Reviews

Sink

By Tobias Graham. Gavin Roach and Beyond the Yard. Fringe World. Directed by Terence Smith The Main Space, the Blue Room, James St Perth. Feb 4-8, 2020

Sink, presented by Gavin Roach and Beyond the Yard, is a set in the bathroom at a series of costume parties, in the same share house, attended by the same group of people.

The Feather in the Web

By Nick Coyle. Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre. Red Stitch, East St Kilda. 5 February – 1 March 2020

At first, The Feather in the Web seems as if it might be a series of comedy sketches: two prattling suburban ladies get cream cake right in the moosh.  Funny, yes, but… But that’s deliberately misleading – as is much that follows.  Playwright Nick Coyle sets up a narrative that keeps us wrong-footed.  It’s consistently funny and surprising and satiric, but it becomes increasingly disturbing, and it ends in an unexpected but convincing place.  

Barbeque

By Daryl Peebles. Presented by Mates Theatre Genesis. Directed by Tereska Hart. Redland Museum. 25 January to 9 February, 2020

Who doesn’t like a good Aussie barbie? Only stuck up snobs that’s who! This Barbeque is a comedic look at the class system in our lucky country and whether or not money can buy happiness. According to the well-to-do matriarch of the McKenzies, Judith (Suze Harpur) it certainly can’t buy taste. Her character sneers down her nose at the Coopers, your friendly neighbourhood bogan lotto winners. What is it that old money hates so much about the nouveau riche anyway? Isn’t family, friendship and authenticity more important than money?

A Chorus Line

Music: Marvin Hamlisch. Lyrics: Edward Kleban. Book: James Kirkwood & Nicholas Dante. Beenleigh Theatre Group Queensland. Jan 31 – Feb 15, 2020.

A Chorus Line is one of the most beloved musicals in the modern canon. The fifth longest-running show on Broadway. and one of only eight musicals to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, this is a show that speaks to people about art and what it takes to create it. Beenleigh Theatre Group has revived the show, directed from the mind of director-choreographer Stewie Matthews.

Birdoir

By Six Inches Uncut and Ira Luxuria. Midsumma Festival. Theatre Works. Jan 28 – Feb 1, 2020

The Midsumma Festival presents Birdoir, devised by cabaret/burlesque deviants Six Inches Uncut and Ira Luxuria, along with their human bird entourage including Mahla Bird, Leon Andon, Kathryn Kaeler and Sal Francisco. The team has donned their finest feathers for a wild hour of colourful ornithological entertainment.

A Special Day

Based on the film Una Giomata Particolare by Ettore Scola. Por Piedad Teatro and Playco. Fringe World. Directed by Antonio Vega. Home Economics, The Girls School, Wellington St, Perth. Feb 3-16, 2020

This exquisitely presented co-production from Mexican company Por Piedad Teatro and New York’s Playco, uses Mexican actors to tell an Italian story, and is performed in English. Excellent storytelling, with a unique performance style, it will delight audiences throughout the second half of Fringe World.

Are You Kid-ing Me?

Written and directed by Keely Moloney. un/BALANCED Khaós. Fringe World. Lazy Susan’s Comedy Den, Brisbane Hotel, Beaufort St, Highgate, WA. Feb 1-5, 2020

In un/BALANCED Khaós’ Are You Kid-ing Me?, Hayden and Elliot decide to start up a company specialising in Children's entertainment. With assistance from a DJ with social issues and a handyman who may be moonlighting as a porn star, Hayden and Elliot hold auditions to find the perfect performers.

Long Gone Lonesome Cowgirls

By Philip Dean. Gold Coast Little Theatre. 1st – 22nd February, 2020

First published in November 1996 this funny, yet poignant, play focuses on the unlikely developing relationship between two deserted wives - polar opposites - coming together through shared experiences and mutual needs in a small outback Australian town. 

Summer of the 17th Doll

By PO PO MO CO and Friends. A PO PO MO CO Presentation. Hares & Hyenas Bookshop, 163 Johnston Street, Fitzroy. 31 January – 1 February 2020

The Summer of the 17th Doll?  The 1955 Australian classic by Ray Lawler?  Well, not exactly.  Anyone familiar with the work of PO PO MO CO knows it couldn’t be. As they say in their publicity, they – and their friends – ‘take a meat cleaver’ to the play.

Swipe Right! The Musical

Written and directed by Maddi Byrne. Fringe World. Lazy Susan’s Comedy Den, Brisbane Hotel, Beaufort St, Highgate. Jan 31 - Feb 2, 2020

Swipe Right is billed as a “Musical…Almost” and, indeed, it is, with the music being the backbone of this fresh, funny new show. Maddi Byrne’s solo show is also very clever standup comedy, which had its audiences laughing heartily throughout.

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