Reviews

The Weir

By Conor McPherson. Melbourne Theatre Company. Arts Centre, Melbourne, Fairfax Studio. 14 August – 26 September 2015.

In a rural village in the west of Ireland, a couple of locals – garage owner Jack (Peter Kowitz) and odd job man and carer for his dying Mammy, Jim (Robert Menzies) – go where they go every night, the little pub owned by young Brendan (Ian Meadows).  But tonight there’s some mild excitement: local-made-good estate agent, Finbar Mack (Greg Stone) is bringing Valerie (Nadine Garner), a newcomer to the village.  She’s come from Dublin – alone – and the word is, she’s attractive.  So there they are, three bachelors and a married charmer -

Matilda The Musical

Book by Dennis Kelly. Music and lyrics by Tim Minchin. Based on the novel by Roald Dahl. Lyric Theatre, Sydney. Opening Night, August 20, 2015.

The breathless anticipation for the opening of Matilda almost led to an unseemly fight between my 19 year old and 11 year old daughters, over who would accompany me to the starry, starry opening night.

Looking around at the uber A list audience it seemed everyone wanted to be there, including Hollywood A Lister Mel Gibson.

Is it worth the hype?  One hundred percent yes.

The larger than life twisted characters of Roald Dahl blend seamlessly with the quirky, rule breaking, sweet and sour music of Tim Minchin. 

The Dead Twin

By Chi Vu. FLIGHT Festival. Footscray Community Arts Centre. August 12-22, 2015

The Dead Twin is a mysterious and haunting experience that ebbs and flows into the genre of horror.  This immersive journey starts from a secret place and is quiet magically enhanced by an amazing haunting sound scape.  It is the very type of work that is satisfying for theatre literate audience with rewards coming from active engagement, remaining focused, observing nuance and piecing inference together.

The Platform at La Mama Collaboration

Platform Youth Theatre. La Mama Theatre, Carlton. August 12-23, 2015

What is not to be missed, at the moment, is the vibrant and exhilarating energy of youth surrounding and permeating every nook and cranny at La Mama. With its distinguished history of experimentation what better place than La Mama to endorse the experimentation of the young emerging theatre makers that is Platform Youth.

Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club

By Jeffrey Hatcher. Woy Woy Little Theatre. August 14 – 30, 2015

Jeffrey Hatcher is an American playwright and screenwriter whose biggest success to date is the brilliantly tender and emotional two hander Tuesdays With Morrie (staged in Sydney several years ago by the Ensemble Theatre, resulting in a short regional tour).

Gaslight

By Patrick Hamilton. Tugun Theatre Company, Gold Coast. Directed by Brenda Warren. Aug 13th to 29th, 2015

Gaslight, a Victorian Mystery Thriller, didn’t quite hit the mark at the performance I reviewed.

The outstanding set gave the audience a true feeling of the era as did the costumes.

Best Festival Ever: How to Manage a Disaster

Presented by Boho Interactive and Applespiel. The Street Theatre, Acton, Canberra. August 12 – 22, 2015

This fascinating work of interactive theatre allows attendees to participate as much as they feel comfortable doing so. It’s part theatre, part board game, and even partly a lecture. Come with a friend, or make new friends on the evening as you work together while sitting around a very long table to create what could well be the Best Festival Ever. While working together, playing games with consequences for your festival, and interacting with the narrative, you are incidentally learning more about things like systems science, game theory and more.

Dracula

Adapted from the original novel by Shake and Stir Theatre Co, (Co-Adaptors Nelle Lee & Nick Skubij). Director Michael Futcher. Cremorne Theatre, Brisbane. August 13 – September 15, 2015

You have to admire this young and enterprising troupe who travel the country with a repertoire of generally famous works they especially adapt for the stage. This is a demanding project to present on this occasion, with limited space and the use of a theme which is more than familiar ground for its audience.

But this particular company has its own personal stamp, and this production is no exception.

Love Off The Shelf

Book: Roger Hall, Lyrics: AK Grant, Music: Phillip Norman. Supa North Ballina RSL. Director and Musical Director: Paul Belsham. Aug 7th to 15th, 2015

Supa North’s decision to revive Love Off The Shelf has, once again, proven to be the right decision. Billed as “The Mills & Boon” musical, the flimsy storyline follows the ‘successful’ formula for writing a Romance novel.

Recreating their roles were Dean Doyle, Lee Millward, Liz van Eck and the multi-talented Brian Pamphilon (bringing back memories of Kenneth Williams from the “Carry On” films) revelling in his comic antics as nine decidedly different characters.

Bluebeard’s Castle

Monash University Academy of Performing Arts. Conductor: Warwick Stengards. Robert Blackwood Hall, Monash University. August 9, 2015

I encountered the Monash Academy Orchestra last year, when they performed with Victorian Opera, and was impressed. But what works do you program for performance when you have almost one hundred students to accommodate?

In this instance, for their free concert, they chose two twentieth century Hungarian composers, Zoltán Kodály and Bela Bartók, who wrote for large orchestras. Also included was a work by local composer Thomas Reiner for soprano and flugelhorn.

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