Reviews

Gaslight

By Patrick Hamilton. Adapted by Johnna Wright and Patty Jamieson. Presented by Rodney Rigby, Queensland Theatre, Marriner Group, and TEG. Directed by Lee Lewis. Comedy Theatre, 240 Exhibition Street, Melbourne. 9-24 March 2024.

Gaslight has become such an iconic text that the term has now entered into our cultural psyche and vocabulary to describe a form of manipulative abuse often practiced on women.  The perfidious strategy of controlling someone by distorting reality so that they question their own judgement is, in this play, driven by greed. Bella (Geraldine Hakewill) is newly married to Jack (Toby Schmitz) and they have taken a beautiful home in London where Elizabeth (Kate Fitzpatrick) and Nancy (Courtney Cavallaro) are at their service.

An Inspector Calls

By J. B. Priestley. Wanneroo Repertory. Directed by Gordon Park. Limelight Theatre, Wanneroo, WA. Feb 22 - Mar 9, 2024

Wanneroo Repertory’s first show for 2024 is the modern classic An Inspector Calls, a beautifully structured play that reminds us that our actions have consequences and serves as an allegory for society and the events of the early twentieth century. Director Gordon Park clearly understands this work and has handled the production with care.

Great Detectives: All New Mysteries!

Presented by Preachrs Productions & The Lot Theatre. Adelaide Fringe: Ayers House. 8-16 March 2024

Returning to the stage with two brand new stories, Candy Matson and Johnny Dollar are up against new foes dastardlier than before. Performing as if recording a 1950s radio play, Benjamin Maio Mackay has once again revived old-time radio detective Matson in a story with an Egyptian twist, and Dollar, who comes up against a force much bigger than one person.

The Ghost Writer

By Ross Mueller. Produced by Crying Chair Theatre, in association with Secret House. Directed by Jane Angharad. Flight Path Theatre, Marrickville, Sydney. March 6 – 16, 2024

Brihanna, brash and outspoken, wants the truth to be told about her deceased baby but she needs a ‘ghost writer’ to tell it. Robert wants to publish the story but it’s got to be finished in six weeks. Claudia, his daughter and first choice as the writer, is not well but willing to give it a go, while Claudia’s completely anonymous lover watches from the sidelines before being drawn into this ghostly hodgepodge.

Reuben Kaye - Apocalipstik

Adelaide Fringe Festival 2024. Century Entertainment Australia Pty Ltd. The Vagabond at The Garden of Unearthly Delights, Adelaide. Mar 5 to Mar 17, 2024

Welcome back Reuben, we have missed you. Now the Fringe can really begin!!!

Reuben Kaye returns to Adelaide with his new show Reuben Kaye – Apocalipstik, an eighty-minute show giving us a sneak peek into his childhood, his parents, grandparents and queer uncle.

Eat Your Heart Out

By Angela Buckingham. A Shift Theatre Production. La Mama Courthouse. 6 – 17 March 2024

Two haute bourgeoise sisters meet for lunch every Tuesday at a ‘fine dining’ restaurant.  Usually, they would discuss the minutiae of their lives, complain about their husbands or their hairdressers or their health, or the state of the world hors de combat.  There is even a reference to Sondheim’s ‘Ladies Who Lunch’ but here it’s minus the corrosive, angry irony of that song.

Michael Griffiths: It’s a Sin – Songs of Love and Shame

Adelaide Fringe Festival 2024. Spiegel Zelt – Garden of Unearthly Delights. 5-17th March, 2024

Michael Griffiths has been delighting Adelaide Fringe audiences for 10 years, with a plethora of shows paying homage to Madonna, Peter Allen and Annie Lennox, just to name a few.

The Lehman Trilogy

Written by Stefano Massini, adapted by Ben Power and directed by multi-award-winning director, Sam Mendes. The National Theatre and Neal Street Productions. Trafalgar Entertainment. Theatre Royal, Sydney. February 21 – March 24, 2024

This triumphant theatrical saga about three Bavarian brothers immigrating to America in the 1840s and from a fabric shop in Alabama building a global investment bank has had a long gestation.  

Originally a three act Italian play, adapted by British playwright Ben Power and directed for London’s National Theatre by Sam Mendes in 2018, applauded and translated around the world, this finely tuned epic is performed by just three remarkable actors. 

The Threepenny Opera

Based on John Gay's The Beggar's Opera. By Bertolt Brecht (text) and Kurt Weill (music), in collaboration with Elisabeth Hauptmann. Adelaide Festival 2024. Festival Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide. March 6 – 10, 2024

 

Shine My Light

Written and performed by Taku Mbudzi. Consulting director Akwasi Osei-Tutu. La Mama HQ, 205 Faraday Street, Carlton Vic. 6-10 March 2024.

Taku Mbudzi is a talented storyteller whose work successfully transposes across platforms; podcasts, filmmaking and stand-up comedy are among them. In this show Mbudzi takes a very personal approach and considers her achievements as an African woman trying to make her way in the world.

She has many intriguing and engaging anecdotes related to her African heritage and settling in Australia. Many of the stories have universal appeal; the pressure to get married, dealing with expectations of family members and getting ahead in the working world as a woman of colour.

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