Reviews

Julia

By Joanna Murray-Smith. Sydney Theatre Company. Director Sarah Goodes. Drama Theatre Sydney Opera House. 4 April – 13 May, 2023

Joanna Murray-Smith took on some heavy responsibilities when agreeing to write this play – responsibilities to the subject, the theme, the nation – and to herself as a writer. It is never easy to create a piece of theatre about someone who is living, especially when that

‘someone’ is now so well-known on the ‘world stage’, someone whose words have resounded internationally. Someone like Australia’s first, and, unfortunately, only, female Prime Minister. Someone like Julia Gillard.

Funny Money

By Ray Cooney. Castle Hill Players. The Pavilion Theatre. Mar 31 – Apr 2, 2023

If you are looking for some belly laughs between now and the 22nd of April, look no further.  Funny Money by Ray Cooney is being presented at The Pavilion Theatre by the talented folks from Castle Hill Players.  The money is funny, the play is funny and this production has the audience laughing out loud quite a lot.  There is something for everyone in this:  a hectic pace, comedic timing, sight gags, too many briefcases and eight distinctly different characters.

High Pony

Written & performed by Mel & Sam (Melanie O’Brien & Samantha Andrew). Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The Toff in Town, Curtin House, Swanston Street, CBD. 30 March – 12 April 2023

High Pony has nothing to do with brumbies in the Alps. It’s a ponytail, worn high, the preferred hairstyle of your under-25s netball player. Thus Mel and Sam’s opening number in their show this year is, ‘Net-f*cking-ball’ – aggressive, defiant, in your face – and a sharply observed nasty, witty take on the immensely popular game and its sometimes strangely motivated players.  A contemporary phenomenon no less and therefore ripe for Mel and Sam to take the piss.

Alice Tovey: Not Like The Other Ghouls

Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The Tower, Malthouse Theatre. March 30 to April 9, 2023.

Alice Tovey: Not Like The Other Ghouls - the rock star goddess punches out her eclectic exorcisms of what it means to love the horror genre. A ghoulish show, residing in the Palace of Frankenstein where sketchy bits and pieces are stitched together into a full hour of comedy-cabaret.

Sweeney Todd. The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by Hugh Wheeler from an adaptation by Christopher Bond Directed by Sonya Suares. The Geoff Gibbs Theatre, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Edith Cowan University, My Lawley, WA. Mar 31- Apr 5, 2023

Sweeney Todd. The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a gorgeously dark production performed with strength by WAAPA Third Year Musical Theatre, and superbly designed built and crewed by WAAPA Production and Design students.

Orlando

By Sarah Ruhl from the novel by Virginia Woolf. Directed by Younghee Park. Enright Studio, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley, WA. Mar 30 - Apr 5, 2023

WAAPA’s Orlando is an excellent ensemble piece, performed by WAAPA Third Year Performance Making students, with design and production support provided by WAAPA Production and Design students. Expertly acted, Orlando includes a great deal of shared storytelling, with strong stage music and at times an almost Bollywood feel.

Much Ado About Nothing

By William Shakespeare. Directed by Clara Voda. The Roundhouse, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley, WA. Mar 30-Apr 5, 2023

Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing is performed by WAAPA Third Year Acting Students, with design and creative elements provided by WAAPA Production and Design students. A vibrant and colourful production, Much Ado About Nothing showcases the emerging talents from a range of WAAPA disciplines.

Dr. Brown Returns (USA)

Presented by MILKE. Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Malthouse Theatre, 113 Sturt Street, Southbank. 30 March – 9 April 2023

Phil Burgers has created the somewhat controversial character, Dr Brown, and has wowed audiences across various international comedy festival stages. It is not the least bit surprising that his unique talent translates well to the small and big screen where Burgers has created some very successful short sketches. On the surface Dr Brown appears as a somewhat crude slothful being but, actually, this character has a great deal of heart (literally and metaphorically).

Grey Arias

Performed and devised by Adrienne Truscott and Le Gateau Chocolat. Co-directed by John Jarboe. Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Malthouse Theatre, 113 Sturt Street Southbank. 30 March – 16 April 2023.

Adrienne Truscott and Let Gateau Chocolat are two renowned artists in their own right. Historically they both draw on often highly confronting material for their shows. As artists who have forged a career in working in the grey areas of performance art this show seems an inevitable collaboration and consolidation of the oeuvre that binds them together. The imagery is often crass, the content is always brutally honest, and the eclectic style of performance is equally brash.

Disney 100 – The Concert

Producers: MM Creative Productions. HOTA Gold Coast - March 31st –April 1st, 2023, and other states.

The digital traffic warning on the jammed road outside the Arts Centre told us “HOTA Special Event”, The event was, of course, the Disney 100 concert – not an imported package but, in fact, the brainchild of two super talented ladies from Perth who form MM Creative Productions.

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