Reviews

The Past is a Wild Party

By Noëlle Janaczewska. The Loading Dock, Qtopia, Sydney. July 20 – 27, 2024

Qtopia, Sydney’s first queer museum opened recently in the old Darlinghurst police station on Taylor Square.  During the violence of the first Mardi Gas, protesters were thrown here into the police cells, which you can now wander through reading this and other chapters of queer history.  Or hear these stories voiced in a spanking new theatre space where once offenders were unloaded.

Jewels

The Australian Ballet. Festival Theatre, Adelaide. July 12-18, 2024

The Australian Ballet’s latest production of Jewels is a departure from their usual ‘story ballets’ (e.g., Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty). It strips away any conventional trimmings of ballet and relies wholly on dance alone, and does it brilliantly!

Premiering in 1967 at the Lincoln Centre in New York, George Balanchine’s Jewels is a sparkling, shining and glittering example of classical ballet technique.

Brothers Wreck

By Jada Alberts. Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company. Directed by Maitland Schnaars. Subiaco Arts Centre, WA. Jul 5-20, 2024

It seems appropriate that in NAIDOC Week, when we are celebrating Indigenous achievement, that we should see such a strong production from Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company. Expertly written by Jada Alberts, this strong script is performed with beautifully crafted performance, in a show with strong production values.

The Woman in Black

By Stephen Mallatratt and Susan Hill. PW Productions, Woodward Productions and Neil Gooding Productions, Directed by Robin Herford. Canberra Theatre, Canberra, July 9 – 14, 2024, then Wollongong, Civic Theatre, Newcastle and Theatre Royal, Sydney.

If a friend suggests you go to a play where the plot is a well-kept secret, it’s probably best if you include a warning that there may be sudden shocks in the ghost story. I suspect that still wouldn’t have prevented my companion from nearly jumping out of her seat at one (wonderfully produced) shock!

The Unexpected Guest

By Agatha Christie. Hobart Repertory Theatre Company. Jeremy Pyefinch (Director). Iestyn Parry (piano). Jonathan Pyefinch (set). The Playhouse Hobart. 10-20 July 2024

The Unexpected Guest is a 1958 stage play by Agatha Christie, subsequently reincarnated by others as a novel and radio play.

Young director Jeremy Pyefinch has a personal connection to the script, but this did not prevent him from trying something new with what is a predictably wordy Christie offering.

Sunset Strip

By Suzie Miller. New Theatre, Newtown, Sydney. Jul 9 – Aug 3, 2024

Suzie Miller rocketed to fame with the success of her plays, Prima Facie, about a lawyer fighting for justice after being sexually assaulted, and RBG, about the progressive US judge Ruth Bader Ginsberg. New Theatre has made a smart choice to stage her earlier work, Sunset Strip, premiered to acclaim by Griffin Independent in 2017 but I think, crazily, it hasn’t been seen since.

Spring Awakening

Book and Lyrics by Steven Sater and Music by Duncan Sheik. Based on Frank Wedekind's play, “Spring Awakening". Black Box Theatre Co. Directed: Lauchlin Hansen. 11 Frederick St, Launceston (City Baptist Church). July 10-20, 2024. Content Warning: Contains themes of Suicide.

In a serendipitous pair of ‘firsts’, this musical is the inaugural full-scale production from Black Box Theatre and it’s also this reviewer’s first opportunity to see a Launceston production ahead of a planned relocation to the Apple Isle later this year. As asserted in their mission statement: “Black Box Theatre Co.

Dracula

By Bram Stoker, adapted and directed by Kip Williams. Sydney Theatre Company. Roslyn Packer Theatre. July 2 - August 4, 2024

Technical wizardry and superlative acting marked this production, which breathlessly fuses two hours of performance and cinema in a smorgasbord of gothic horror, that entertains but does not frighten the audience.

On the way out, a member of the audience told me he thought it was so brilliant that he was left speechless.

This is the third and final of the trilogy of works adapted by outgoing Artistic Director of the Sydney Theatre Company Kip Williams.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Music by Alan Menken. Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Book by Peter Parnell. Based on the Victor Hugo Novel and songs from the Disney film. BATS Theatre Company (Vic). Tony Sheumack Performing Arts Centre. July 5 – 7, 2024

BATS Theatre’s season of Disney’s The Hunchback Of Notre Dame at the Tony Sheumack Performing Arts Centre has closed to thunderous applause. I was lucky enough to see their final performance on Sunday the 8th. To the entire company, made up of cast, crew and orchestra, this show was truly a treat. I personally have never seen a BATS show before, but I was aware of the company and what they had produced over the years, so I was very excited to see what they had cooked up.

The Boy From Oz

Music & Lyrics: Peter Allen. Book: Nick Enright. Director & Choreographer: Rhylee Nowell. Musical Director: Alexandra Byrne. Presented by Theatrical & Andrew Gyopar. National Theatre, Melbourne. July 6-21, 2024.

Following the hugely successful season of The Sound of Music, Theatrical presents this true story about one of Australia's most beloved entertainers. If Peter Allen was alive today, he'd be around the same age as his close friends and musical contemporaries Bette Midler and Barry Manilow. Allen may have left this world over three decades ago, but his influence and impact continue to resonate through the enduring popularity of his extensive repertoire of songs.

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