Reviews

Young Frankenstein

By Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan. Darlington Theatre Players. Directed by Terence Smith. Marloo Theatre, Greenmount, WA. Jun 14 -29, 2024

The Mel Brooks musical Young Frankenstein comes to life in this broad stroke, campy and very polished production from Darlington Theatre Players. Top notch production values and a stellar cast make this one of Perth's top community theatre productions of 2024.

A Doll’s House Pt 2

By Lucas Hnath. Directed by Emily McLean. The Blue Room Theatre, Perth Cultural Centre, WA. Jun 11-29, 2024

A Doll’s House Pt 2 is a sequel to Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 play, A Doll’s House, extremely controversial in its time, in which sweet little “doll wife” Nora, leaves her husband Torvald, and their children. This play, set fifteen years after Nora’s departure, explores what happens, when after fifteen years of no contact, Nora returns. Presented by Red Ryder Productions, this well-directed play with a talented, tight-knit cast of four, makes for fascinating viewing.

Famous

NICA third-year student ensemble performance. In collaboration with fashion design and makeup students from Melbourne Polytechnic. Director: Carita Farrer Spencer. Costume Design: Savannah Wegman. Set Design: Tim Rutty. Composition/Sound Design: Darius Kedros. Lighting Design: Spencer Herd. 14-22 June 2024

The clown is the classic outsider and his attempts to ascend to the heights of fame using charm and trickery are used to anchor the narrative and expose the alure and detrimental effects of fame. The chorus of paparazzi and fans throw light on the tensions and dizzying demands of endless attention which fall on celebrities,

Skinny - Michelle Pearson

Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Space Theatre. 15-16 June, 2024

I have watched the career of Michelle Pearson with great interest and admiration. I have seen her in musical theatre and in her Comfort Food Cabaret shows and have always been totally blown away by her magnificent voice - a belt to die for and the ability to adapt across a wide range of genres.

Highway of Lost Hearts

By Mary Anne Butler. Lingua Franca and Arts on Tour. Riverside Theatres Parramatta. 14 - 15 June, 2024

Mary Anne Butler’s play takes her character Mot on a road trip through Australia to find the heart she seems to have lost after the tragic death of someone she loves. With only her dog for company she drives to distant places, the long kilometres broken by short stops where lonely people reach out hopefully … or threaten menacingly. She finds other lost hearts, and through them and the country itself, eventually finds the missing pieces of her own.

RGB, Of Many One

By Suzie Miller. Directed by Priscilla Jackman. The Heath Ledger Theatre, State Theatre Centre of WA, Perth, WA. Jun 13-23. 2024

RGB, Of Many One, is the life story of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman elected to the US Supreme Court, expertly crafted into a one-woman play by Australian playwright Suzie Miller. 

Performed by Heather Mitchell, this is one of those iconic performances that you only see every few years - a stunning and mesmerising performance, that captivates the audience from the very first moments until they leave an hour and thirty-five minutes later, wondering where the time went.

Head Over Heels

Songs by The Go-Go’s, adapted by James Magruder. Original Book by Jeff Whitty. WAAPA Third Year Music Theatre. Directed by Melanie Hillman. The Roundhouse, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley, WA. Jun 7-13, 2024

This WA premiere was directed with a sense of fun by Melanie Hillman, performed by WAAPA Third Year Music Theatre students, and designed, built, and crewed by WAAPA Production and Design students.

Horizon

Bangarra Dance Theatre. Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House. 11 June to 13 July, 2024

In Bangarra’s remarkable history, its second artistic director Frances Rings takes a logical next step by forging a collaboration with First Nation artists from another country. From across the Tasman, Maori choreographer Moss Te Ururangi Patterson elicits from 16 Indigenous Australians an enthralling dance voyage through the winds, waters and people of his home country around Lake Taupo in Aotearoa.   

Little Squirt

Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Darby James & Quiet RIOT. Quartet Bar, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide. SA June 14 – 15, 2024

What do you do when you are confronted with a barrage of sperm donation adds on social media and it’s the COVID lockdown? You have nothing else to do so why not go ahead and do it?

Little Squirt is the award-winning comedy cabaret about the process of sperm donation, featuring all original songs by musical comedian, Darby James.

Watershed: The Death of Doctor Duncan

Composed by Joseph Twist. Libretto by Alana Valentine and Chistos Tsiolkas. Opera Australia. Directed by Neil Armfield. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. June 14 - 16, 2024

There were lots of words recited in this oratorio that were unfamiliar to the stage of the Joan Sutherland Theatre. For starters “poofter” and “cum” don’t normally appear in the translation of operas.

Also, strikingly different to regular operas was a tight, engaging, contemporary story where not a word was wasted. Sadly, this stunning and beautiful work is only on stage for four performances, after its initial season at the Adelaide Festival.

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