Reviews

Queensland Ballet could be forgiven if they were bitter and twisted over the whole of their 60th anniversary programme being cancelled because of Covid 19. Instead, they managed to turn a tragedy into a triumph - first with the wonderfully exciting “sixty dancers- sixty stories” online; then a live performance adapted from those filmed performances. Now, to end the year, they have pulled Giselle out of their repertoire for a short season under the stars and beside the lake on the Parklands outdoor stage.

Wife After Death is a fresh, well-performed comedy performed by Darlington Theatre Players, to Covid capacity audiences. Tight and funny, with high production values, this relatively new show will have broad appeal.

George Boyd has created a very believable, beautifully finished set, nicely creating a sitting room in a country home. Naturalistic lighting design by Michael Hart and a well chosen sound design by George Boyd help set the scene.

Meg Clarke doesn’t have to worry about social distancing in this performance. She’s the only one on the stage – for over 80 minutes. It’s a difficult script, word and emotion heavy, in which her character, Effie, talks the audience through a time she wants them to understand - acutely. Skilfully she draws them into her story, making them laugh at times, shocking them at others, seeking their empathy, but never letting them get too close. There’s a reason she’s got them together and she’ll draw them in until she’s ready to tell them why!

Puffs, presented by Act, Belong Commit and Art in Motion Theatre Company (AIM) is the story of “Seven increasingly eventful years at a certain school of magic and magic”. An unauthorised satire, tribute and love-letter to the Harry Potter series, it is set in a school house called “Puffs” and the characters all bear names remarkably similar to characters mentioned in obscure parts of the Potter-verse.