Reviews

Ding Dong

By Marc Camoletti. Cairns Little Theatre. Directed by Frank Joel. Feb 22 - Mar 2, 2019

Cairns Little Theatre's production of the comedy Ding Dong was beset by a real life situation when one of the lead actors was suddenly taken ill days before opening night and had to pull out of the production. Fortunately, experienced actor Peter Merrill bravely took to the stage, script in hand, to fill the void. Peter gave as good a performance as is possible with the short space three days that he was given to play the difficult lead role of George.

Two Hearts

By Laura Lethlean. The Anchor theatre company. The Butterfly Club, Melbourne. Feb 25 – Mar 2, 2019

Two Hearts is the new play by The Anchor theatre company, currently part of the inaugural One Act Play Festival at the Butterfly Club.

Werther

By Jules Massenet. Libretto by various, based on ‘The Sorrows of Young Werther’ by Goethe. Opera Australia. Sydney Opera House. March 2 – 11, 2019.

This opera offers many delightful moments but is not suited to occasional visitors to the Joan Sutherland Theatre eager to drink in familiar tunes, as there are none.

The score by Massenet is sumptuous, and under the baton of Carlo Montanaro the orchestra provides a magnificent platform for the spectacular international leads, Michael Fabiano as Werther and Elena Maximova as Charlotte.

Over three hours and four acts the drama moves slowly. Werther falls in love with Charlotte. She is engaged to someone else. She gets married. Werther tries to win her back.

Icarus

Created and performed by Christopher Samuel Carroll. The Street Theatre in association with Bare Witness Theatre. World Premiere. Street Two, The Street Theatre, Canberra. 27 February – 3 March 2019

Christopher Samuel Carroll’s latest piece Icarus is a marvellously human, surreal, wordless fable. Not strictly speaking mime, dance or physical comedy, it is a form of highly stylised constant movement to create a strong and clear narrative but with enough ambiguity and mystery to keep the audience thinking.

For Unto Y’All: The Very First Christmas in the Wild West

Adelaide Fringe 2019. Soul Factor Gospel Choir. Goodwood Institute Theatre. 28 February, 1-3 March, 2019

Robert Sterling’s For Unto Y’All: The Very First Christmas in the Wild West is a delightful gospel musical based on the Biblical Nativity story about the birth of Jesus Christ. In this version, however, whilst the characters’ and town names remain the same (Joseph, Mary, Bethlehem, Nazareth) we are in Wyoming in the mid-West of USA in 1880.

Build a Rocket

Adelaide Fringe Festival. Holden Street Theatres in association with Stephen Joseph Theatre and Tara Finney Productions. Holden Street Theatre – The Studio. February 12th – March 17th, 2019

Fasten your seat belts fringe dwellers, as you are about to witness the brutally honest and revealing tale of Jasmine, a 16-year-old girl from Scarborough, 300 kilometres from London.

On the exterior Jasmine is a tough talking lass doing just enough to get by. Living with an alcoholic Mother and her arrogant partner, she yearns for a better life.

The Talents Of Darkness

Adelaide Fringe Festival 2019. Loft at A Club Adelaide. February 27 – March 3, 2019

Fire breathing, fire twirling, animal traps, a glitter stapler and a confined performance space accessible only by a narrow set of steps - what can go wrong? Fortunately, due to the talents of the performers in The Talents of Darkness, nothing can and nothing did!

This small company of artists promise a night of moments that astound, scare and amuse the audience and to a large extent they deliver.

Carlotta: Queen of the Cross

Adelaide Fringe. Fortuna Spiegeltent. February 27th 2019

Proudly 75 years of age, with 54 years in entertainment under her sequined rhinestone belt, the Australian icon who only calls herself “Carlotta” (no other labels, darlings) conducted a glamour plus “camping” event for a sold out, one night only hour of cabaret in the Fortuna Spiegeltent.

Un Poyo Rojo

Adelaide Festival 2019. AC Arts – Main Theatre. February 28 – March 5, 2019.

Astounding, athletic, hysterically funny, sexy – there are not enough superlatives to describe Un Poyo Rojo!

An indefinable genre, this piece flows from acrobatics, to athleticism, to dance, to comedy and lastly to romance.

Set in a locker room, two athletes meet. Macho and full of pheromones, initially they seem to be at odds and compete to see who can outdo the other. In brief shorts and tank tops they skilfully combine movement with sound. At times their bodies seem to be made of rubber.

Downtown

Created by Phillip George, David Lowenstein and Peter Charles Morris. Directed by Jean Bowra. Redcliffe Musical Theatre . February 22 – February 24, 2019

Ah, the pop songs of the sixties. This music was the essence of Downtown and the memories came flashing back. The songs ranged from “London Swings” through “Don’t Sleep in the Subway” and “Georgy Girl” through to                             “Downtown”.

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