Reviews

The impact on schoolchildren of the internet in general, and social media in particular, would appear to make for a potentially terrific stage musical that could combine education with entertainment. The Adelaide premiere of Connected does not quite convince this reviewer of it being a first-rate show, coming off as too uneven in quality, with regard to flaws both in the basic material and some specific elements of this particular production.

M: Kaddish for the Children is a truly unique personalized response to the story of Medea, presented as part of ‘Woman, Art & Politics 2019’, Footscray Community Arts Centre.  

Ancient Greek Euripides’s play Medea, first produced in 431 BC, was based on the myth of Jason and Medea.  Daughter of a barbarian king, Medea defies her family to marry Jason.  A soothsayer and sorceress, she helps him gain the magic Golden Fleece. 

By Heart is a tender, delicious, funny, intimate and pleasing performance, written and performed by Tiago Rodrigues. He tells us stories that connect and resonate with the audience in the same way a piece of music enfolds an audience in its sound and the experience of seeing something beautiful spellbinds all who witness it.

This is a simple story at heart. It is a love story about the love of a Grandson for his Grandmother and her love of literature. It is also a performance about connections that are strange and wonderful, challenging and awe-inspiring.

This is an ambitious project which shows great vision in terms of how Shakespeare should be approached in outdoor locations. The production uses the historic home as an exceptional backdrop and makes good use of some staging and lighting techniques to capture the mood of the play and to highlight the magnificence of the location. The balcony scene was particularly impressive and allowed unusual aspects of the text to be drawn out. This made the scene larger than the life while retaining its intimacy.