Reviews

The Yellow Wave

By Jane Miller collaborating with director and cast, based on the 1895 novel of the same name by Major General Kenneth MacKay. 15 Minutes from Anywhere Company for Poppy Seed Festival. The Butterfly Club, Melbourne CBD. 17-29 November 2015.

Take a racist, paranoid, melodramatic novel of the late 19th century about a Chinese invasion of Australia, masterminded by evil Russians, but resisted by some dinkum blokes.  Add an agile writer, three highly talented cast and a bold, inventive director.  Mine the novel for every cliché, stereotype, stock character and situation. Note the disturbing parallels with contemporary racism and paranoia. Improvise, rehearse and, I assume, fall about laughing. 

Born in Sawdust

Directed by Gavin Robins. National Institute of Circus Arts Australia, 39-59 Green Street Prahran. 18-28 November 2015.

The Russian phrase to describe someone born into the circus is wholly illustrated in this production. The show ties all the segments together around the life of a circus performer who faces heartbreaking choices to further his career.

A Lady Shot

By Girls Act Good, performed by Sarah Clarke, Lisa Dallinger, Lee McClenaghan, Jennifer Monk, Sarah Plummer, Constance Washington, and Kelley Kerr Young. La Mama, EXPLORATIONS, 205 Faraday Street, 17, 18 & 19 November 2015

This performance pays homage to a range of important female figures that have made a contribution to feminism and represent the power of femininity in one form or another. It is a great reminder that ordinary names such as Julie, Joan, Juliet, Helena, Beatrice and Diana can evoke a rich and powerful history of women who have demonstrated extraordinary courage and strength.

Melba

By Johannes Luebbers and Nicholas Christo. Directed by Nicholas Christo. Roundhouse Theatre, WAAPA, Mt Lawley, WA. 13-19 November, 2015.

The World Premiere of Melba, written by Johannes Luebbers and Nicholas Christo and performed by WAAPA Postgraduate Vocal students, reveals an exciting new biographic 'operatic drama' about an Australian icon, which is beautifully performed.

Project: Hysteria

The Pretty Trap and Interior: Panic – two one-act plays by Tennessee Williams. TBC Theatre for Poppy Seed Festival. Trades Hall Ballroom, Melbourne. 10 November – 13 December 2015.

Heat, sweat, languor and frustrated – or arrested – sexuality in a 1930s ‘south’ of the USA.  That’s the immediate and powerful impression on entering the theatre.  We know the show is by Tennessee Williams, so we’re primed.  The wide playing space – with iconic period furniture in pools of light and naked hanging bulbs - occupies fully half of the Trades Hall ballroom.  The cast, in costume and in various poses, are already on stage.  A neatly dressed young fellow stands rigid to one side.  A woman in a clinging neglig

Once Were Leaders

Presented by Wander Productions in association with QPAC. Cremorne Theatre, Brisbane. 18-20 November, 2015

This is an evening with well-known Australian political satirist and impersonator Max Gillies.

Harvey Milk: The Opera in Concert

Music by Stewart Wallace / Libretto by Michael Korie. Left Bauer Productions. Sydney Town Hall. November 15, 2015.

This opera on the life and murder of America’s first elected openly gay official was staged twenty years ago in Houston and New York and, after revisions, in Harvey Milk’s hometown of San Francisco.  It’s hasn’t been seen since.

Now this staged concert version with a cast backed by the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Choir, a one-off at Sydney Town Hall, follows a season at Melbourne’s Midsumma Festival. 

Gypsy

By Stephen Sondheim, Jule Styne and Arthur Laurents. Beenleigh Theatre Group (Qld). Directed by Steven Pimm. Crete Street Theatre. November 13-28, 2015

This show is a good choice for a local community because it requires a large cast from a wide range of age groups and a backstage staff with a multitude of talents, including an orchestra with training, or else well-trained, musicians. It's also a suitable vehicle to show off local talent and give those star struck individuals a chance to sample the delights of being on the stage. 

And, interestingly, isn't this what this show is all about?

Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune

By Terrence McNally. Directed by Colette Mann. 45 Downstairs, Melbourne. November 11 – 29, 2015

There may be some theatre snobs who won’t go to see this beautiful production because of a stupid misconception (as someone said to me) that “TV actors are never any good on stage”. It’s utter rubbish in most cases, and most particularly in THIS case. Yes, Director Collette Man and her two stars, Kate Kendall and Damien Richardson, are all regulars in TV “Soap” Neighbours, but all that proves is how incredibly versatile and talented all three are.

The Game’s Afoot

By Ken Ludwig. Javeenbah Theatre Co, Nerang, Gold Coast. Director: Jim Dickson. November 13th – 28th, 2015.

Like all good murder mystery/comedies, this show twisted its way to a somewhat surprising conclusion, while delivering plenty of laughs as it progressed.

Jim Dickson’s cast of Chris Hawkins, Marie Dickson, Nathan Schulz, Lilias Davie, Sophie Lawson, Andrew Barnes, Gai Byrne and Virginia Leaver well suited the characters they portrayed and complimented each other beautifully.

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