Reviews

The Lewis Trilogy

By Louis Nowra. Griffin Theatre Company. SBW Stables Theatre. February 9 – April 21, 2024

Image (above): Summer of the Aliens

After being scalped in a brutal boyhood accident, Louis Nowra could barely read until he was seventeen – his first book was Lolita – which is remarkable for one now surely Australia’s most prolific writer given his body of work across all forms.   

Image: Summer of the Aliens

7 Captiva Road

By Andrea Ciannavei. Anthropocene Play Company. Chapel off Chapel. 21 February to 3 March, 2024

She lay on her death bed; the Catholic matriarch of the household ruled her brood, and as one generation passes, old secrets are revealed, grievances tackled, and love reunited. 7 CAPTIVA ROAD was written in 2004, an Italian American playwright/screenwriter by Andrea Ciannavei, brought to the Melbourne stage by Bronwen Coleman, Artistic Director of Anthropocene Independent Theatre Company, and directed by Cathy Hunt.

The War of The Worlds – The Lux Radio Play plus The Day the Earth Stepped Sideways.

New Farm Nash Theatre. Directed by Jason Nash. Playing February 23 - March 23, 2024.

There was no stampede at the invasion from Mars as happened with the original audio play The War of the Worlds in New York in 1939 for the obvious reason of it being read on stage. Still it was an interesting experience.

Prior to this play was The Day the Earth Stepped Sideways by Jay Edwards, which was a very new science fiction story that covered every aspect of the imagination.

Jane Smiley

Writers Weekend, closing event. In association with Writing WA and Perth Festival. Sunday 25 February 2024.

Jane Smiley loves Shakespeare.

She studied his work at High School and University so much that she calls him Uncle Bill.

Interviewed by Will Yeoman of Writers WA, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author spoke of adapting King Lear into her novel, A Thousand Acres (for which she won the Pulitzer in 1992) which allowed her to give the three sisters more say in the outcome of their lives. 

A 1997 film was based on the novel, starring Jessica Lange, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jason Robards.

Between the Fractures

Presented by Small Dog Productions. Adelaide Fringe: The Garage International @ Scots. 24 February – 3 March 2024

A young woman, Sam, distressed by the sounds of an argument just beyond her door, pushes her headphones into her ears and tries to disappear into the music. She is surprised to find another woman beside her – Mas – who claims to know her, to be her best friend, and Sam must decide whether to trust this apparent stranger in her room.

FOOD

By Geoff Sobelle. Perth Festival. His Majesty’s Theatre. 24 February – 2 March, 2024.

“Oh, I’m absolutely full. I’ve eaten too much!” lamented a woman as she moved from the restaurant to the foyer. Such an apt precursor to a play called FOOD, which examines our relationship to it.

FOOD, the performance, is a collaboration between many experienced creative people but writer and performer, Geoff Sobelle is the lone character, a waiter, watching as we enter the modified space on His Majesty’s Theatre stage. 

Crème de la Crème Cabaret

Adelaide Fringe Festival 2024. Head First Acrobats. The Vault at Fool’s Paradise, Victoria Square, Adelaide. Feb 16 to Mar 16, 2024

This production is exactly what it says, the crème de la crème of the Head First Acrobats’ routines with some guest artists thrown in for good measure!

The all too brief 55 minutes is hosted by the inimitable Cal Harris, who has enough one liners to do a one man show. His ladder balancing act, including headstands, aided by a member of the audience is one of the highlights of the night!

Savages

Presented by Curious Roach Collective. Adelaide Fringe: Goodwood Community Centre. 23-26 February, 2024

Ten years after a school camp, six friends reunite to talk about what happened that one, terrible night. At first, conversation is superficial, but as the alcohol flows, the restrained rage of questions bursts from each of the six, who have dealt with tragedy in very different ways.

Adelaide Fringe: A History

Adelaide Fringe. Presented by Flamboyance Tours. Adelaide CBD. 23 February – 7 March 2024

Meeting outside the ornate gates of Government House, we wonder about the connection between this grand building and the always-alternative image of Adelaide Fringe. Katina, our guide, explains how it was the site of one of the first information booths for the festival, then called the Focus Festival in 1976.

Wright & Grainger – Say It & Play It

Presented by Wright & Grainger with Joanne Hartstone. Adelaide Fringe. 24-25 February 2024

Wright & Grainger are two friends from Yorkshire who have been writing and playing together for most of their lives. In Adelaide, we know them as the storytellers of Orpheus, Eurydice – and new this year, the superb Helios; and the euphoric songs and spoken word of The Gods, The Gods, The Gods. They take their stories and music all over the world, playing in back gardens, Fringe yurts, and the Sydney Opera House.

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