Reviews

Eltham Little Theatre’s annual junior musical was Beauty and the Beast Jr and it was another successful production. There was a nice mix of younger members and others approaching adulthood.

The small stage was well used with a house being rolled on for the street scene and curtains opening to reveal the Beast’s castle. For the opening number curtains down the side of the auditorium were drawn back to reveal more villagers and stalls.

When I read the synopsis of this gender bending, cross dressing, actor swapping, century stretching play, I have to admit that I thought this was the wrong show to watch after a long day at work.  

All fears of getting lost or confused (and having to bluff through a review), were soon swept aside by the wonderful marriage of a splendid production and an always engaging narrative in a stunningly beautifully written play.

Lizzie (Christie Whelan Browne in another of the performances that have made her name), is the 30-something screw-up younger daughter, the one who never finishes anything, the one who’s blown her opportunities.  She tries to sweep into a ‘nursing home’ (that awful euphemism) where her Mum lies dying.  It’s Christmas Eve, that time of far-flung families’ return and reunion.

I was a tad concerned heading into North Melbourne’s Meat Market for Baker’s Dozen Theatre Company’s new piece HUMAN_ERROR.  I had brought my mother along, who is a somewhat proudly self-proclaimed ‘non-play person’ and ‘prefers not to think’ when engaging in any kind of entertainment.  So you can imagine my trepidation at taking her to a play about the looming threat of artificial intelligence (AI) and the human race’s inevitable plunge into singularity.  It is a credit then (and to my surprise) that this production ma