Reviews

King Roger is a Polish opera about the 12th Century Sicilian King, Roger II, but in reality is a psychological drama of a man’s inner conflict between Christian restraint and pagan pleasure. This co-production with Covent Garden and Dallas Opera featured an eight metre high head, which revolved in the second act to become Roger’s three-tiered home, or a metaphor for what was happening in his mind.

It was totally engaging and enthusiastically received by the capacity opening night audience.

At the Autumn Road Retirement Village, Minnie Cohen (Nancye Hayes), bridge player extraordinaire, nearly ninety, is perplexed by the sudden, mysterious death of her bridge partner.  She also worries about her unmarried thirty-eight-year old granddaughter and guilty about the son who never contacts her from the other side of the world – all as she continues her lifelong preparation for widowhood.  Her husband Morris (Rhys McConnochie), deaf and grumpy, has two aims left: to be with Minnie and to outlive her – because what would she do without him? 

What is reality? How much of our perceptions and beliefs are created or changed by insidious or even overt external influences? Can ‘alternative’ facts trump actual facts? How easily can the identity of individuals and societies be destroyed by power, propaganda and menacing officialdom?

These questions are contemporary, yet the themes defy time, demonstrated by George Orwell’s 1949 dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-four, which is equally as well-known as his other famous work, Animal Farm.

An excellent big brassy and juicy band filled the big barn that is the Rockdale Town Hall and out onto the stage sauntered a large troupe of well drilled tap dancers who exuded enthusiasm and panache.  

The Regals gave 42nd Street a red hot go and the combination of great tunes (“We’re in the Money”, “42nd Street” and “Lullaby of Broadway”), large dance numbers and the odd sprinkle of spectacle made for a very entertaining production.