Reviews

Whale Fall

By Ian Sinclair. Produced by The Kabuki Drop, Commissioned by PICA and co-presented with Perth Festival. Directed by Melissa Cantwell. PICA Performance Space, Perth Cultural Centre, WA. Feb 17-27, 2021

Whale Fall looks at transitions across multiple generations, family dynamics, the human body and ecological change. An Australian family drama, set on the beach, the story plays against the story of a dying whale, as it slowly falls to the bottom of the ocean, to form a new biodiverse ecosystem.

The Thought That Counts

Adelaide Fringe Festival 2021, Black Box Theatres. Feb 19 – Mar 21, 2021

This interactive offering from the mind of Joshua Kernich is a tremendous ten minutes of surprising, thought-provoking fun. You gather with a handful of others around a large TV screen and a pixelated character walks through a familiar landscape from a platform video game of the 1990s.

Children of the Sea

By Jay Emmanuel with co-composition by Kavisha Mazzella and Pavan Kumar Hari. Encounter and Performing Lines. Directed by Jay Emmanuel . Subiaco Arts Centre, WA. Feb 10-13, 2021

Children of the Sea is a powerful theatrical work about survival and resistance, based on two years of research from writer/director Jay Emmanuel and interviews with over 60 survivors, border officials and human rights lawyers at Australian detention centres. Highly emotional and very moving, this powerfully presented piece is presented by Encounter and Performing Lines.

Arabian Nights

Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade. Ravel - La Valse. Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Johannes Fritzch. Concert Hall, QPAC. 19-20 Feb 2021. Broadcast ABC Classic 13 Mar 12 Noon.

Before the concert began, concertmaster Warwick Adeney did some QSO housekeeping by informing the audience that the conductor of the concert, Johannes Fritsch, had been appointed Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor for the orchestra for the next three years. Fritzch had previously held the same position with the orchestra from 2008 – 2014.

The Reichstag is Burning

By Joanne Hartstone. Hartstone Kitney Productions. Adelaide Fringe 2021. Black Box Theatre. Feb 19 – Mar 14, 2021.

The team that has delivered such gems as The Girl That Jumped Off the Hollywood Sign and That Daring Australian Girl are back with their new offering The Reichstag is Burning. Having already well established themselves as award-winning writers and producers of the cabaret genre it is, perhaps, no surprise that their latest production invites the audience to spend the evening in the Katakombs Kabarett in the Weimar tradition.

The Kaye Hole

Adelaide Fringe Festival 2021. The Octagon at Gluttony, Rymill Park. Feb 19 - Mar 20, 2021

What do you do to top off a long, hard (but enjoyable) day of Fringing? You visit The Octagon at Gluttony and see The Kaye Hole of course!

EGG

Created by Erin Fowler. Adelaide Fringe Festival 2021. Black Box Theatre. Feb 19 – Mar 21, 2021

Acclaimed choreographer and dancer Erin Fowler is premiering her newest offering, EGG, at the Black Box Theatre for this year’s Adelaide Fringe. In EGG, Fowler incorporates her background in dance into a comedic, physical theatre piece, unmistakably directed by none other than Adelaide’s king of clowning, Hew Parham.

Oliver! Jr

By Lionel Bart. Primadonna Productions. Directed by Carole Dhu. Pinjarra Civic Centre WA. Feb 19-20, 2021

Primadonna Productions’ youth presented the Australian Premiere of Oliver! Jr, a shortened version of this classic British musical that still contains all the highlights - and tells the story well. After a tricky rehearsal period that included not only a lockdown, but one cast member being caught on the “wrong side” of one of WA’s internal borders - this was brought to the stage with love, talent and bucket-loads of enthusiasm.

Chopin’s Last Tour

By Phil Aughey. Adelaide Fringe Festival 2021. The Garage International. Feb 19-24 2021

Phil Aughey is Chopin, recounting episodes and playing music from his life whilst stuck in a foggy Scotland in 1848.

Aughey’s performance as an actor and pianist is of someone who has done this show a lot; he’s at his best when remembering the saddest times: then he has us captivated and listening to every word. Even the occasional missed note or imperfect timing on the piano feels like a composer who has had enough.

Dirt

By Angus Cameron. Adelaide Fringe 2021. Presented by Patrick Livesey. The Arch, Holden Street Theatres. Friday 16 February to Sunday 21 March, 2021

Occasionally, 60 minutes can change your life, and for me, Patrick Livesey’s production of Dirt is an example of how fine theatre can showcase and educate about human rights issues in a subtle, compelling way.

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