad of locales including The White House, Downing Street and hotel rooms. The rapidly changing settings are also differentiated by Bradley Hodgkiss’ lighting, with sound design by Matthew Clark and composition by Patrick Middleton adding emotion.

Coming to us from The Edinburgh Fringe Festival and presented by students who were directly involved in the action, The Fall is vital, vibrant, massively relevant to our multi-cultural modern world and totally worth catching.

It is a rousing, honest and reflective work of ‘docu drama’ by a group of young people, about a student revolution at Cape Town University that aimed to remove a statue of colonialist Cecil Rhodes – #RhodesMustFall movement.  This campaign also sparked debate about removing a statue of Cecil Rhodes in Oxford.

Villanova’s production of The Madwoman of Chaillot is not only a 70th birthday celebration for the group but also a celebration of their return home to their old, but now refurbished theatre after spending the last four years at Yeronga. That their audience were happy to be home was indicated by the almost full house.