Reviews

Permission to Speak

Composed by Kate Neal. Directed by Tamara Saulwick. Presented by Chamber Made in partnership with Brisbane Powerhouse. Powerhouse Theatre, 23 - 24 February, 2018

Chamber Made’s Permission to Speak played Brisbane Powerhouse Theatre as part of the Australian Performing Arts Market (APAM) schedule for 2018. If you’ve not heard of it, APAM showcases contemporary performing arts to the international sector. This work is certainly one you can imagine touring the world. It would be just as at home in a modern art gallery as it is in a theatre or any other number of performance spaces. It’s unsurprising then, to know Chamber Made has presented over 90 performance seasons in Australia and internationally since 1988.

Lysistrata or War! Whoa! What Is It Good For?

Directed by Phil Miolin. Hayman Theatre, Curtin University, Bentley, WA. Feb 23-Mar 3, 2018

Aristophanes’ Lysistrata is performed in a one hour cutting and ‘update’ by Hayman Theatre. A thoughtful production bookended with ‘modern’ scenes, it shows that this 411 BC comedy about a woman who gathers other women to end the Peloponnesian War by denying all of the men sex, remains relevant in 2018.

Vicki

An original musical play by Rodney Stewart. Lane Cove Theatre Company (NSW). Feb 23 to 25, 2018.

Hats off to the Lane Cove Theatre company for giving one of their loyal members, Rodney Stewart, a chance to revive a musical he penned 40 years ago. At the time (1973) investors splashed out on a fully professional staging of the work under the title Nuclear and lost their dough. The musical lay in the bottom drawer until Rodney dusted it off a decade ago.

The revival production was staged in Lane Cove’s home turf – a hall at the back of a church on Sydney’s north-shore - with a basic set of a double bed, table and computer.

SNACKS - A Musical Tasting Plate

Directed by Rachael Chamberlain,. Musical direction by John MacPherson. The Studio, Subiaco Arts Centre, WA by Ludicrous Displays for Fringe World. Feb 22-24, 2018

SNACKS - A Musical Tasting Plate is a collection of three short musicals originally conceived and developed at the New York University - Tisch School of the Arts, Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. Running at just an hour long, it was concise and diverse it had appeal for a wide variety of musical theatre audiences.

Dickinson's Room

Adapted from the poetry and prose of Emily Dickinson by Charlotte Day and Miranda McCauley. Adelaide Fringe Festival 2018. Bad Neighbourhood Theatre. Balcony Rooms - Buckingham Arms Hotel: 23 Feb - 4 Mar, 2018

Upstairs in the Balcony Rooms in the Buckingham Arms Hotel there is a little theatrical gem – Dickinson’s Room.

In three small rooms, which have an untold history in themselves, one enters the life, mind and imagination of Emily Dickinson, one of America’s greatest poets.

This unique and engaging piece of theatre is unconventional; as critiqued in Broadway Baby, ‘there is a wonderful sense of freedom to the work. It doesn’t feel pinned to a stage.’

Burlesque Idol Australia 2018

Adelaide Fringe Festival. The Flamingo - Gluttony. 24th February, 2018

The uninhibited art of Burlesque has evolved over the years, starting in a theatrical sense in the 17th century. The use of the term ‘Burlesque’ as we know it today, began in America and was popular from 1860-1940, due in large part to performers such as Gypsy Rose Lee and Tempest Rose.

Burlesque Idol was established in 2010 by Lola LaBelle, with burlesque competitions running in London, Los Angeles, Boston, New York City and now in Australia.

Oh, What a Lovely War!

By Theatre Works, Charles Chilton, Gerry Raffles and members of the original cast. Joan Littlewood's Musical Entertainment. Presented by Canberra Repertory Society. Director: Chris Baldock. Theatre 3, Acton. 22 February - 10 March 2018

It’s fifty-five years since Joan Littlewood’s company workshopped new lyrics to wartime songs to highlight the brutality and pointlessness of World War I. The juxtaposition of jolly cabaret with the death statistics still packs the proverbial punch.

Bubble Show for Adults Only

Adelaide Fringe. Parasol Lounge at Gluttony. 16th February to 4th March 2018

Iulia Birze and Kurt Murray are familiar faces at the Adelaide Fringe where they have been performing Bubble Shows of one variety or another for many years. Best known to young audiences as Milkshake and Doctor Bubble, this year Birze and Murray have put together an adults only show, because, let’s face it, bubbles are fun at any age.

Swamp Juice

Bunk Puppets. Adelaide Fringe. Empire Theatre at The Royal Croquet Club. Mar 3 - 18, 2018

Swamp Juice is the story of a man who goes for a walk in a swamp and meets two snails, a bird and a snake. It is told using shadow puppets made from bits and pieces you might find in your recycling bin and toy box.

The magic lies in the fact that the audience sees the ordinary transformed into the extraordinary and can see how it is done. The light that produces the shadows, along with the stand that holds some of the props is as visible as the performance on the screen.

Sorry Wrong Number and Sunset Boulevard

Directed by Gary Klinger. New Farm Nash Theatre, Qld. February 23 - March 17,2018

Most people would, perhaps, remember both of these shows as films with famous stars but they were initially radio plays from the 1940’s and early 1950. Well this was a chance again to listen to radio plays with live actors reading their parts in front of us. Nash Theatre has perfected this presentation over the last few years.

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