Reviews

Madiba the Musical

Book and music by Jean-Pierre Hadida. English Adaptation by Dylan Hadida and Dennis Watkins. State Theatre, Sydney, November 1 – 18, 2018 then touring Australia and New Zealand.

The most striking aspect of this production is the performance of Perci Moeketsi as Nelson Mandela. He beautifully captures the grace, calm and vision of the man who went from prisoner to President.

Born in South Africa, he was a young child when Mandela was released from prison and benefited from the new educational opportunities that a post-apartheid regime offered him.  

The pride he feels in portraying this role is very evident.

Overall the production is part musical, part dance and part documentary in style.

Bugsy Malone

Music and Lyrics by Paul Williams. Book by Alan Parker. Stage Door School of Performing Arts Studio, Subiaco. Directed by Jay Walsh. Musical Direction by Ian Westrip. 2-11 Nov, 2018

Stage Door’s first production of this type features bright and keen 10 to 17 year olds over two casts, splurge gunning each other with abandon, to packed houses.

Opening Night featured the 'Bronx Cast', who alternate appearances with ‘Yonkers Cast’, with a handful of performers featuring in both shows. Bronx performers had a lovely camaraderie, and it was lovely to see some of our more experienced young performers working alongside those making their stage debuts.

Sutra

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui & Sadler’s Wells London. OzAsia Festival. Dunstan Playhouse. November 2-3, 2016

‘Sutra’ in Sanskrit means ‘string’ or ‘thread’. In the extraordinarily dynamic OzAsia Festival production of Sutra, Belgian choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui certainly connects with his audience, masterfully threading together dance, martial arts, music and sculpture. This piece is celebrating its tenth anniversary since first being performed at Sadler’s Wells. It has toured the world and it is not difficult to see its appeal.

Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks

By Richard Alfieri. The Therry Dramatic Society. The Arts Theatre, Adelaide. 1-10 Nov, 2018.

The great Carl Gustav Jung once said, “The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.”

Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks certainly echoes this quotation. It centres on a formidable retired woman, Lily Harrison, who hires a flamboyant dance instructor and ex chorus boy, Michael Minetti, to give her private dance lessons, one per week for six weeks.

Krapp’s Last Tape

By Samuel Beckett. Directed by Laurence Strangio. At fortyfivedownstairs. 31 October – 11 November 2018

Krapp (Max Gillies) sits alone behind a desk under a harsh downlight.  Outside that circle of light, the adaptable but suddenly vast fortyfivedownstairs space recedes into gloom and then black.  When Mr Gillies leaves the light, he disappears, and his presence is indicated by the sounds of whatever he is doing out there in the darkness.  Does he not want us to know what he does out there?  No.  That is a choice Krapp has made – to keep things separate while he excoriates himself.

Nassim

By Nassim Soleimanpour (Iran). OzAsia Festival (SA). AC Arts Main Theatre. 1-3 November 2018

Nassim Soleimanpour is originally from Iran and is internationally regarded as one of the most exciting and innovative playwrights of modern world theatre. His best-known work, White Rabbit, Red Rabbit has won numerous awards, and was written to ‘travel the world when he couldn’t’. Such issues of displacement and isolation come into play with this current work, titled Nassim, with which he is touring around the world. It is now playing in Adelaide at the OzAsia Festival.

Here is the Message You Asked For…Don’t Tell Anyone Else

Cyber Theatre Project. OzAsia Festival (SA). Space Theatre. November 1st-3rd, 2018

Beijing’s leading figure in the fringe theatre scene, Sun Xiaoxing, formed Cyber Theatre Project in 2016. Bringing his latest creation to Adelaide for the OzAsia Festival, he has combined theatre and the world’s obsession with the digital age.

This production is a voyeuristic adventure that focuses on a group of millennial girls and their daily addiction to the application We Chat and social media.

Jesus Christ Superstar

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Lyrics by Tim Rice. Platinum Entertainment. Directed by Trevor Patient. Musical Direction by Frank La Cava. Quarry Amphitheatre, City Beach, WA. Oct 31 - Nov 4, 2018

Platinum Entertainment’s Jesus Christ Superstar is set at the Superstar Music Festival, which features the headline acts, Jesus, Judas and Simon Peter. Set in the present day with the set and props including mobile phones, social media references and uber eats, the extended metaphor continues throughout the show without messing with the original script, as the priests become the executives at Priest Records, Pilate is a festival producer and Herod a talent agent. It is a fresh interpretation which adds extra interest for those familiar with the production.

Neon Tiger

By Julia-Rose Lewis. Music Composed by Gillian Cosgriff. Co-Created by Julia-Rose Lewis, Gillian Cosgriff and Kat Henry. Directed by Kat Henry. Presented by La Boite Theatre in association with Brisbane Powerhouse. Theatre, 27 October – 17 November, 2018

Brisbane theatre creatives are kicking some impressive goals this year and the trend continues with Neon Tiger. This relatable romantic comedy is packed with great songs, witty dialogue and thought-provoking messages. It’s a two-hander, beautifully performed by Lisa Hanley (The Leftovers -- HBO) and Courtney Stewart (Single Asian Female -- La Boite and Belvoir).

While I Was Waiting

OzAsia Festival. Dunstan Playhouse. 30th and 31st October 2018.

Performed in Arabic, with English surtitles, the Australian premiere of While I Was Waiting is a unique opportunity to gain insight into the very real lives of families caught up in the current Syrian turmoil. Syrian playwright Mohammad Al Attar and director Omar Abusaada powerfully humanise a political situation, giving the audience the chance to interact with the trauma that besets families, by being invited into their living, loving and grieving.

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