Reviews

What Is the Matter with Mary Jane? & Slut

By Wendy Harmer & Sancia Robinson (What Is the Matter with Mary Jane?) and Patricia Cornelius (Slut). Fourth Wall Theatre Co. St Martins Theatre, South Yarra. 6 – 15 May 2021

The two one-act plays that make up this double bill depict conditions or the cruel prejudices that afflict (almost exclusively) women.  In What Is the Matter with Mary Jane? it is anorexia nervosa and bulimia.  In Slut, it is the misogyny and double standards (and jealousy?) that get a woman labelled ‘slut’.  Both plays give rise to unfashionable emotions– in the current climate - since in both plays the persecutors on stage are other women.

A Room of One’s Own

Written by Virginia Woolf. Adapted for the Stage by Carissa Licciardello & Tom Wright. Belvoir. Upstairs Theatre, Belvoir Street Theatre. May 6 – 23. 2021

How the spirits of female students must have soared when they heard Virginia Woolf’s two lectures at Cambridge in 1928! Published soon after, it’s here given its third adaptation for performance. 

A Room of One’s Own is ostensibly about women in fiction, as we follow Woolf’s sharp mind and earnest sympathy unravelling millenniums of misogyny and oppressive traditions which left the world with so few female writers.

Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Book by David Greig. Music by Marc Shaiman. Lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman. Stray Cats Theatre Company. Directed by Karen Francis. Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, WA. May 6-9, 2021

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a feel-good tale and a story of triumph over adversity, which seems a very great choice after a difficult couple of weeks, with masked audiences at its first couple of performance given lots of laughs.

Bright and uplifting, fun costuming (Linda Lowry, Kim Parker, Pat Francis and Karen Francis) and a set with some lovely surprises, designed by Bronwyn White and Karen Francis, are lit with lots of colour and verve by Clint Gerard and Karen Francis, to create a world of wonder.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

By Rupert Holmes. Phoenix Ensemble, Beenleigh, Qld. 7th – 29th of May, 2021

Let me guess, you’re not familiar with this musical. You should be. Phoenix Ensemble have taken on some massive productions since the Covid restrictions lifted and this show is no exception. Approximately twenty minutes into the first act, it was obvious how pivotal the casting was to this production. Without a cohesive cast who are masters of improvisation, song and dance, it’s very likely this production would fail. In this case, Director Shane Webb has succeeded beyond belief.

To Kill A Mockingbird

Adapted by Christopher Sergel from the novel by Harper Lee. Directed by Jane Sherwood. Stirling Theatre, Morris Place, Innaloo, WA. May 1-16, 2021

Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, held up by the early Civil Rights Movement as an excellent example of solidarity and non-violence, continues to resonate with readers and theatre audiences over 60 years after its publication, especially in the light of the #Blacklivesmatter movement. Difficult to stage in Perth, because of the demographics of our acting community, it is great to see Christopher Sergel’s moving theatrical adaption finally hit our stages.

Foxholes of the Mind

By Bernard Clancy. WHAM – Wolf Heidecker Arts Management. The Royalty Theatre, Adelaide. May 6-8, 2021

When playwright Bernard Clancy is asked why he wrote Foxholes of the Mind, his response is ‘to save lives’. First performed in 2010, his poignant play about the aftermath of war and the ongoing, unseen wounds of the men and women who served, delves deep into the psyche of several characters.

Bach Out Loud

Baroque masterworks in an intimate setting, presented by Contra Concerts and Southern Cross Soloists. Curated by Jonathan Henderson. Holy Trinity Church, Brisbane. 7 May, 2021

Contra Concerts' debut series started in Brisbane with a delightful curated concert of pieces by JS Bach. This clever selection transports the audience back to the streets of Leipzig at the height of the Baroque period. The intimate setting in the quaint space of the Holy Trinity Church Hall, with its beautiful high wooden ceiling, allows a closeness to the musicians which means the pieces can be enjoyed almost as the composer would have envisioned ...

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show

Created by Jonathan Rockefeller. Based on Eric Carle's books. CDP Kids. Associate Director: Liesel Badorrek. Assistant Director: Stephen Anderson. Music & Sound: Nate Edmondson. Scenic Design: David Goldstein. Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne. May 7, 8 and June 26 and National Tour.

What a charmingly delicious show (pardon the pun!) for the mostly preschool age children and their minders.  The characters of Eric Carle's best-selling children's books leap off the page by means of three puppeteers and a host of over 75 puppets. Alongside the Very Hungry headliner, the show features three other stories – “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?”, “Ten Little Rubber Ducks and “The Very Busy Spider”.

Playthings

Written and directed by Scott McArdle. Studio Underground, State Theatre Centre of WA. May 1-8, 2021

Originally produced and presented by Second Chance Theatre at the Blue Room, Black Swan State Theatre Company’s rendition of Playthings, featuring the same director and cast as the excellent original, allows this show to stretch and grow as well as exposing this expertly written, beautifully crafted show to a much wider audience.

The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven

By Jo Clifford. Theatre Works, St Kilda. April 28 – May 8, 2021

A mesmerising new production of The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen ff Heaven is here for the Midsumma Festival. Originally performed and written by Jo Clifford, a transgender performer based in Edinburgh in 2009, it was condemned by the Archbishop of Glasgow calling it “an affront to the Christian faith”. Lyn Gardner from the Guardian called it “moving and infinitely graceful”.

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