Reviews

Some say never work with children – though those voices clearly haven’t had the pleasure of seeing the incredible emerging talent Miranda Musical Theatre Company has to showcase. Into the Woods Jr., with book by James Lapine and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, which marks Miranda Musical Theatre’s first full foray into a junior musical. The production has been thoughtfully crafted as an opportunity not only for its young performers, but also for members of the creative team who have enthusiastically stepped forward to lead the production.

Femoid is a derogatory slang word used by online Incel groups to dehumanise women. It is also the title of the new play by writer/performer Iris Warren, who has reappropriated the meaning in protest against the current rise of misogyny and violence against women. This show is presented by the Vixen Theatre company.

Who would have expected a play about shame and the sometimes tortured relationships we have with our bodies to be funny?  It so was! The audience laughed out loud during much of the play.

It features an affair between an older sexually ambiguous male, and a generationally younger transgender woman. The relationship between the two begins quickly and rapidly escalates leading to an explosion of mutual exploration. Their continued relationship is fuelled by physical desire and cutting verbal play and set alight by unresolved emotional pain.

Side by Side with Sondheim is, in theory, a simple proposition. Place a group of highly capable performers in a room with Stephen Sondheim’s songs and let the writing do its work. In practice, of course, there is nothing simple about Sondheim. His material asks for dexterity, emotional intelligence, rhythmic precision, comic nerve, and a willingness to sit inside discomfort. A Night At The Musicals’ rose to that challenge with style.