Reviews

Techno Circus

SIRO-A. OzAsia Festival. Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide. 18th – 20th October 2019

Japan’s SIRO-A brings Techno Circus to Adelaide for this year’s OzAsia Festival. It’s an hour of human agility and ability interacting with state-of-the-art technology, all choreographed to a thumping techno soundtrack. Techno Circus in many ways defies classification despite the show’s title. It has elements of dance, acrobatics, physical theatre, puppetry, clowning, mime, shadow play, sleight of hand and magic, all combined with mind-boggling visual effects.

Explain Normal

By Daniele Constance and AHA Ensemble & PHLUXUS2 Dance Collective/ Metro Arts, Brisbane. 17-26 October 2019

How would you explain ‘normal’? This collaborative show tackles the subject through movement, dance, comedy and music. Explain Normal is a collaboration between director, Daniele Constance, the Aha Ensemble and the Phluxus2 Dance Collective – groups that work with artists who identify as having a disability. Explain Normal looks at very personal experiences as the artists define ‘normal’ through their own eyes.

Talking Heads

By Alan Bennett. Villanova Players. Ron Hurley Theatre, Brisbane. 16-19 October 2019

Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads monologues – written in the 1980s for BBC TV – put faces and names to Thoreau’s ‘lives of quiet desperation’. They are superbly written character pieces and, incredibley, are showing no signs of age. The two short and sharp pieces chosen by Brisbane’s Villanova Players give Jane Binstead and Jean Spencer a chance to polish and show off their comic skills.

Gender Euphoria

Melbourne International Arts Festival. October 15 – 20, 2019

Gender Euphoria is back with a powerful new multi-talented variety line-up of trans and gender diverse artists from across Australia. After a successful run at Midsummer, it has earned a well-deserved guernsey at the Spiegeltent for the Melbourne International Arts Festival.

Light

By Thomas Henning and TerryandTheCuz. OzAsia Festival. Nexus Arts, Adelaide. October 17 -19, 2019

To some degree history is the recollection and interpretation of individuals involved. Shakespeare claims “There is history in all men’s lives” and Voltaire says "History is only the register of crimes and misfortunes". Both of these themes are explored in the production Light by Thomas Henning and TerryandTheCuz.

The Glass Menagerie

By Tennessee Williams. GRADS. Directed by Jane Hille. The Dolphin Theatre, University of Western Australia. October 16-19, 2019

The Glass Menagerie has been presented by GRADS (Graduate Dramatic Society) at the Dolphin, for a very short season.

Fangirls

Book, Music and Lyrics by Yve Blake. Belvoir. October 12 - November 10, 2019

My first reaction after leaving the theatre was that I must buy tickets for my 15 year old daughter (which I did this morning). One of the most striking aspects is the authenticity of the writing and how Yve Blake nails on the head the heady experiences of teenage girls and their passion, energy and search for love. Sitting next to me was the mother of a recent teenager, squealing with recognition. OMG!

The Nico Project

Created by Maxine Peake and Sarah Frankcom. Melbourne International Arts Festival. Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne. November 11 – 19, 2019.

Legendary “underground” sixties icon Nico has captivated artists for decades and the new show The Nico Project, performed and co created by English actress Maxine Peake (better known as barrister Martha Costello in the BBC legal drama Silk and or as Veronica Bell in Shameless), along with director Sarah Frankcom, is an art-theatre-actor performance that includes an all female youth orchestra.

The Mikado

By W.S.Gilbert & Sir Arthur Sullivan. Northern Light Theatre Company. Shedley Theatre – Playford Civic Centre. 11 - 26 October, 2019

Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado: or, The Town of Titipu was first performed in London in 1885. This was Gilbert and Sullivan’s ninth collaboration and one of its most successful. Subsequently, it has proven to be one of the most popular and regularly performed of the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. It is not difficult to see why. The wit, humour, and beautiful music is as charming and beguiling as it ever was, and performed with absolute relish and joy in this production by the Northern Light Theatre Company.

Fully Committed

By Becky Mode. Ensemble Theatre, Sydney. Director: Kate Champion. 11 October – 16 November 2019

In the dismal basement of a ridiculously trendy Woolloomooloo restaurant are 30 phones all hooked up to the same number, all with irrational customers waiting for immediate attention. Into this battleground comes Sam, the young, female Reservations Manager, whose acting career has been put on hold while she navigates through the complaints, suggestions and blistering demands of her callers. There’s also a line to her touchy, award-winning boss who can change ‘fully booked’ to ‘fully committed’ on a whim.

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