Reviews

Can there be any milestone in one’s life that is more bursting with uncertain potential - for either blissful highs or ghastly lows – than the onset of puberty?

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.

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.

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.