Reviews

Dumb Kids

Playwright: Jacob Parker. Legit Theatre Company in association with bAKEHOUSE Theatre Co. Director Sophia Bryant. KXT on Broadway. June 23 – July 8, 2023.

There is a wealth of fine new young voices in the arts. Whether in words or music, they are making themselves heard. They are open, intelligent, articulate, talented and courageous – because they break boundaries, lift taboos. They don’t preach, or moralise! They say, “This is how it is. This is how we are dealing with it. We want to share it.” 

George Balanchine’s Jewels

The Australian Ballet, with Orchestra Victoria. The State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne. 29 June - 8 July 2023

In 1964 Marshall McLuhan said, ‘the medium is the message’. In 1967 George Balanchine first presented his 3 Act, non-narrative ballet. In 2023 the Australian Ballet presented a living, breathing example of McLuhan’s concept in their production of Balanchine’s Jewels.

Barbaros

Limosani Projekts. Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre. Adelaide June 29 – July 1, 2023

Barbaros is “a creative voyage through the ambiguous and inescapable relationship between civilisation and barbarism”. I had watched the promotional clip and I must admit, was not prepared for 55 minutes of sheer wonder and admiration for both the concept and the performance. I have not seen anything like it!

The Importance of Being Earnest

By Oscar Wilde. Cairns Little Theatre (The Rondo). Directed by Kevin Shorey. June 30-July 15, 2023

The genteel world of old-world manners, lazy afternoon teas, cucumber sandwiches and class hypocrisy graced The Rondo in this production of Oscar Wilde’s iconic play. Set in the round amidst appropriate settings, the period costumed actors transported the audience back to another age.

Underneath Ms Archer

Writers: Louise Siversen and Peter Houghton. Director: Peter Houghton. Dramaturgy: Dr Chris Mead. Irene Mitchell Studio, 44 St Martins Lane, South Yarra. 21 June - 16 July 2023

The sudden shattering of Kelly Archer’s (Louise Siversen) world as a senior flight attendant and the consequent shaming social media storm is an unlikely beginning to a magical fable about mistakes, guilt and taking responsibility. But then magic happens, as a dishevelled man, William Marshall (Peter Houghton) mysteriously appears. He doesn’t speak English and is as confused as Kelly.

Bleached

Wit Incorporated/ Bluestone Church Arts Space, 8A Hyde St, Footscray. 22 June - 1 July, 2023 & 14 July, The Bowery Theatre, 33 Princess Street, St Albans.

From theatre company Wit Incorporated comes Bleached, the latest work by young playwright Laura Collins.  This play follows the journeys of Australian tourists experiencing the world for possibly the last time as global lockdowns loom in the wake of the climate crisis. Rather than really addressing the climate crisis directly, Bleached delves into the interpersonal and existential crises created in humanity as the world is dying. At least I think that’s what it does.

Mary Coustas - This is Personal

The Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne. June 27 – July 2, 2023

Mary Coustas gets personal in new one-woman show

The woman behind Australia’s beloved ‘Effie’ from Acropolis Now and Wogs out of Work got personal last night at the Arts Centre Melbourne in front of what seemed to be a full house in her new exciting and highly entertaining one-woman show This is Personal. I grew up watching Effie on TV and I have also seen Coustas’s show Effie The Virgin Bride, which toured a few years ago. 

City of Angels

Book by Larry Gelbert. Music by Cy Coleman. Lyrics by David Zippel. Joshua Robson Productions and Hayes Theatre. Directed and choreographed by Sam Hooper. Musical Directors: Abi McGunn and Damon Wade. June 23 – July 23, 2023

Once again, a beautifully boiled down production of a rarely performed Broadway classic is on show up close at the Hayes Theatre.

Although in this case it has only been boiled down a little, as the ensemble includes 18 members of the cast, and seven members of a hot band that are on stage surrounding the cast in a semi-circle.

That is a ratio of just under one cast member/musician for every four members of the audience!

Home, I’m Darling

By Laura Wade. Canberra Rep. Directed by Alexandra Pelvin. 22 June – 8 July 2023

Post-WWII 1950s London.  Movies featuring such luminaries as Doris Day and Rock Hudson portrayed the ideal wife as feminine in fashion — typified by tight bodices and flowing, full skirts; sparkling jewellery and the single or double strand of pearls; and swept-up hair — and as making the home cheerful, colourful, and restful for her husband.  The pretty wife made the perfect nest for her breadwinning husband, who, of course, brought her gifts and took her to magnificent dance halls, where they twirled their way across the floor until the small hours, when they returne

Common Dissonance

Created by Na Djinang Circus. Cremorne Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC). Brisbane, 22 June to 1 July 2023

Part Dreamtime, part dance, part skilful acrobatics, the Brisbane debut of the award-winning Common Dissonance by Na Djinang Circus is a moving exploration by two bodies of what dissonance, conflict, love and reconciliation look like from a visual perspective.

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