Reviews

Gillian Cosgriff – Actually, Good

Written & performed by Gillian Cosgriff. Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Melbourne Town Hall, The Powder Room. 30, 31 March – 2,3 & 16-21 April 2024

In the midst of so many comedy acts that are loud, weird, try-hard, in-your-face, bitter, incoherent, angst-ridden or self-deprecatingly confessional, Gillian Cosgriff offers a benign and determinately optimistic alternative.  In her apparently laid back, no frills, relaxed way, she is a consummate performer – and musician.  She shows us that in the midst of our very real anxieties, our painful disappointments and disillusionments, there are things that are, actually, good. 

The Marriage of Figaro

By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte, translation by Jeremy Sams. WAAPA Classical Voice students. Directed by Rachel McDonald. The Geoff Gibbs Theatre, WAAPA, Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley, WA. Mar 21-27, 2024

The Marriage of Figaro was the largest scale of the first round of WAAPA productions. Performed by WAAPA Classical Voice students, it was accompanied by the WAAPA Symphony Orchestra and predominantly designed and crewed by WAAPA Production and Design Students. It was performed in English.

The Dress

By Aliane Beek. Presented by Essence Theatre Productions. Directed by Nigel Sutton. Werribee Mansion, Gate 2 K Rd, Werribee South Victoria. 29 March – 2 June 2024.

Werribee Mansion is once again the evocative location for a fascinating exploration of Victorian history. On this occasion Beek takes a closer look at the fashion industry at the turn of the 19th Century.

Smash it!

Circus Oz. Director: David Woods. Soundtrack and music: Carl Polke, Chris Lewis, Spohie Dunn. Lighting design: Gina Gascoigne. Costume design: Laurel Frank. Set and Props: Mike Finch. Arts Centre Melbourne – Fairfax Studio. 100 St Kilda Road, Melbourne. 28 March – 21 April 2024

This is a clever circus show with many of the elements you would expect to find in a big top circus focused into the Fairfax Studio. There is splendid, warm audience engagement at the beginning to elevate everyone’s mood, tightrope walking, slack rope walking, trapezes, tricks and pratfalls, clowning and really excellent balance, floor, rope and strap work. All this is stitched together by charming smaller episodes including a recreation of a variety of statues, Charlie Chaplinesque hat handling, and some characters who pop up at intervals to continue their story.

Big Love

By Charles L. Mee. WAAPA Third Year Bachelor of Performing Arts Performance Making. Directed by Candy Bowers. The Enright Theatre, WAAPA, Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley, WA. Mar 21-27, 2024

Big Love is a big piece of Epic Theatre, performed by WAAPA Third Year Bachelor of Performing Arts Performance Making Students, and crewed and designed predominantly by WAAPA Production and Design Students.

Tom Gleeson: Gear

Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Comedy Theatre, 240 Exhibition St, Melbourne. 28 March - 21 April 2024.

Tom Gleeson has become a household name due to the enormous success of shows such as Hard QuizTaskmaster, and receiving the 2019 Gold Logie award via a deliberate campaign that (as described by the ABC) was marked by mockery. Gleeson is the recipient of many other accolades (best comedy performer 2022 AACTA Awards, best comedy 2020 Adelaide Fringe, best Comedy 2019 Perth Fringe World) yet his demeanour is disarmingly humble, even while he delivers some of his most acerbic humour and shares a wickedly unique perspective on the world.

The World Goes Round

By John Kander and Fred Ebb, conceived by Susan Stroman, David Thompson and Scott Ellis. WAAPA Third Year Musical Theatre. Directed by Cameron Mitchell. The Roundhouse Theatre, WAAPA, Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley. Mar 22-27, 2024

As director Cameron Mitchell points out in his notes for The World Goes Round, Kander and Ebb’s songs are a gift for Triple Threat performers. This production of some of their best songs is a wonderful showcase for WAAPA’s Third Year Musical Theatre Students, and this young, talented cast embrace the opportunity.

Playing in front of a strong 8-piece live band, under the Musical Direction of Craig Dalton, vocal performances, without exception are strong and impressive, with choreography, from director Cameron Mitchell, vibrant and superbly executed.

Chicago

Book by Fred Ebb & Bob Fosse, Music John Kander, Lyrics Fred Ebb. John Frost for Crossroads Live, Jones Theatrical Group in association with Barry and Fran Weissler. Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne from 26 March 2024, then Capitol Theatre, Sydney from 9 June and Festival Theatre Adelaide from 4 August.

And here it is again – Chicago - just as sharp, funny, cynical, beautifully, flawlessly produced and hugely entertaining from end to end.  It’s not a ‘revival’ because it never went away.  By my count, I must have seen Chicago six times – including the movie.  The Companion estimates she’s seen it eight times.  Why does this black comedy musical set in 1920s Chicago unfailingly endure?  Yes, it’s fascinating to see what a new cast will do with the characters and the songs, but there’s more to it than

Molière’s Tartuffe

Written by Justin Fleming. Directed by Todd Macdonald. Presented by Griffith University Queensland Conservatorium. Brisbane Multicultural Arts Centre, 23 – 27 March, 2024

Queensland Conservatorium’s latest production of Tartuffe features the third year acting students in an energetic and delightful performance that has the audience in stitches from start to finish. The cast, with a palpable enthusiasm, attacks Molière's classic with gusto. Writer Justin Fleming has infused the adaptation of the material with modern vernacular and a vibrant sense of humour, all while staying true to the essence of the original.

Macbeth

By William Shakespeare. WAAPA. Directed by Stephen Nicolazzo. Subiaco Arts Centre, WA. Mar 22-28, 2024

WAAPA’s Third Year Acting’s production of The Scottish Play is a striking and emotive production that keeps its audience engrossed.

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