Reviews

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.

Open Homes is a wonderful initiative and collaboration between Jeffrey Tan from Singapore and South Australia’s No Strings Attached Theatre of Disability and is one of the highlights of this year’s Oz-Asia Festival. As the program notes state, ‘Behind every door of every home, there are stories that might never be told. Open Homes is a chance to hear them.

The thriller Wait Until Dark, produced by Fremantle Performing Artists, is playing to capacity audiences at The Actors Hub studios.

Unusual to see thrillers on stage, this 1966 classic keeps its audience on the edge of their seats, while it features a bravura role for its leading actress. 

Suzy Hendrix is a blind Greenwich Village housewife who becomes the target of three con-men searching for a doll, containing drugs, which Suzy’s husband has unwittingly trafficked from Canada, for a woman who has since been murdered. 

Originally commissioned to commemorate 100 years since the involvement of Australia in World War 1, rather than a look at war itself (there are no soldiers) 100 Reasons For War, a vignette style play, looks at the little wars played out in lounge rooms, classrooms and cafes, while we hear a long list of wars and conflicts that have occurred since the beginning of “the war to end all wars”.