Reviews

This quiet riverside location is wonderfully transformed for the radical and often irreverent interpretations of Shakespeare offered by Sly Rat. The unconventional performance of the play is innovative and refreshing while remaining entirely faithful to the text. The show manages to create some spectacular effects in the outdoor location and employs a range of unexpected musical, costuming and lighting choices. The references to 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick 1968) highlights themes such as earthly heritage, rebirth and reinvention of the self through the power of technology.

Little Emperors is multi layered.  It is a personal family story that is profoundly meshed in the immeasurably burdensome cultural story of China’s One Child Policy.  It is presented in a wonderful surreal abstracted way, and yet, surprisingly, it also accentuates the naturalistic and acutely personal via the use of ‘state of the art’ Audio-Visual projection.

Underground Opera Company returns to Brisbane in the acoustic-rich caverns of the one of Brisbane's famous landmarks, this time with a selection of well-known favourites from movie musicals of the past and present. Hosted by the animated Bruce Edwards both at the entrance and on the surround-sound stage, and superbly accompanied by Brendan Murtagh at the piano, this is an intimate night of mainstream entertainment and a showcase of excellent vocal talent and theatrical versatility.

I don’t know why Melbourne’s newest cultural festival is Asia Topa and not the more memorable Asia Topia, but the organisers have presented the elite National Ballet of China as the highlight of the inaugural festival, and it’s a marvellous chance to experience even more cultural diversity in Melbourne.