Reviews

Cecelia

Written and directed by Susannah Thompson. Fringe World. Downstairs at the Maj, His Majesty’s Theatre, Hay St, Perth, WA. Feb 7-12, 2022

Susannah Thompson calls this her mid-life crisis cabaret. Spurred into action by the arrival of a bowel cancer screener for her 50th birthday, and her pre-teen daughter accusing her of being a Hufflepuff, this journey from 1970 to the present, through music and a chat, looks at feminism and women being silenced in various ways - especially when it comes to health care.

The Story of You

Written and directed by Amanda Crewes. Fringe World. The Actors Hub, Kensington St, East Perth, WA. Jan 23- Feb 12, 2022

The Story of You is a beautiful compilation of linked monologues centred around a young woman seeking connection. It shows a series of people’s stories, varying from heartbreaking to hilarious and shows us that listening to the stories of others is a way to connect, bond and learn.

Mechanical Man

Written and directed by Jonathan Hoey. Fringe World. Hayman Theatre, Curtin University, Bentley WA. Feb 2-12, 2022

Jonathan Hoey’s one person show, Mechanical Man, is an absurdist short play, that at least initially, is almost wordless. Swinging between awkward comedy and unexpected tragedy, it makes more interesting viewing.

Avenue Q

Music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, book by Jeff Whitty Fringe World. Directed by Olivia Collier. Subiaco Arts Centre, WA. Feb 4-8, 2022

One of the “bigger” Fringe Shows, Arise Productions’ Avenue Q played for a short season at Subiaco Arts Centre, as part of Subilicious and Fringe World. A slick, well sung and well-produced production which delighted audiences.

From All Who Came Before

Devised and performed by Milly Cooper and Ben Jamieson. Midsumma Festival. La Mama HQ, 205 Faraday St, Carlton. 8 – 13 February 2022.

From All Who Came Before inaugurates the season at La Mama HQ and breathes wonderful new life into this tastefully and lovingly restored venue. Milly Cooper and Ben Jamieson have produced an elegant and sophisticated piece of experimental theatre that tests many of the boundaries of stage performance. Almost every gesture and movement performed by the characters Avery (Ben Jamieson) and Lume (Milly Cooper) is audio described by the very soothing and hypnotic voice of Kristen Smythe. 

Grace

By Katy Warner. Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre, East St Kilda. 1-27 February 2022

Emma (Kate Cole), blocked writer of fairy tales, is in Copenhagen to receive the Hans Christian Andersen Award for children’s fiction.  She’s brought her Mum, Beth (Gillian Murray) along because she thought it would be nice and Beth would enjoy it.  She is, of course, wrong.  As they look over their luxurious (if claustrophobic) hotel room, we realise Beth is, apparently, an Eeyore, a faultfinder, a contrary old leftie, fearful, and suspicious of just about everything, including this award with which her daughter is about to be honoured.

And She Would Stand Like This

By Harrison David Rivers. Antipodes Theatre Co. Meat Market, North Melbourne. 3 – 5 & 7 - 12 February 2002

At the end of Pat Barker’s, The Silence of the Girls (the prequel to her version of Women of Troy), the female slave narrator, Briseis, asks, ‘What will they make of us [Trojans], the people of [the] unimaginably distant [future]? …they won’t want the brutal reality of conquest and slavery… the massacre of men and boys, the enslavement of women and girls.’ 

Sweating Like a Stuck Pig

By Ella Randle. Directed by T. Mutta Beilby. Fringe World. Hayman Theatre, Curtin University, Bentley. Feb 2-12, 2022

Sweating Like a Stuck Pig is a slightly crazy little story with some serious themes and big laughs. Sam, missing an old friend, dabbles with a Ouija Board and accidentally summons an ghost from the 1980s that he can’t return to the after-life.

Presented by T. Mutta Beilby at the Hayman Theatre for Fringe World, this is a rollicking romp that goes to some odd places including a beautifully staged psychedelic journey (which uses some of the most beautifully controlled projection that I have seen in a small-scale production). 

 

Dyad

Written and directed by Jordan Valentini. Fringe World. After Dark Pier, St Perth, WA. Feb 4-7, 2021

The Dyad is a land of shadow where forgotten things rot away. When her companion is pulled into the shadow, Nox needs to journey to this land of shadow to save her. An intimate and wordless production that mixes shadow puppetry and movement to create a strange and fascinating world.

Amazing use of shadow, perspective, and physical theatre, is backed with strong sound design from Jono Battista, to create a pacey adventure story that keeps its audience enthralled.

Cash Out of Hand: A Convict Tale

Fringe World. Irish Club of WA, Townshend St, Subiaco, WA. Feb 4-6, 2022

Cash Out of Hand: A Convict Tale is a moving blend of the story of Irish convict Martin Cash, with traditional Irish music. Playing to healthy audiences at the Irish Club, this was a moving and entertaining hour.

Based on Martin Cash’s 1870 ghost written autobiography, it tells of Martin’s conviction, his transportation to the colony of New South Wales, a move to Van Diemen’s Land and a second sentencing and punishment at Port Arthur. Appropriate music is performed throughout.

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