Reviews

Seer is a bold and solo death experience!

House of Vnholy has developed a high concept production on the subject of death.  Death is always a sad and frightening thought, but when you are forced to contemplate the subject in the form of an art installation, this immersive ordeal can be a challenging and somewhat spine-chilling encounter.

This beloved musical that exploded on Broadway in the mid nineties to redefine the genre is back, playing for a limited season in Brisbane. While some of the libretto is definitely showing its age, the opening-night audience at the Cremorne still connected with the themes of love, art and La Vie Bohème.

Director Tim Hill is clearly one of those people for whom the musical holds special significance. He’s approached the production with meticulous attention to detail and palpable passion. As such, he’s drawn out some outstanding work from his cast and crew.

Alice Birch writes unreservedly and unabashedly about how women are treated at home, in bed, at work, even in the supermarket. She writes in a blatantly feminist voice that is loud and bold and unembarrassed. And that is what she demands of the cast that brings this play to the stage. Her stage instructions at the beginning of the play are explicit:

If any vomiting, crying or shouting needs to happen off stage, the audience should be able to glimpse it.

There shouldn’t be any set.

I have been attending opera performances for over fifty years, but cannot recall feeling as elated as I was after attending Opera Australia’s latest offering, Massenet’s Don Quichotte. I have not seen it before and have no music in my extensive collection from this little known opera.

I was constantly swept away by the magnificent music. The five acts were reduced to two halves, with the inclusion of some ballet music from the same composer’s Le Cid. The haunting entr’acte to the final scene was a highlight.