Reviews

Into The Woods

Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by Lames Lapine. Directed by Elodie Boal. Redcliffe Musical Theatre, Redcliffe. 17 February – 5 March 2022

First appearing on Broadway in the 1980’s, Into the Woods follows a Baker and his wife, who wish to have a child; Cinderella, who wished to attend the King’s Festival; and Jack, who wishes his cow would give milk. The would-be parents learn that their trouble is due to a witch’s curse, which they set off to break. They succeed but then suffer the consequences. This contrast between the hopes and dreams of Act 1, and the happenings of Act 2 was brought to the audience through good singing and some very good acting.

The Bunyip Aristocrats

Adelaide Fringe. Presented by The Green Guys Co. Bakehouse Theatre. 21 February to 19 March 2022

Henry Hobbes is an ageing and pompous former judge whose irritation with Australia led him to secede his onion farm to create his personal micro-nation, ‘The Kingdom of Hobbes’. He summons his two estranged children to his court, who turn up at the ‘border’ to discover what he wants from them, and to see what they can get from their father.

Medea and Jason

By Loucas Loizou. Adelaide Fringe. 18 February – 19 March, 2022 at various venues

The once-married couple haven’t seen each other for thirty years, until they meet in Athens, both old and mellowed. They discuss the past, offering differing interpretations on events that shaped their lives many years before.

The Greek mythology of this couple is more than 2,500 years old – Euripides’ play was first performed in 431BC – and there have been scores of interpretations and translations since. Loucas Loizou’s story is a kind of sequel: a retrospective of the events, softened a little by time.

Fireworks and Fury

Southern Cross Soloists. Concert Hall, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), Brisbane. 20 February 2022

In 2022, Queensland's Southern Cross Soloists (SXS) celebrate more than 25 years of creating music together, working with world-class soloists and commissioning more than 120 world premieres. They started the year with Fireworks and Fury, which saw the debut of one of their new pieces for their SXS Didgeridoo Commissioning Project, featuring guest soloist and didgeridoo Artist in Residence, Chris Williams, and a special performance by 2022 guest artist in residence, the acclaimed Russian-Australian concert pianist Konstantin Shamray.

The Great Gatsby: An Immersive Theatrical Experience

Wonderland Bar Potts Point. Viral Ventures Global. Directed by Beth Daly. Feb 18 – Jun 26, 2022

When they said it was an immersive theatrical experience, they were not making it up. Just minutes after stepping into the century old terrace in Sydney’s Kings Cross you are part of the action.

The intimate audience of forty lean at a bar, squeeze up and down stairs, sit on leather lounges, and are ushered into different rooms, never sure where the action will take place.

Soaring Heights

Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO). Concert Hall, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), Brisbane. 19 February 2022

Wow! The QSO kicked off their 2022 season in energetic style with inspiring music to set the soul ascending – two incredible pieces by composers working in the Romantic classical music period. Fittingly both composers are from Germany, the home country of our Maestro, Johannes Fritzsch. The first half of the concert was the 'Piano Concerto No.

Otello

By Guiseppe Verdi. Opera Australia. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. 19,25 Feb; 2,5,8,16,19 March, 2022

Otello is a Venetian general and the governor of Cyprus. Iago is his ensign. They have just returned to Cyprus in a violent storm after a victory against the Turks. The city is celebrating, but not everyone is happy! Otello has overlooked Iago by appointing another officer, Cassio, as Captain of the Navy. And Iago is angry! He is a malicious man and plots revenge against them both. The outcome is a cruel scenario based on deceit, manipulation, jealousy … and gullibility.

Betty

By Jules Allen. Dramaturg & Director Iain Sinclair. Theatre Works, St Kilda. 16 – 26 February 2022

Is it a coincidence or the zeitgeist that we have all at once a series of distinguished and anguished, complex works - about mothers and daughters?  There was the recent And She Would Stand Like This from the Antipodes Theatre Company; there is Grace at Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre; and there is the movie adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s The Lost Daughter.  And here we have Betty – like Grace and The Lost Daughter – a story that depends on a series of reveals about the past that make sense about the present

HÜMAN

Adelaide Fringe. Delinquent Creatives. Nexus Arts 19 February to 3 March, 2022

A woman smiles at the smell of new sneakers, another caresses her stilettos, and a man handles his removed boot with unexpected fervour. This is fetish. This is HÜMAN.

Fabulous Family Felonies

By Bob Charteris, Yvette Wall and John Scholes. Stirling Players. Directed by Bob Charteris, Dale James and Jane Sherwood. Stirling Theatre, Morris Place, Innaloo, WA. Feb 10-19, 2022

Fabulous Family Felonies is a collection of diverse short plays, all of which at least loosely have the themes of family and felony. Very different in feel, all are well directed and performed.

All performed on a box set, with very distinctive red walls, there is a concerted effort to make each show feel different with decoration and furnishings. The shows share a lighting designer, John Woolrych, who gives a different feel to each play. The same stage manager, Jane Sherwood, helps the shows to transition smoothly and effectively.

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