Reviews

Carnival of the Animals

Music by Camille Saint-Saëns, words by Nick Enright. Directed by Michael Barlow. Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, Short St, Fremantle, WA. Jan 10-19, 2022

Camille Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals is a gorgeous suite of music, which Spare Parts Puppet Theatre uses as the inspiration and accompaniment for this excellent show. Set in Perth and telling a story that focuses on humanity, this show uses the original music, played on two pianos, an Australian narration written by Nick Enright, two strong actors and of course a bevy of beautiful puppets to create a 50-minute dreamscape that will delight both children and adults.

Cinderella

By Tom Whalley. Zealous Productions. Directed by Peter Cumins. The Regal Theatre, Subiaco, WA. Dec 22-29, 2021

It has been a very long time since we have seen professional pantomime in Perth, and while pantomime has been growing in popularity in the community theatres in the last few years, it is hard to beat the excitement of practically perfect panto in a big venue. Zealous Productions, under the artistic direction of Dixie Johnston, brings us the best of British pantomime tradition, with a cast that sing and act superbly.

The Nutcracker

Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Queensland Ballet. Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Choreographer: Ben Stevenson. Conductor & Arranger: Nigel Gaynor. Lyric Theatre, QPAC. 16-23 Dec 2021

You always know Christmas is just around the corner when Queensland Ballet’s popular production of this revered classical ballet takes to the stage. This is the ninth Christmas season of the ballet since QB first produced it in 2013, originally in the Playhouse but now a permanent fixture in the Lyric to accommodate the larger audiences it attracts.

Girl with the Flaxen Hair

Alex Raineri, Brisbane Music Festival. Judith Wright Arts Centre, Brisbane. 18 December 2021

It's been a busy year for award-winning pianist, Alex Raineri. As Artistic Director, he has been at the helm of the successful Brisbane Music Festival (BMF) and has also appeared with other groups, such as Southern Cross Soloists and Opera Queensland, throughout the year. BMF has been a mainstay of the City's thriving classical music scene in 2021, with refreshing and unanticipated collaborations popping up in unexpected venues since February.

Cinderella (The Slightly Deviated Version)

By Yvette Wall. Irish Theatre Players. Directed by Michael Balmer. Townshend Theatre, Irish Club of WA, Subiaco, WA. Dec 15-19, 2021

Perth's final community theatre show for 2021 is a sweet little Christmas treat, that is great fun. A world premiere production, Cinderella (The Slightly Deviated Version) was written by local writer Yvette Wall for the Irish Theatre Players, and despite its local origins, this is a show very much in the British tradition. Playing to packed houses, it is being received with joy and laughter. 

Pramkicker

By Sadie Hasler. Dirty Pennies Theatre Project. Theatreworks, St Kilda, Vic. December 12 – 18, 2021.

UK Playwright Sadie Hasler has insightfully addressed the hazy line between the mothers’ and the non-mothers’ dilemma in her play Pramkickers, presented by Dirty Pennies TheatreProject and Theatreworks, directed by Poppy Rowley.

The Best of Broadway

Director Tim O’Connor. Presented by QuidPro Co. Hayward Street Studios, Brisbane. Dec 10 – 12, 2021

This brief return season follows up on a successful season in October and it is obvious why it needed to return. Obviously there are differing opinions of what are the best of Broadway but the selection offered here is great. The tunes come from hit shows including Les Misérables, Funny Girl, Carousel, Annie Get Your Gun and The Wizard of Oz, featuring songs from most of the Broadway greats. How was this done?

Circus in a Tea Cup

Vulcana Circus and Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC). Cremorne Theatre, Brisbane. 16 to 18 December 2021

Circus in a Tea Cup is a brilliant concept, well executed, highly entertaining as well as moving and enlightening, dealing delicately but also boldly with the theme of surviving domestic violence. In this show, a humble home becomes the setting to explore what it is like to feel safe, laughing over a cuppa with friends, only to have that world turn topsy turvy and upside-down.

Boyle and Waters in LEOTARD

Debase productions and Metro Arts. New Benner Theatre, Brisbane. 9 to 18 December 2021

If you did ballet as a kid, or aerobics as an adult, if you had a sister who was an acting student or a cousin who was a dancer, your life has crossed paths with the leotard – that innocuous plain-colour or sequined-enhanced theatrical costume that, due to its versatility, has survived the decades. When performers Bridget Boyle and Neridah Waters stockpiled a collection of leotards to develop a new show, the nametags lovingly stitched into each hand-me-down piece got them thinking about the women who wore those items.

let bleeding girls lie

Written by Olivia Satchell with Chanella Macri, Belinda McClory & Emily Tomlins. Dramaturg Emma Valente. Directed by Olivia Satchell. Lauren Bennett and VIMH. La Mama Courthouse. 8 – 19 December 2021

Three quite different women sit in a row; they are giving blood at the Blood Bank.  Played by three very fine performers, they are clearly strangers, a random collection, no connection whatever beyond being there that day and donating blood.  And they are trapped.  Unless they rip the cannulas from their arms and bolt, they are stuck with each other for the hour or more the process takes.

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