Reviews

Hangmen

By Martin McDonagh. Red Phoenix Theatre and Holden Street Theatres. The Studio at Holden Street Theatres. Oct 24 - Nov 2, 2024

Once again, Red Phoenix have opted to challenge ‘usual’ and ‘predictably mainstream’ theatre in bringing Hangmen to Adelaide audiences.

McGuffin Park

By Sam O’Sullivan. Ensemble Theatre, Sydney. Directed by Mark Kilmurry. 18 October – 23 November 2024

Somewhere up the NSW coast, north of Sydney, is the laid-back, close-knit community of McGuffin Park. They read the one-man-produced McGuffin Mail, back the local team McGuffin Hogs, eat delicious McGuffin’s Muffins, meet and drink at the ever-expanding McGuffin Arms. It seems that living inside Alfred Hitchcock’s favourite plot device is a breeze.

Hedda Gabler

By Henrik Ibsen, in a version by Anthony Skuse. Secret House, in association with bAKEHOUSE Theatre Company. KXT on Broadway. Oct 18 – Nov 2, 2024

Ibsen’s famous anti-heroine, Hedda Gabler, raged at the oppressive patriarchy of her time but still negotiated 1891 Oslo with some subtlety: her liberating spirit was restrained in Henrik Ibsen’s play by her cowardly fear of any scandal.

Gypsy

Music by Jule Styne. Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by Arthur Laurents. Babirra Music Theatre. The Round, Nunawading. Oct 11 – 20, 2024

Babirra Music Theatre's recent production of Gypsy at The Round was a dazzling showcase of talent and passion. This timeless musical, with its iconic score and captivating story, was brought to life with stunning performances, exquisite costumes, and a masterful orchestra.

Magic, Mystique and Melancholy

Presented by QPAC and Southern Cross Soloists. Concert Hall, QPAC. October 20, 2024

Australia’s Southern Cross Soloists’ (SXS) final concert in the 15th QPAC Concert Series for 2024, where they have served as the company in residence, was a true celebration of their artistry. Titled Magic, Mystique, and Melancholy the program spanned a broad range of music, from timeless work by Stravinsky to the world premiere of a modern Australian composition.

The Roaring Twenties: George Gershwin’s An American in Paris

Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House. October 17, 2024

It’s hard to think of a more thrilling decade than the 1920’s, so catastrophically bookended by wars and tyranny, but so explosive in its arts, modernity and social advances.  

Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s one-hour concert series here squeezes in three compelling works from the roaring twenties.  It begins with Igor Stravinsky’s spirited suite drawing on works attributed to the 18th-century composer Giovanni Pergolesi , and relishing the Italian’s  theatricality and comedia dell arte.  

Kinky Boots

Book by Harvey Fierstein. Music by Cyndi Lauper. Presented by Encore Theatre Company. Director & Executive Producer: Belinda J King. MD: Andy Prideaux. Choreographer: Bianca King. Princess Theatre, Launceston. October 11-26, 2024

I’m not sure, but I’d hazard a guess and say I’ve been a reviewer for Stage Whispers for at least 18 years - so forgive this self-indulgent preamble. Over that time, I’ve been (mostly) fortunate to see dozens of professional and non-professional productions from Sydney and the Central Coast. While preparing to move interstate to Tasmania, I made sure to tee up a review opportunity to see Spring Awakening (Black Box Theatre Co.) when I visited in July.

A Figure In The Yellow Paper

By Eleanor Golding. Theatreworks, Explosives Factory. Melbourne Fringe. October 16 – 20, 2024

A loose adaptation of American gothic feminist/horror story The Yellow Paper, written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1892), writer/director Eleanor Golding has offered an ambitious modern interpretation that takes this tale to another level.

Dear Evan Hansen

Book by Steven Levenson. Music and Lyrics by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul. A Sydney Theatre Company and Michael Cassel Group production. Roslyn Packer Theatre. October 12 – December 1, 2024. Melbourne from December 14; Canberra from February 27, 2025 and Adelaide from April 3.

From the very first moment of the STC and Michael Cassel Group’s re-conceived production of Dear Evan Hansen, when we see Evan released from the short sleeved blue polo shirt that has been his uniform in every other production of the show, we know director Dean Bryant is not going to stick to the traditions of the West End/Broadway or (current touring) productions of the show.

Yentl

Based on the short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer. Written by Gary Abrahams, Elise Hearst and Galit Klas. Kadimah Yiddish Theatre, Monstrous Theatre and Neil Gooding Productions. Directed by Gary Abrahams. Playhouse, Sydney Opera House. October 17 - November 10, 2024

Oy vey, what a play! A delicious mix of mysticism, gender politics, lust, suspense, Yiddish, ancient Jewish lore and cross dressing. And yes, and there is some nudity.

Enough schmutz* to drag people away from the Hot Rabbi on Netflix.

Isaac Singer penned the short story Yentl the Yeshiva Boy – but hated Barba Streisand’s 1983 film adaptation. Streisand kept the core of the story about an orthodox Eastern-European Jewish woman, who dresses as a man so she can study Jewish scriptures, but shaped it as a vehicle for her own talent.