Reviews

Bit of Shush

Written & performed by Daniel Connell. Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Melbourne Town Hall, Backstage Room. 29 March – 22 April 2018

Daniel Connell is around 195 cm tall and he gets a lot of dumb comments because of it.  ‘Bet you got a great view from up there, mate,’ etc.  Irritating, eh?  Especially when what Daniel Connell really wants is just a bit of shush – and that is so hard to find these days.  You go for a quiet dinner at your local Indian restaurant – and there’s a f**king snake charmer!  A middle-of-the-day tram that should be real quiet has a mad woman on it, shouting in people’s faces, ‘I do what I want!’ 

The Talk

By Gita Bezard. The Last Great Hunt. Directed by Gita Bezard. Subiaco Arts Centre, WA. 11-21 April, 2018

The Last Great Hunt’s The Talk, written and directed by Gita Bezard, is as its subtitle declares “more than just the birds and the bees”. In a world of sexting, the dark web and porn available on your iPhone, is “the talk” from your parents and teachers enough anymore? Was it ever enough?

Three exciting and enigmatic young performers play a group of 15 year old girls, as well as a variety of other characters. 

12A

By James Hazelden. Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2018. La Mama Theatre, Carlton. April 18 – 22, 2018

Enter at your own risk!

A new show by the Mystery Radio Theatre crew, this show will leave you cringing with spooky delight as mysterious revisitations of three intertwining tales combine to create this intriguing theatre production titled 12A.

Written, produced and directed by James Hazelden as part of this year’s Melbourne International Comedy festival, it’s currently being performed at La Mama.

La Traviata

By Verdi. Opera Australia. Director: Elijah Moshinsky. Revival Director: Constantine Costi. Conductor: Carlo Montenaro. Arts Centre Melbourne. April 17 – May 11, 2018

La Traviata returned to the Arts Centre to an enthusiastic audience. This was a revival of a production I hadn’t encountered before, but it worked very well. The opening scene was crowded for Violetta’s party, which was a nice contrast to the closing scene at the same venue, with little furniture or decoration.

Tom Vickers and the Extraordinary Adventure of His Missing Sock

Spare Parts Puppet Theatre. Directed by Phillip Mitchell. The WA Shipwrecks Museum, Cliff St, Fremantle. April 14-29, 2018

Tom Vickers and the Extraordinary Adventure of His Missing Sock is a World Premiere installation theatre event created by Spare Parts Puppet Theatre and the WA Museum. Currently playing at the WA Shipwrecks Museum, it will tour to museums in Geraldton and Albany in May and June. 

Ladylike: A Modern Guide to Etiquette.

Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The Butterfly Club, Melbourne 16-22 April, 2018.

Taste the sensational comedy routines of Louise Beuvink!

Her Australian debut show is here to embrace our shores with her unique feminist-satirical blend of cabaret and stand up. After a complete sell out national tour of her New Zealand homeland, she is assured we will dig her rhythm.

This show is a soda stream blend of fizzy concoctions of domestic and social situations parodying women of all demographics.

Dr Frankenstein

Written by Selma Dimitrijevic. Canberra Rep. Directed by Jordan Best. Theatre 3, Acton, Canberra ACT. April 5 – 20, 2018

What a fascinating choice of play for Canberra Rep’s “Power and Passion” season. Rather than the masculine-based original novel by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, this new re-telling has changed Victor into Victoria. This play premiered in England last year and it is good to see recent reinterpretations, especially one as well-structured and eloquent as this.

The Riddle of Washpool Gully

By David Morton. Terrapin. Directed by David Morton. The Backspace Theatre Royal, Hobart April 13-21, 2018

The Riddle of Washpool Gully is a stunning piece of theatre which will appeal to young and old. 

This show is a seamless hybrid of puppetry and live action. The skill, teamwork and concentration required of Guy Hooper, Mel King and Drew Wilson are extraordinary as they transition between intricately expressive operations of the manipulated characters and the dramatized scenes. All of this is expertly sequenced to an evocative soundtrack by Heath Brown and superb lighting by Jason James. 

Rock Of Ages

Music & Lyrics: Various. Book: Chris D’Arienzo. Pannic Productions. Director: Andrew Panda Haden. Musical Director: Grace Cockburn. Choreographer: Ashley Rae Little. Redcliffe Cultural Centre, 13-15 April 2018

Pannic Productions burst on the local community theatre scene last year with an impressive audio-visual heavy production of Pink Floyd’s The Wall. This year they’re back bringing a lot of glam-rock to the Redcliffe Peninsula with everybody’s favourite 80s jukebox musical Rock of Ages.

Annie

Book by Thomas Meehan, Music by Charles Strouse and Lyrics by Martin Charnin. Holroyd Musical and Dramatic Society. The Red Gum Centre, Wentworthville. April 13 - 21, 2018

HMDS's production of the classic Depression themed musical Annie was a great retelling of the well-known story about the red-headed optimistic, orphan and her chance adoption by the Billionaire Oliver Warbucks.

Director Olivia Linas and her cast gave a very well gelled and polished Opening Night performance.

The show opened with an action sequenced overture, which was a delight to see and gave the audience an immediate insight to the title character Annie, played on opening night by Sami Dinnerville.

Subscribe to our E-Newsletter, buy our latest print edition or find a Performing Arts book at Book Nook.