Reviews

Troilus and Cressida

By William Shakespeare. Secret House. The Depot Theatre, Marrickville. May 9 – 19, 2018

Dubbed one of Shakespeare’s problem plays, people – when they bother at all – debate that Troilus and Cressida is some genre mash of tragedy and comedy, satire or history.

Sean O’Riordan and his epic cast of 19 come close to a better, more radical truth.  This is a nihilistic world with vain empty characters; whether Trojan or Greek, all whores to love or war. 

O’Riordan has Homer’s warrior stars all strutting out in a celebrity fashion parade, which nicely sums it up.

The Dogs Logs

By C J Johnson. Javeenbah Theatre Co., Nerang, Gold Coast. Director Jocelyn Moore-Carter. May 11th – 26th, 2018

Have you ever wondered what your dog is thinking?  I know I often see how dogs are treated and think to myself “and these people call themselves dog lovers?”  Tonight at Javeenbah’s performance of The Dog Logs we had some insight into how dogs think and the part we humans play in their lives.

Summer of the Seventeenth Doll

By Ray Lawler. Black Swan State Theatre Company. Directed by Adam Mitchell. Heath Ledger Theatre, State Theatre, Centre of Western Australia. May 5-20, 2018

Director Adam Mitchell began his process with a conversation with Summer of the Seventeenth Doll author, Ray Lawler, who 65 years after creating this classic, is still refining this beloved text.

The Importance of Being Earnest

By Oscar Wilde. WAAPA 3rd Year Acting Students. Directed by Dan Bird. The Roundhouse Theatre, WAAPA, Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley, WA. May 4-10, 2018.

As you entered the Roundhouse Theatre for The Importance of Being Earnest, you encountered signs warning of adult content. While Oscar Wilde’s comedy of manners is undeniably clever, it would not usually be considered that wild or ill-mannered. It is our first indication that this production is a little different.

The Last of the Red Hot Lovers

By Neil Simon. Halpin Productions. Director: Clem Halpin. Ocean Shores Community Centre, Northern NSW. 11th – 20th May, 2018.

Former Gold Coast director Clem Halpin has opened his latest production in the seaside town of Ocean Shores, a couple of klms north of Brunswick Heads, and for this venture he has chosen the Neil Simon hit comedy The Last of the Red Hot Lovers.

This four hander has the luckless Barney Cashman desperately trying to score with three women from a variety of backgrounds with hysterical results.

Baby Cake

By Kerensa Diball & Yuhui Ng-Rodriguez. Next Wave and Darebin Arts Speakeasy. Northcote Town Hall. May 9 – 13, 2018.

Baby Cake is an exceptionally honest and raw new duo performance by Kerensa Diball and Yuhui Ng- Rodrigeuz. They are a collaborative team in the practice of site, movement and domestic space. This is a post-modern piece addressing contemporary feminist artists.

They weave themselves in out around the space with a comforting warmth yet a detached calmness. An aired pre-recorded message is posed as a dilemma for both, unable to commit time to their art because of their own personal commitments.

Bliss

By Peter Carey. Adapted for the Stage by Tom Wright. Malthouse Theatre and Belvoir Production. Direction – Matthew Lutton. Merlyn Theatre, Malthouse. 4 May – 2 June 2018

Bliss is a fascinating ‘look back’ at the heady days of abundance and hedonism in Sydney of the 1980’s through the sharp incisive writing of Peter Carey - filtered by way of the perceptions and dramaturgical skills of Tom Wright.   It is presented by an eclectic ensemble of versatile actors on a surprising set by Marg Horwell, with exceptional lighting (Paul Jackson) and sound (Stefan Gregory) and highly polished by direction by Matthew Lutton.  It is a lengthy, ambitious, keenly conceptualized and executed, hypnotic work that spans three hours

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Script: Rachel Sheinkin. Music and Lyrics: William Finn. Theatre and Company. Riverside Theatre Parramatta. May 10 – 13, 2018

The inaugural musical produced by new theatre group Theatre and Company of the hilarious show The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was a well-received hit on opening night.

Performed in the intimate Lennox Theatre at Riverside, it made you feel like you were in the audience of a live Spelling Bee.

Good Cook. Friendly. Clean.

By Brooke Robinson. Griffin Theatre Company. SBW Stables Theatre. May 4 – June 16, 2018

Brooke Robinson shows an horrific slide to homelessness for a Sydney working woman in her 50s.

Sandra’s voyage begins applying to shared households, visiting and seeking acceptance, desperate in interviews to match the whims of mostly crazed millennials.

Fayssal Bazzi and Kelly Paterniti play a range of revengeful brats, party-crazed dits, spoilt sloths or distracted young mums who interrogate and tease Sandra as a possible new housemate, before always showing her the door.

Poison

By Lot Vekemans (translated by Rina Verago). Sue Benner Theatre, Metro Arts, Brisbane. 9 to 19 May 2018

‘Grief’ is a very literary subject – something we will gladly allow to envelop us in a one-on-one with a book or in a dark cinema. It is not a topic we eagerly seek out in live entertainment. And so, it must be a challenge, when presenting a one-act two-hander about deep-seated grief – caused in this case by the loss of a child – to get the balance right and avoid dishing up a slice of soap.

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