Reviews

Unqualified 2: Still Unqualified

By Genevieve Hegney and Catherine Moore. Ensemble Theatre, Sydney. Directed by Janine Watson. 29 April – 4 June 2022

Way back in COVID-free 2018, two actors reshaped their six-part TV series (that wasn’t going anywhere) into a dynamic play, Unqualified, about two women who start a temp agency with no extra employees. Bingo! Genevieve Hegney and Catherine Moore had a hit on their hands, along with the Ensemble’s Artistic Director Mark Kilmurry, who was first to spot the terrific twosome’s theatrical worth. Now, four years later, they’re Still Unqualified and raring to go.

A Hundred Words for Snow

By Tatty Hennessy. Directed by Gavin Roach. Theatre Works Explosive Factory, 67 Inkerman Street, St Kilda. 2 – 7 May 2022

Her Dad was a Geography teacher, but Rory (Eddie Pattison) thinks of him as an explorer – an Arctic explorer.  For Rory, that’s what he was, really.  They played explorers in the nearby woods.  Her bedtime stories were the lives – and deaths – of the famous Arctic explorers.  But now Dad is gone, killed in a car accident.  Rory is utterly bereft.  In her Dad’s study, filled with posters, maps and books about the Arctic, she finds her Dad’s notebooks and discovers that he had planned, in great, precise detail, to go to the Nor

Twelfth Night

By William Shakespeare. Directed by Dr Michael McCall. Hayman Theatre, Curtin University, Bentley, WA. April 26-30, 2022

William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night came to life at Curtin University in this vibrant production directed by Michael McCall. Well presented, it explored the non-binary nature of human affection, swinging from high comedy to tragedy with energy and verve.

Presented on a simple but effective multi-level set by Sam Bar-Ari and Analisa Cicchini, a thoughtful lighting design from Hayley Smith adds to our emotion. Costumes are modern with a retro twist, well designed and sourced by Kiri Siva, Olivia Fellows and Samantha Dewar.

The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny

Music Kurt Weill. Book & lyrics by Bertolt Brecht, Elizabeth Hauptmann & Kurt Weill. Conductor Peter Tregear. Directed by Suzanne Chaundy. IOpera and Melbourne Opera. Atheneum Theatre, Collins Street. 1, 3 & 5 May 2022

A spirited and full-throated production of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s last collaboration – before the Nazis intervened – an opera that is a dark, cynical, and mocking satire of American capitalism and/or the Weimar Republic.  The principal singers have great presence and things are enlivened by Christopher Hocking’s animations and news montages projected, along with narration and pointed epigrams, on a giant cyclorama.  Mahagonny was first produced in 1930, but it could be just as much about now.

An American in Paris

Music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin. Book by Craig Lucas. GWB Entertainment and The Australian Ballet. Theatre Royal, Sydney. April 29 – July 3, 2022.

Classic MGM musical An American in Paris pirouettes seamlessly from screen to stage, directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon.

Demobbed American GI and artist Jerry Mulligan (Robert Fairchild), in Paris, newly liberated from the Nazis, falls instantly in love with petite French dancer Lise Dassin (Leanne Cope).

Petrushka - Game, Set and Match

Choreographed by Scott Elstermann. Studio Underground, State Theatre Centre of WA, Perth, WA. April 28 - May 1, 2022

Petrushka - Game, Set and Match is a highly theatrical blend of Ballet, Contemporary Dance and Tennis. Choreographed by Scott Elstermann, it is a reimagining of the ballet Petrushka by Sergei Diaghilev. Beautifully danced and staged with a great sense of fun, this was easy to watch and compelling dance theatre.

Searching for Doctor Branovic

By David Tristram. Directed by Trevor Howden. Mousetrap Theatre, Redcliffe, Qld. April 29 – May 15, 2022.

What an interesting, silly and humorous plot!

Emma Tyler is mourning the sudden death of her husband, Joe, and is arranging his funeral.  But is that is what will happen?  Husband Joe escapes from the morgue, which is not a bad trick for a dead body. A Doctor Branovic appears and it gets more intriguing from there. Enter Detective Inspector Monroe to solve the mystery, which begins to send the grumpy beleaguered detective round the bend. The audience was feeling the same stress following this over the top story line, quite ideal for such a comedy.

Jack and Millie

By Alaine Beek. Directed by Nigel Sutton. Presented by Essence Productions. Athenaeum Theatre, 188 Collins St, Melbourne. 30 April to 6 May, 2022.

This is an endearing play which is based on Alaine Beek’s own personal battle with breast cancer. The idea of sharing such a personal, heart-warming story of resilience is a brave one and the story enters some very delicate territory. The text shows how Beek’s approach to dealing with her illness was to take it in her stride and to avoid allowing it to interfere with her life, despite the constant everyday disruptions. Dealing with doctors and concerned friends and family members are elements which are portrayed in a very identifiable manner.

The Heartbreak Choir

By Aidan Fennessy. Melbourne Theatre Company. Southbank Theatre, The Sumner. 25 April – 28 May 2022

In a small country town, on the fringe of the commuter belt, five very different women gather in the musty old CFA hall.  They were members of the local community choir, but they’ve split away to form their own choir.  Why they did that is a central question in the play.  Their leader is rather solemn psychologist and would-be politician Barbara (Maud Davey).  Totty (Louise Siversen), literal minded mover and shaker, is the richest woman in town.  Very pregnant Aseni (Ratidzo Mambo), by illuminating contrast, is from Zimbabwe – a qualified doctor who wor

Putting It Together

Music & Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim. Griffith University Musical Theatre Students. Director: Elise Greig. Musical Director: Heidi Loveland. Choreographer: John Clarke. Burke Street Studio Theatre, Woolloongabba. 28-30 April 2022

Director Elise Greig did not heed Stephen Sondheim’s mantra of ‘Less Is More’ with this production of Putting it Together. The original paper-thin plot of setting it at a cocktail party, also had to carry a secondary plot of the kids rehearsing the show for a Broadway producer. It made for a long afternoon in the theatre. Of course Greig had to make room for a cast of 23, whereas the original only had five performers in it. The show was also used as a salute to Sondheim following his recent death, though I might add that it was way too sycophantic.