Reviews

Wuthering Heights

By Emily Brontë. Adapted and directed by Emma Rice. A National Theatre, Wise Children, Bristol Old Vic & York Theatre Royal Co-production, presented by Andrew Kay & Liza McLean. Ros Packer Theatre, Jan 31 – Feb 15, 2025.

The tragic characters of Emily Brontë’s dark novel Wuthering Heights have haunted literature for nearly 180 years. Was it just a bleak gothic romance? Or was it something more? What was Brontë really saying as she juxtaposed love and loss with brutality and revenge?

Peter and the Starcatcher

Play by Rick Elice, based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Music by Wayne Barker. Produced by Dead Puppet Society, Glass Half Full Productions, Jones Theatrical Group. Directed by David Morton. Capitol Theatre Sydney, 31 January – 9 February, 2025, and touring to Brisbane.

Australian premieres of Broadway or West End musicals are often carbon copies of the original seasons, with local Directors forced to follow instructions scene by scene from the northern hemisphere. So, what is most refreshing about this production is that the Brisbane based Dead Puppet Society was able to take a fresh look at the work which won Tony Awards when it premiered in 2012.

1984 - Diary of a Teenage Diva

By Penny Shaw. FringeWorld. The Jonesway Theatre, William St, Northbridge, WA. Jan 30 - Feb 2, 2025

Based on Penny Shaw’s popular podcast, Diary of a Teenage Diva, comes this cabaret show that celebrates 1984, theatre kids, boys and more boys and an unusually named club.

Tender

By Cirque X. Gasworks Arts Park. Midsumma Festival. Park 21 Graham Street, Albert Park Melbourne. 29 January – 8 February 2025.

 

Anything Goes

Music and lyrics by Cole Porter. Book by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman, based on the original by P.G. Wodehouse, Guy Bolton, Howard Lindsay & Russell Crouse. Old Nick Summer School. Director: Rebecca Oliver Black. Musical Director: Andrew Castles. Costumes and Properties: Helen Cronin. Lighting Design: Gareth Kays. Choreography: Bonnie Cashion. Set: Simon Rush. Sound: Andrew Johns. Vocal Direction: Brett Budgeon. Repetiteur: Sheng-Yuan Lynch. The Don Bosco Performing Arts Centre, Tas. 31st January – 9th February 2025

The plot of Anything Goes is inanely silly but who cares? Cole Porter’s music and lyrics are an absolute winner. Throw at this the outstanding talent of Hobart’s young people coached, by the expertise of the best mentors and Anything Goes is a sublime entertainment experience.

The set by Simon Rush features the symmetrical stairs and angled funnels that one might consider traditional. Situating the orchestra on the upper deck takes the set beyond the ordinary. Movable pieces for the cabins and jail work particularly well.

Labyrinth

Composed by Evan J Lawson. Libretto by Daniel Szesiong Todd. Produced by Forest Collective, co-presented by Midsumma Festival and Abbotsford Convent. Director: Cathy Hunt. Industrial School and Magdalen Laundry, 1 St Heliers St, Abbotsford. 31 January – 8 February 2025.

Labyrinth is an original work which explores the dramatic and traumatic ancient Greek myth of the Minotaur. This is a story that addresses the themes of lust, love, shame and mystery in its deepest and darkest corners. Lawson and Szesiong Todd invoke this sphere via an evocative and moving immersive experience. This is a production which employs dance, movement, opera, and piano concerto. These are all given equal weight and attention allowing the unique artistry of each discipline to contribute to creating a moody and sombre atmosphere.

Follies

Music & Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim. Book: James Goldman. Director: Stuart Maunder. Choreographer: Yvette Lee. Musical Director: Phoebe Briggs. Victorian Opera. Palais Theatre, Melbourne. February 1 – 6, 2025.

Victorian Opera presents lucky Melbourne theatregoers to the first fully staged, professional production of this Sondheim masterpiece. Before A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd or Into the Woods were even a glimmer, Follies (originally titled The Girls Upstairs) was a substantial hit! The original 1971 Broadway version (one of the most costly productions for its time), garnered 7 Tony Awards and ran for 522 performances.

Shirley Valentine

By Willy Russell. Neil Gooding Productions & Woodward Productions. Atheneum Theatre, Collins Street, Melbourne. 31 January – 16 February 2025

Willy Russell’s play – revived many times and filmed (1989) with Pauline Collins and Tom Conti – is the story of a 42-y-o working class woman from the north of England who breaks out and escapes to recover her true self.  It is such a story of hope and possibility that audiences have responded to it since its first performance in 1986.

Fate: A New Musical

Orchestration and Composition by Stella Byrne, Lyrics by Lilly Peterwood, Book by Alexa Bevilacqua, Sophie Boyland, Benedict Evans, Saoirse Gerrish, Edie Gifford, Jessica Hill, Thu Nguyen, Xavier Robert, Lia Shiloh, Erin Tansey, Evelyn Ward. Revisions by Brittany Isaia, Orchestral Revisions by Mathew Leak. Morai Productions / Fringe World. Directed by Brittany Isaia. Old Mill Theatre, South Perth WA. Jan 31 - Feb 1, 2025

Fate: A New Musical makes its public debut as part of Fringe World 25. Presented by Morai Productions, it plays for a very short season, well directed and nicely performed.

Old Mill Theatre has embraced Fringe World with additional seating in the foyer and Front of House staff adding hot pink to their usual black attire. This short season is well attended, and I hope that this venture will bring new people to the usual residents.

The Hanky Code

Written and directed by Jarryd Prain. Fringe World. Ground Floor Comedy at the Terrarium, 99 St George’s Terrace Perth, WA. Jan 28- Feb 1, 2025

The Hanky Code is a one-man stand-up show that educates as well as entertains. Presented by Jarryd Prain, it tells us of the hank code, a code that developed in the 1970s, as a way for gay men to subtly signal their sexual preferences.

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