Reviews

Flesh and Bone

By Elliot Warren. Unpolished Theatre. Adelaide Fringe Festival 2018. Holden Street Theatre. 13 February-19 March, 2018

From the UK, Unpolished Theatre’s award-winning production of Elliot Warren’s Flesh and Bone is simply wonderful.

On a bare stage at Holden Street Theatre, the experience of modern life in an East London Council tower block is as often hilarious as it is poignant.

Over 70 minutes, and through a series of short scenes and monologues, five English working class characters – Terrence, Kel, Jamal, Reiss and Grandad – reveal their hopes and dreams, and ability to survive life’s hardships as members of the ‘lowest of the low’.

Scientology the Musical

George Glass Comedy. Gluttony/The Speakeasy. Adelaide Fringe Festival 2018. Feb 16-March 4, 2018

I could not think of a religion more deserving of satire than ‘Scientology’…no offense.

L. Ron Hubbard started his new faith in 1954 after having a mildly successful career as a science-fiction writer. This is our first clue to the absurdity to follow.

Comedy group ‘George Glass’ have produced a show that pokes fun at religion in general… and it is hilarious!

Wildebeest and Valley

Form Dance Projects. Dance Bites 2018. Riverside Theatres, Parramatta. February 15 - 17, 2018

Choreographer and performer Omer Backley-Astrachan sees dance as a language – a form of communication “to be witnessed and reflected”.

Such is the challenge of contemporary dance. It requires an empathetic, compliant audience, willing to yield to the to the messages expressed, and prepared to translate and interpret them based on their own experience … and perhaps a brief suggestion from the choreographer.

Strangers In Between

By Tommy Murphy. Cameron Lukey and Don't Be Down Productions. Reginald Theatre, Seymour Centre. Feb 14 - Mar 2, 2018.

It’s long been a rite of passage that young gay men escape to the freedom and adventures of inner city Sydney. 

They leave behind conventional families, often in discord, and in the big smoke build other relationships better matched to their new identity.

Fresh from a revival in the West End, and here for Mardi Gras, Tommy Murphy’s 2005 play is a simple but touching story of a 16-year-old boy from Goulburn finding his way – and new friendships – through Kings Cross.

What Doesn't Kill You [Blah Blah] Stronger

By Tyler Jacob Jones and Robert Woods. For Holland Street Productions for Fringe World. Ace's Cabaret, Downstairs at the Maj, His Majesty's Theatre, Hay St, Perth, WA. Feb 13-17, 2018

What Doesn’t Kill You [Blah Blah] Stronger is quite possibly the funniest show at Fringe World, and while seeing it may not make you stronger, it will certainly leave you feeling better.

The Magnolia Tree

By Michael Griffith. Directed by Michael Griffith. Path2 Productions. The Q, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre. 14 - 17 February 2018

Three family members discover there are no easy solutions to the problem of their mother’s increasing dementia. Or perhaps there’s one? Dealing with an aging family member is an experience most of us will face at some point. Writer Michael Griffith takes this subject somewhere darker by pitting his characters against one another and playing with their foibles and desires. This interaction pushes the narrative into thriller territory.

The Dead Devils of Cockle Creek

Written by Kathryn Marquet. Directed by Ian Lawson. Presented by La Boite and Playlab. La Boite Roundhouse Theatre, 10 February - 03 March, 2017

The excited Valentine’s Day crowd at opening night of this world-premiere production were wooed by The Dead Devils of Cockle Creek. People were screeching with laughter at the outrageous comedic dialogue one moment, pin-drop quiet the next as seething tensions rose among the characters.

Mikelangelo and Anushka: Siblings

The Butterfly Club, Melbourne. Feb 13 - 18, 2018.

Let yourself be enchanted by the songs and sways of Siblings. Get sucked into this charismatic and absurd cabaret!

Siblings is a namesake dynamic musical storytelling show by Mikelangelo and Anushka. It is an original composition of fun loving vignettes of their early years together.

Notorious Strumpet and Dangerous Girl

Fringe World. Directed by Jess Love. Circus Palace, Elizabeth Quay, The Esplanade, Perth WA. Feb 14-17, 2018

Jess Love begins Notorious Strumpet and Dangerous Girl by making sure that all of her audience are comfortable and offers everyone tea, coffee and biscuits. We soon realise this is because we have stumbled on an Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting…. if an AA meeting had hula hoops, trapeze work and a bizarre game of bingo.

We Will Rock You

Music and lyrics by Queen. Story and script by Ben Elton. Woftam Productions. NSW Amateur Premiere. Town Hall Theatre, Campbelltown. February 2 - 17, 2018.

Woftam’s (World of Fine Theatre and Music) production of the Ben Elton / Queen Rock musical was a thoroughly entertaining premiere of one of the newest musicals to hit the amateur theatre circuit. The hilarious script by Elton had the audience in stitches the whole night, while clapping and foot tapping along to many of the Queen’s Rock classics.

This production was full of colour, from the bright and bold costumes worn by all cast, to the lighting and the small amount of set pieces that took us on the show’s journey.

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