Reviews

Sunday

By Anthony Weigh. Sydney Theatre Company presents a Melbourne Theatre Company production. Sydney Opera House, Drama Theatre. Oct 28 – Dec 14, 2024

The story of John and Sunday Reed and their bohemian arts haven outside Melbourne is already running to legend.

Heide was an open house from the 1930s where a new generation of modernist artists like Sidney Nolan, Joy Hester, Arthur Boyd and John Perceval bunked down communally and found their creative feet – thanks to the Reeds’ hospitable philanthropy but also to Sunday’s motivating drive and critical eye. Under her husband’s approving gaze, she even made Nolan her lover.

The Lifespan of a Fact

By Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell & Gordon Farrell. Based on the book by John D’Agata & Jim Fingal. The Theatre on Chester, Epping, NSW. November 1 – 23, 2024

It is sometimes ambitious for only three actors to hold the attention and interest of an audience for the duration of an entire play.  This is not the case however with the Theatre on Chester’s latest offering, The Lifespan of a Fact.  Karen Pattinson, Jordan Andrews and Martin Bell are all individually charismatic and work brilliantly together in this incredibly timely production.  Timely because the occurrence of apparently ‘fake news’ and ‘alternative facts’ are alive and well in the US Presidential election and also sit at the very h

A Wonderful World – Simon Tedeschi and Friends

Live at the Great Synagogue. 5-6 November, 2024

What a wonderful way to escape a day besieged with reports about the American presidential election! The calm, beautiful decorative pillars, stained glass windows and vaulted, star studded ceiling of the Great Synagogue AND Internationally acclaimed Australian pianist Simon Tedeschi, “revered’ jazz trumpeter Mat Jodrell and bassist extraordinaire Cameron Und playing favourites from the golden age of jazz.

The 39 Steps

Adapted by Patrick Barlow from the novel by John Buchan. Pymble Players, NSW. Oct 30 – Nov 23, 2024

The Pymble Players have been providing the local community with quality, live theatre for the last 50 years in their quaint little hall on the corner of Bromley Avenue, Pymble.  Next year they will make the move into the Zenith Theatre at Chatswood and what a change that will be.  The stage space is noticeably larger, the potential for scenery changes is much greater and the audience capacity will jump from 84 up to 250.  Perhaps most significantly, the actors will henceforth only have 8 performances to participate in, rather than the larger commitment of 18 shows over a long

Foleyvision

Choreographed by Scott Elstermann. The Studio, Subiaco Arts Centre, WA. Oct 31- Nov 5, 2024

Foleyvision is a short, highly creative dance work that focuses on Foley, the human reproduction of everyday sound effects that are added to films and other media to improve audio quality.

Frankenstein!! & the Goose’s Mum

Ensemble Q. Concert Hall, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), Brisbane. 3 November 2024

Ensemble Q’s final concert for 2024 was a total treat! The selection of musical pieces was influenced by a Halloween theme, but this was a complex and satisfying mix of experiencing deep emotions from composers past, and celebrating vibrant music from the present. To set the tone, the magical ‘Danse Macabre’ by Camille Saint-Saëns.

DragSpeare: Drag Kings do Shakespeare

Created by Anne Pensalfini and Jo Loth. Directed by Lucinda Shaw. Presented by PIP Theatre in association with Jo Loth Productions as part of the MELT Festival. PIP Theatre, November 1 - 9, 2024

DragSpeare: Drag Kings do Shakespeare creators Anne Pensalfini and Jo Loth have assembled a crew of Drag Kings (female identifying performance artists who dress in masculine drag) to perform a clever cabaret for the 2024 MELT Festival.

Love-Lies-Bleeding

By Don De Lillo. Ad Astra, Brisbane. 31 October to 23 November 2024

This is an intriguing and talent-filled production of New Yorker, Don De Lillo’s 2005 play. Directed by the experienced writer/director/performer, Michael Futcher, this streamlined two-act production perfectly suits Misterton Street’s intimate studio space. And the director has found a balance in the tone with some very confident and engaging performances which sway between the poetic and dramatic.

Gaslight

By Patrick Hamilton. Directed by Catherine Radbourne. Sandgate Theatre, Qld. November 1 – 16, 2024

In fog-bound London in 1880, at the upper class home of Jack Manningham and his wife Bella, we soon learn that Bella is very much on edge mentally and that this state of mind has been pushed by her husband. The question that gains more traction is why do the gaslights dim at a regular time most days of the week. As the play progresses, the audience learns so much more than it could have imagined – and we wanted to learn so much more of the ever-deepening mystery. Let’s just say that husband Jack had some questions to answer. Then the devious detective arrives. 

The Swinging 60s and Seventies

Devised written and directed by Doug Williams. Tweed Theatre Company. Tweed Heads Civic Centre. 1-17 November, 2024

They say if you remember the Sixties then you weren’t really there. Well I certainly was there and covered many of the songs of the era in my time as a pop singer. How delightful to hear so many again in a live setting.