Reviews

Her Father’s Daughter

By Keziah Warner. An adaptation of Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler. Hotel Now. Prahran Council Chambers. 22 May – 3 June, 2018.

Her Father’s Daughter casts a critical eye on the classic Hedda Gabler. Keziah Warner has written an exciting new contemporary modified version composed masterfully with sharp poignant dialogue addressing the concerns and values of middle - class Australia

Caligula

By Albert Camus. A new translation by David Greig. Red Phoenix Theatre. Holden Street Theatres. May 24-June 2, 2018.

Few of us could ever imagine philosophy might prevail in a meeting between Roman Emperor Caligula and his Senators, but instead we’d almost certainly expect mindless depravity, decadent sex and gruesome violence to be high on the agenda.  The 1979 Penthouse Magazine/Bob Guccione movie starring Malcolm McDowell has fostered that enduring impression, but the savagely funny and playful David Greig translation of Albert Camus’ 1940’s play Caligula looks at the notorious Emperor through a very different prism.

A Brief History of Magic

Wizard Actors. The Butterfly Club, Melbourne. 22 – 26 May, 2018

Comedy duo Wizard Actors, aka Caitlin Yolland and Rob Lloyd, take you back to wizarding school in A Brief History of Magic. Jam packed with Potter-puns, satirical sorcery and the occasional political jab, it’s a place where die-hard Harry Potter fans can indulge their obsession and show off their knowledge (and you need it to enjoy the show).

End of the Line

By Andy Kabanoff. Wyong Drama Group. Directed by Andy Kabanoff and Gabrielle Brooks. Grove Theatre, Wyong. May 25 - June 2, 2018

End of the Line is the second of Andy Kabanoff’s plays to be produced by Wyong Drama Group. Sepia Secrets, staged in 2016, was a drama exploring his family’s life before and after WWII, which was well-received by local audiences. This is a ‘prequel’ of sorts, inasmuch as it delves further back into the life of his paternal grandmother, Elizabieta, a Polish immigrant who grew up in Russia during the revolution.

Jekyll and Hyde The Musical

Book and Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. Music by Frank Wildhorn. Manly Musical Society. The Star of the Sea Theatre. May 18 - 26, 2018

Fans of Jekyll and Hyde The Musical have had their fair share of disappointments in recent times with no less than three professional productions failing to get to the stage - the latest being Opera Australia's proposed season starring Teddy Tahu  Rhodes and Jemma Rix.

Continental Quilt

By Joan Greening. Tea Tree Players. Tea Tree Players Theatre, Surrey Downs (SA). May 24 – June 2, 2018

Continental Quilt is like a game of Happy Families, except these families are not so happy!

Set in the 80s, Mike is anticipating an erotic evening with his new girlfriend.  His attempts to bed her are hindered by the arrival of his brother/mother/sister-in-law/father/previous girlfriend and neighbours.

A classic door farce requires split second timing and lots of pace. This production had both in bucket loads. There was barely a silent moment on stage with doors opening and closing and characters changing rooms faster than their clothes.

The Walworth Farce

By Enda Walsh. Workhorse Theatre Company in association with Bakehouse Theatre. Directed by Kim Hardwick. The Kings Cross Theatre, Kings Cross Hotel. 18 May – 9 June 2018

Up many stairs at the Kings Cross Hotel, in a small space made more cramped by a huge amount of third-hand furniture, there’s a ritual going on. Three actors are going hammer-and-tongs at a script that is ragged and hard to follow. After a while, with multitudinous wigs, dresses, and entrances and exits from two large cupboards, some sense descends.

Arms and the Man

By G. Bernard Shaw. Canberra Repertory. Directed by Ed Wightman. Theatre 3, Acton, Canberra. 17 May – 2 June 2018

Rousing the social conscience by mocking social and political conventions, Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man, penned in 1894 and set during and after the 1885–86 Serbo–Bulgarian war, opens by introducing us to the character of an enemy officer, the Swiss Captain Bluntschili, fleeing massacre, and Raina — fiancée of Sergius, who led the route of Bluntschilli’s Serbian forces.  From there, tensions between proper behaviour and honourable acts  in

A Chorus Line

So Popera Productions. Director: Amy Copeland. Musical Director: Peter Copeland. Choreographer: Teagan McKeen. Illawarra Performing Arts Centre Wollongong. May 18 to 26, 2018

As a former Director of the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre I am always interested in what happens there. So Popera is a relatively new kid on the block for me although the program notes tell me that the group in its current form has been around for about ten years.

Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom the Musical

Book by Luhrmann and Craig Pearce, adapted by Terry Johnson. Willoughby Theatre Company. Concourse Theatre, Chatswood. May 19 – June 2, 2018

Willoughby Theatre Company’s NSW Premiere production of Strictly Ballroom was a smash hit at The Concourse Theatre. Based on the Baz Luhrmann play that became the well- known Classic Aussie Movie, the musical really was a spectacle.

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