Reviews

The Spook

By Melissa Reeves. Pymble Players. May 15 – June 8, 2024

Inspired by a true story, this play is set in small-town Australia in 1965.  There are references to Menzies and Vietnam to give us some historical context, and meetings held for the South Bendigo branch of the Communist Party of Australia to give us a grounding in suburbian Victoria.  Apparently the Cold War fear-mongering, unfortunate friendships and betrayal which are highlighted in this play were alive and well in regional Australia in the 1960’s, and that is both interesting and disappointing.

Gulls

By Robert Hewett. The Guild Theatre, Rockdale, NSW. Director: Susan Stapleton. 17 May - 9 June, 2024

Aching humanity, laced with bittersweet, wry wit flows through Susan Stapleton’s moving production of Robert Hewett’s Gulls.

In the space of a handful of productions, the Guild Theatre has now staged two powerful Australian plays featuring carers, in this case a sister caring for her brother.

Murder by the Book

By Duncan Greenwood and Robert King. Tea Tree Players. Cnr Yatala Vale Road and Hancock Road Surrey Downs, SA. May 22 – June 1, 2024

Masochism – “gratification gained from pain, deprivation, degradation, etc., inflicted or imposed on oneself, either as a result of one's own actions or the actions of others, especially the tendency to seek this form of gratification.”

The Word

St Martin’s Youth Theatre. Writer and Co-creators: Michele Lee, Michael Carmody, Nadja Kostitch and ensemble. Writing Intern: Spike Angwin. Director: Nadja Kostich. Directing Intern: Clea Carney. Choreographic Artist: Bridget Fiske. Composer and Sound Designer: Allara Briggs Pattison. Lighting Designer: Richard Vabre. Set and Costume Designer: Matilda Woodroofe. 17-26 May, 2024

This amalgam of disciplined movement, enlivening songs, rich soundscape and thoughtful words set in ambiguous spaces examines the difficulties and wonders of words.

Shook

By Samuel Bailey. The Substation, Qtopia, Taylor Square, Sydney. Directed by Emma Whitehead. 16 May – 5 June 2024

The venue is supposed to be at 136 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, but I’ve run out of numbers. ‘Excuse me,’ I say to the girl guarding what looks like an underground toilet, ‘I’m looking for Shook’. ‘Yes, you’ve found us’, she says, ‘but we’re not quite ready yet.’ Returning in a bit, I squeeze under the entrance, descend the steep stairs and find myself in a tiny theatre. 

Medea

By Kate Mulvany and Anne-Louise Sarks, after Euripides. Queensland Theatre. Bille Brown Theatre. May 11 – June 8, 2024

Queensland Theatre’s latest production is a bold new take on the Greek tragedy ‘Medea’. Written by Kate Mulvany and Anne-Louise Sarks, this adaptation is written from the point of view of the children at the heart of the tragedy.

Elijah

Music by Felix Mendelssohn. Libretto by Julius Schubring. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Artistic and Music Director Brett Weymark. Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House. May 18, 2024

If the recently renovated Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House was a racing car, then this concert was the fullest of full throttle runs around the racetrack.

Almost 400 singers in the stalls, the organ in full flight, an orchestra of more than 60 on the stage with soloists dotted around them.

The schoolboy Charlie Swan, with a sweet solo, sang from up in the clouds next to the organist and other singers popped up in the audience,  making it a 360-degree aural extravaganza.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert. Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser. Directed by Peter “Pear” Carr. Roleystone Theatre, Brookton Hwy, Roleystone, WA, May 17-Jun 1, 2024

Ya’Djin Spirit Women

By The First Creatives. BEMAC Live. Queensland Multicultural Centre (BEMAC). 18 May 2024

With both their one-day-only performances of Ya’Djin Spirit Women sold out, The First Creatives are definitely an inspirational force to be reckoned with. This was their first full-length production at BEMAC, Brisbane’s welcoming multicultural centre, somewhat hidden underneath the Story Bridge. The talented group’s dancers are Allirah Fisher, Maddy Fisher, Erika Jayne Goldsmith, Kahli Coolwell, Vanessa Coolwell, and Rebekah Holdaway.

Merrily We Roll Along

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by George Furth. Ad Astra, Brisbane. 16 May to 8 June 2024

When Stephen Sondheim rewrote a 1934 stage play as his new musical Merrily We Roll Along for the 1400-seat Neil Simon (Alvin) Theatre on Broadway, I’m sure he would not have thought that an outstanding performance of his musical would be 40 years in the future in a small 40-seat black box theatre in Brisbane! But I am sure that, wherever he is, the late, great Mr Sondheim would be nodding his approval at the superb cast in Ad Astra’s production. For a start, the smaller setting suits the New York apartment backdrop.

Subscribe to our E-Newsletter, buy our latest print edition or find a Performing Arts book at Book Nook.