Reviews

Potted Potter – The Unauthorized Harry Experience – A Parody.

Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide. 10-12 May, 2024

To use a Harry Potter pun, this show is a HOOT!

None of Us

DUTI Dance Company. Director /Choreographer Mathew Mizyed. FORM Dance. Riverside Theatres Parramatta. 10-11 May, 2024

The sands of time sift gently and fluidly through this story in dance. Desert colours swirl as the dancers narrate in elegant movement a history that Mathew Mizyed has choreographed as a tribute his father’s homeland and the vast Wadi Rum desert.

In interpretative movements he suggests the long passage of time and the generations that have “walked the land before” – in good times and bad.

Cock

By Mike Bartlett. Boys Like Me Productions. Flightpath Theatre Marrickville. May 8 – 18, 2024

For those of us still workshopping it, there’s now a big alphabetical range from which to label your sexuality. You can identify yourself from the ever-expanding LGBTQQIP2SAA or, perhaps ideally, just sleep and love between the definitions, with whoever takes you.

The choice once seemed more limited – gay or straight – and is so in Mike Bartlett’s play from 2008, Cock, a witty title using a very icon of gay (male) identity.

Lung

By Kate Herbert. La Mama HQ, Carlton. 7 – 19 May 2024

In this thoroughly engaging story of a lung transplant, wry comedy mixes with fear and frustration.  Death hovers, but there’s still space for temper tantrums, marital discord, surprising and funny reactions, interfering if well-meaning parents, bickering, and of course cold or insouciant doctors and specialists. 

Lucia di Lammermoor

Composed by Gaetano Donizetti with libretto by Salvatore Cammarano. Presented by Melbourne Opera. Directed by Suzanne Chaundy, conducted by Raymond Lawrence and Greg Hocking AM. Athenaeum Theatre, 188 Collins St, Melbourne. 8, 14, 16 & 18 May 2024.

This superb production of Lucia di Lammermoor exalts the tale that has been transformed into a highly dramatic and stirring opera.

Carrie: The Musical

Music by Michael Gore. Lyrics by Dean Pitchford. Book by Lawrence D. Cohen. Phoenix Ensemble, Qld. May 3 – 25, 2024.

In the heart of community theatre, there lies a unique alchemy of passion, dedication, and collaboration. It’s not just about the performance; it’s about the collective effort, the shared enthusiasm, and the transformative power of storytelling. Phoenix Ensemble’s production of Carrie: The Musical embodies this spirit of community theatre in a gripping, raw, and emotionally charged performance that captivates from start to finish.

Isolde & Tristan

By Esther Vilar. Translated by Udo Bogert and Laura Ginters. Sport for Jove. Old Fitz Theatre. May 3 – Jun 1, 2024.

This legend of an Irish princess escorted across the sea by a hero knight to marry a Cornish king is as old as William the Conqueror.  This modern, translated version by German playwright Esther Williams, short and sharp-edged, follows innumerable tellings of this tale of adulterous and unquenchable love, of potions and murder.  

Flabbergasters

Devised and Performed by Pete Booth and Joel Fenton. Presented by Act React. Switch Room, Brisbane Powerhouse Theatre. 4 – 5 May, 2024.

One of Brisbane’s favourite production companies, Act React has delivered big time on the family friendly entertainment with Flabbergasters. It can often be a challenge to find a show that’s equally as engaging and uplifting for grandma as it is for the kids, especially when it comes to comedy festival programming. That’s why it is such a delight to see shows like this one finding a space in the Brisbane Comedy Festival at the Powerhouse.

Switzerland

By Joanna Murray-Smith. Ensemble Theatre, Sydney. Directed by Shaun Rennie. 3 May – 8 June, 2024

Did someone at the Ensemble know about the showing of the brilliant 8-part television version of ‘Ripley’ before scheduling this play? If so, then congratulations, for the audience seemed completely ready for this ‘spill the beans’ look at ageing writer Patricia Highsmith and her appalling creation. Australian playwright Joanna Murray-Smith wrote the play, which premiered in Sydney in November 2014 and has been seen in many international cities. It remains enthralling and repellent. 

I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change

Book and lyrics by Joe Dipietro. Music by Jimmy Roberts. Griffith University’s Queensland Academy of Excellence in Musical Theatre (QAEMT). Cremorne Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC). 2-4 May 2024

Griffith University’s Queensland Academy of Excellence in Musical Theatre chose a certain winner for their second production of this year. As directed by the versatile Jason Klarwein, this production of I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change is bracing, with plenty of fresh talent, perfectly showcased.

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