Reviews

The Long Pigs

Devised by Clare Bartholomew, Susie Dee, Derek Ives-Plunkett & Nicci Wilks. Presented by WE3 and Cluster Arts. Theatre Works. 29 November – 9 December 2023

Long pigs?  A term used by South Sea island cannibals to describe human meat.  That is just one level – or layer – of meaning in this very dark, macabre, laugh-out-loud and brilliantly realised clown show. 

Who are the ‘long pigs’ here?  The performers, or us, or metaphorically all humanity, ripe for the slaughter?

Percussion, Conversation, Degustation

Performed by Duré Dara, Speak Percussion and friends. La Mama Courthouse, 349 Drummond Street, Carlton. 30 November - 3 December 2023.

The legendary performer, entrepreneur, advocator and restaurateur Duré Dara is at the centre of these beguiling and unusual performances. Over four nights evocative music, sounds, food, song, dance, and conversation are carefully curated and offered in each show. Each evening is unique with different performers that mainly centre around Dara and her work. Each night has a different title and each show has a different emphasis on the overarching themes.

The Pillowman

By Martin McDonagh. Directed by Travis Koch. Hayman Theatre, Curtin University, Bentley, WA. Nov 22 - Dec 2, 2023

A very dark piece for such a young cast, Hayman Theatre’s The Pillowman is a beautifully acted, carefully directed drama, that keeps its audience intrigued, involved, and occasionally appalled from beginning to end.

Rinaldo

By George Frideric Handel. Libretto Giacomo Rossi. Pinchgut Opera. Conductor Erin Helyard. Director Louisa Muller. City Recital Hall, Sydney. 30 Nov – 6 Dec, 2023

For twenty-two years Pinchgut Opera has “scoured the period from opera’s birth to its flowering in the Baroque” to offer different opera experiences to Sydney audiences.

Their production of Rinaldo not only realises that philosophy, but with war and devastation dominating our world, and the possibility of peace seeming so remote, Pinchgut and the maestro Handel bring us an opera that includes a cease fire, a truce, reconciliations, love … and, gratefully, no tragic deaths!

Cosi

By Louis Nowra. Townsville Little Theatre. Directed by Katherine Shield. Pimpac Theatre, Townsville. 29 Nov – 2 Dec 2023.

NOW CONSIDERED to be a classic Australian comedy, Louis Nowra’s 1992 play is familiar territory for actors and theatregoers alike as it receives regular airings on the community theatre stage throughout Australia.

Of course revivals of the 1996 film which starred Ben Mendelsohn, Toni Colette, Rachel Griffiths and Jackie Weaver amongst others have contributed a great deal to the lasting quality of the work, and this version has an enjoyable overall quality, featuring some extremely strong performances from several actors.

The Italian Comedy

By Stephen Hopley and Alexander Gibbs. Presented by Something Wicked. Directed by Stephen Hopley. 107 Projects, 107 Redfern Street, Sydney. November 29 – December 3, 2023

Caught by the sudden closure of the trendy Meraki Arts Bar in Oxford Street, The Italian Comedy has now found a home in Redfern.

In an improvised theatre space, featuring the bare minimum props for a cut-price fashion shop in Venice, eight players go for it. Each with his/her own accented English, they prance and bicker in a plot that could have been hacked from a commedia dell’arte stock pile.

ON/OFF

NICA - National Institute of Circus Arts. Curator: James Brown. Digital Technologies Coordinator: Kaleb Hawkins. Lighting design and operation: Kris Chainey. Sound design: Rachel ‘Stoz’ Stone. 39-59 Green Street, Prahran. 28 November - 2 December 2023

ON/OFF provides an evening of circus delights including thrills, heart in mouth intense moments and laughs. Although this is a showcase for individual talents with changes in large pieces of equipment, it is moulded into a coherent show by the very slick stage management (Edwina Guiness) and thoughtful use of recorded reflections on circus life by the cast. Each performance had individual background music to support the various personas presented.

Dead Man’s Cell Phone

By Sarah Ruhl. Wicked Good Productions, SA. State Theatre Company SA Stateside program. Slingsby’s Hall of Possibility. 28 November - 13 December 2023.

Supported by Slingsby and Brink Productions and presented by Caitlin Ellen Moore (Wicked Good Productions) and Tim Overton, Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Sarah Ruhl 2008) is a whimsical glimpse into a collection of absurd moments in the lives of several people linked by one unexpected and unexplained death.  This play is also presented as part of State Theatre Company SA’s generous and important Stateside program, supporting smaller local theatre companies to produce new work.

Track Works

BBT. Mortuary Station, Chippendale NSW. 21 November – 19 December, 2023

With a backdrop of constant rumbling trains, the old gothic Mortuary Station near Sydney’s Central is perfect for this short and artful pastiche opera.

Track Works shows five people waiting for their train, a young lawyer fed up with her corporate job, a homeless artist, two schoolgirls out to make trouble and a station master who thinks his is the best in the world.

Mariedl – Selfies with a Giantess

Written by Penny Black. Performed by Maxi Blaha. The Street, Canberra. Nov 25 & 26, 2023

As the audience enters the theatre, we are welcomed by “Roll Up! Roll Up! Come, marvel, be amazed!” Indeed, we are amazed! Here, from her lofty post, is a woman of uncommon height who describes herself in the manner of a carnival barker. Audience members are encouraged to take a selfie with this giantess – and I assure you, it isn’t easy, even with Mariedl (played by the excellent Maxi Blaha) bending to get in shot. (For the sake of Stage Whispers readership, I shan’t share my selfie!)

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